Former Democratic Tennessee lawmaker Roscoe Dixon dies
April 16, 2021 GMT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Roscoe Dixon, a former Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee who worked for civil rights groups and served in the Legislature for 25 years before becoming embroiled in the “Tennessee Waltz” corruption scandal, has died, a friend said. He was 71.
Ruby Wharton, a Memphis attorney and longtime friend, told The Associated Press that she was informed by Dixon’s sister that he died on Thursday. Wharton is the wife of former Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, who also was friends with Dixon.
Ruby Wharton said she met Dixon when she and her husband moved to Memphis in 1973. Dixon worked as a volunteer at the Memphis office of Operation PUSH, the civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Former Democratic Tennessee lawmaker Roscoe Dixon dies
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Former Democratic Tennessee lawmaker Roscoe Dixon dies
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Roscoe Dixon, a Memphis Democrat who was prominent in state politics for more than a decade before his 2006 conviction in an FBI corruption sting, and who later advocated for restoration of voting rights, died at a local hospital Thursday. He was 71.
Dixon s sister confirmed his death, which was attributed to a lengthy, undisclosed illness.
Former mayor of Shelby County and then Memphis, A C Wharton, who had been friends with Dixon since 1973 and who had hired him at the county after Dixon resigned his state senate seat in 2005, said he personified public service. And it was Dixon who borrowed a pickup truck to help the Whartons move to Memphis in 1973, Wharton said.
By Cherranda Smith
Feb 12, 2021
Black history has been made in a variety of locations across the United States. Through campaigns, petitions, and much effort, a lot of sites of Black history have been preserved so that the legacies of achievements and memories of losses made on this land can be honored for years to come.
Though the coronavirus pandemic has made travel plans difficult or risky, some of these sites are offering virtual tours throughout Black History Month to help people everywhere connect to historical moments and figures in real-time.
Here are 10 Black historical sites you can visit, either virtually or if you’re close by.