The 901: Ralph Prater, member of 'Memphis State Eight,' dies

It's Tuesday on one of the busiest news weeks on the calendar. It's FedEx St. Jude Championship week,  Elvis week and the first week of back-to-school for thousands of students and parents in Shelby County. 

But, first, we're mourning the passing of a pioneer in integrating what is now known as the University of Memphis.

Ralph Prater, one of eight Black men and women who integrated Memphis State University, has died, the university said Tuesday morning, our Lucas Finton reports..

"Prater's impact on our institution and community is immeasurable, and we will forever celebrate his remarkable courage and legacy," the university said on Twitter.

The Memphis State Eight, as the group became known, were the first Black students to enroll at the university, then known as Memphis State University, in 1959. Eleanor Gandy, Sammie Burnett Johnson, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Bertha Rogers Looney, Rose Blakney Love, Luther McClellan and John Simpson joined Prater to form the group.

Starting the school year

Hopes for a normal start of the school year have been dashed for the last two years for the 100,000 students of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

Buildings were closed due to the coronavirus in 2020. The following year, a surge of cases coincided with the first day back, throwing a wrench in school logistics and community health.

With reported case counts muted this August in Shelby County, the district, under its new and temporary leadership, seems determined to keep this school year the most normal yet, despite a flurry of attention from an active investigation of the superintendent, a school board election, and a new voucher program, our Laura Testino reports.

"It's a great day for a great day. This is the first day of the best school year ever," John Barker, a deputy and acting co-superintendent for MSCS said to a round of applause Monday morning.

'I'll have the gold-crusted steak medium well'

Supper Club on 2nd will be a "culinary experience to remember," said co-owner AG Granderson about his new restaurant set to open Aug. 23 at 85 S. Second St.

Granderson and co-owners Joe Johnson, Devin Butler and Robert Higgins have designed a restaurant they say is a modern-day twist on a traditional supper club from the 1960s and 1970s, our Jennifer Chandler reports in this story for subscribers.

“It used to be when you went to a supper club, you would go to have a meal, then see a show,” Butler said.

At Supper Club on 2nd, the dining experience will be the show.

(Not a subscriber? Consider becoming  a digital subscriber to never miss another premium story. The best deals are here.)

Think you know Elvis history? Take our quiz.

Another "Elvis Week" — this one marking 45 years since the death of Elvis Presley on Aug. 16, 1977 — is upon us.

And that's all the excuse we need to publish yet another Commercial Appeal trivia quiz, our John Beifuss reports.

In August of 2021, we posted an anything-goes Elvis quiz. This year, we're getting more specific. We're heading west from Elvis Presley Boulevard to Hollywood Boulevard. In recognition of the pre-release hype and post-release success associated with director Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" movie, we're focusing on a much-maligned yet always popular aspect of the King's career, namely, that one-man genre known as the "Elvis movie." Or perhaps we should say: the Elvis movie and beyond, since a few questions are about movies about Elvis, rather than movies starring Elvis.

FedEx St. Jude field could grow

"Final field set for FedEx St. Jude Championship as FedExCup Playoffs begin."

So read the subject line on the official press release that was emailed to the media Monday morning. Only thing is, it might not necessarily be accurate, our Jason Munz reports.

That's because the ongoing, bitterly contentious and very public brouhaha between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series is headed to court Tuesday afternoon. Last week, three LIV Golf players – Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford – filed for a temporary restraining order against the PGA Tour that would nullify their suspensions and allow them to participate in the FedExCup Playoffs. This week's event, for the first time in its 65-year history, serves as the kickoff of the PGA Tour's three-tournament postseason.

Columnist Mark Giannotto, meanwhile, says that while a lot has changed at the golf tournament throughout the year, its spirit has endured.

An excerpt from his column:

Jack Sammons posed for the photo inside the corporate FedEx cabana overlooking the 18th green at TPC Southwind, the sparkling FedEx Cup trophy encased next to him to start the 65th year of Memphis' annual pro golf tournament. 

The image was so much more than a picture given the circumstances, given the name of the event is different again, and the date of the event is different again, and the tournament director is different again, and even the stability of the PGA Tour is different than it was just a year ago.

There was Sammons, the former city council member with all that Southern charm, who helped rescue this tournament when it almost went under 13 years ago, standing with the symbol for all his work. He was armed with a joke, of course, about the many versions of this event he has now overseen as General Chairman.

“I’ve had more logos on this shirt than Elizabeth Taylor had husbands,” he cracked. "But I got 125 of the best golfers in the world coming here. Back in the day ... they’d say, ‘It’s hot there. There’s mosquitoes.’ They had all sorts of reason not to come."  

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Mark Russell is executive editor of The Commercial Appeal. He can reached at mark.russell@commercialappeal.com, 901/288-4509. You can also follow him on Twitter: @MarkRussell44

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ralph Prater, member of Memphis State Eight, has died