The publisher and president of the Tri-State Defender, one of the longest running newspapers for African American news and an essential part of the Civil Rights movement in Memphis, is listed as "100 History Makers in the Making" by The Grio.com.

The site credits Bernal Smith II with rolling out a social media strategy that has helped increase the paper's sales by 15% and "adapting tradition to modern-day technology." And all in less than a year at the helm of the historic paper.

Smith also formed a news partnership with WMC TV 5 which helped enhance news coverage, increase marketing and improve awareness of the Tri-State Defender brand.

For the full story, click here.

By Jamel Major - bio | email

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - New numbers show how critical the teen pregnancy crisis in Memphis and Shelby County really is, especially in certain zip codes within the county.

Teen birth rates in the Memphis-Shelby County area are high when compared to similar cities across the country.

"We have a lot of issues that a lot of urban areas deal with here in Memphis," Rebecca Terrell of the Memphis Center for Reproductive Health said Wednesday. "We are a big city."

Statistics from a recent report by the Urban Child Institute say in 2009, 15 percent of babies born in Shelby County were to teen mothers - approximately 5 percent above the national average.  Additionally, according to the institute's report, black teens are three times more likely than whites to give birth.

The fourth Saturday of every month at 12:30 p.m., community leaders and elected officials read stories at the Whitehaven Branch Library, 4120 Millbranch. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell will be this month’s special guest.