Join us at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the closing of the iconic Stax Records. Together, we’ll honor the artists, activists, and community members whose resilience shaped the soul of Memphis, and explore how their legacies continue to guide us through today’s challenges.
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This evening, engage in an illuminating conversation with an esteemed panel of community leaders and activists—Ms. Anasa Troutman, Ms. Britney Thorton, and Ms. Elaine Turner—moderated by Ms. Teal Wright, a Memphis-based culture keeper, storyteller, and creative organizer. Through storytelling, lived experience, and forward-thinking dialogue, the panel will reflect on pivotal moments of resilience while inviting us to imagine new, creative pathways for thriving in the face of both historic and emerging adversities.
Guests will also have the chance to experience interactive demonstrations of creative resilience, along with light refreshments.
This program is free and open to the public.
About the Panelists
Anasa Troutman
A cultural strategist, writer, director, producer, philanthropist, and real estate developer, Anasa Troutman is a nationally recognized visionary at the intersection of culture and the economy. She leads The Big We, Big We Foundation, Big We Capital, and the historic Clayborn Temple, an anchor site of the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike. With a lifelong career rooted in storytelling and creative impact, Anasa has produced work across music, theater, film, TV, books, and podcasts, including serving as Creative Director and Producer for India.Arie. Her Culture Shift methodology has empowered thousands of artists, organizers, and leaders, influencing some of the country’s most important cultural and social justice spaces. She has twice been invited to the White House to advise on cultural policy.
Commissioner Britney Thornton
Elected in 2022 as the youngest Shelby County Commissioner in history, Britney Thornton represents District 10 with a deep commitment to community empowerment. A native of Historic Orange Mound, she is a master social worker, licensed educator, and founder of JUICE Orange Mound, an innovative nonprofit mobilizing residents to invest in local solutions. Commissioner Thornton champions housing, transit, and economic development, and continues to challenge systemic inequities through creative organizing and civic engagement.
Elaine Turner
Elaine Lee Turner is a distinguished civil rights activist, historian, educator, and director of the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. As co-founder of Heritage Tours, she has dedicated her career to preserving and sharing the stories of African-American history in the Mid-South. A veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, Turner participated in more than 100 protests, including the 1965 Selma March and the 1966 Meredith March Against Fear. Her lifelong work emphasizes the importance of community history and ensuring that Memphis’s powerful past continues to educate and inspire.
Teal Wright | Moderator
Teal Wright is a culture keeper, storyteller, and creative organizer from Memphis — a city whose music, memory, and spirit live in her work. Through her studio, Lady House Creative, she creates grounded spaces where Black history, community care, and creative expression meet. As a museum docent with Heritage Tours, Teal guides visitors through two of Memphis’s most important cultural treasures: the W.C. Handy Museum, where she teaches the stories and global legacy of blues music, and Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, where she illuminates histories of resistance, freedom, and ancestral intelligence. Teal works closely with Ekpe, supporting his artistry, authorship, and cultural education work that bridges African traditions and Black American musical heritage. She has also served in Black performing arts institutions, supported creative projects, and lent her voice as a performer. Her disability justice initiative, The Up Syndrome, honors caregivers, disabled communities, and her own family. Everything Teal does is guided by the belief that culture heals, creativity liberates, and community makes transformation possible.