Black Homeownership is lagging in Memphis. What's being done about it.

Good morning and happy Sunday!

This is Executive Editor Mark Russell, and you're reading the Daily Briefing, our one-stop digital shop for the best Memphis stories from our award-winning Commercial Appeal team.

We're halfway through the weekend and nearly ready to turn the page to September. But not before we give you another dose of this news-filled August. Below we've got some stories that will help you navigate the crowded news space.

Conrad Hurt and Courtney Taylor-Hurt previously discussed the possibility of buying a home and moving out of their Binghampton apartment. Then a surprising rent hike this summer sped up the process, Omer Yusuf reports.

The Hurts said their rent increased nearly 50% from $930 a month to $1,375 and decided that after nearly four years of living there it was time to search for a home. They figured if they were going to spend that much money each month it was better to buy a house versus renting.

The Hurts purchased a home they love in Orange Mount, and are now part of the nearly 40% of Black Memphians who own a home in the city, according to data from Prosperity Now. That’s nearly 20% percentage points lower than white Memphians even though the city has a majority Black population (about 64%). Omer tells us more in this story about what's being done to reverse the trend on Black homeownership in Bluff City.

For the first time since 2019, the Indie Memphis Youth Film Fest was back in the Halloran Centre — with Memphis native, big-screen director Craig Brewer kicking the event off Saturday morning, Lucas Finton reports.

The film festival entry has an age limit between grades 7-12, and the theater filled with over 70 filmmakers, parents and friends just before 10 a.m. and quieted down quickly when Brewer took the stage. Lucas tells us all about Brewer's presentation and how the young filmmakers responded.

We'll see the East High alum Alex Lomax return for his fifth season as a Tigers' point guard, in a back-up role to Kendric Davis, the all-conference transfer from Southern Methodist University. Jason Munz tells us what Davis' return means for the outlook of Memphis basketball.

In case you missed it: Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland will not intercede in a dispute between the Memphis in May International Festival and the Memphis River Parks Partnership over the use of Tom Lee Park, Bob Mehr reports.

In response to public statements made Thursday by Memphis in May President and CEO James Holt, urging the city to help resolve a dispute with MRPP over the amount of a damage deposit to use Tom Lee for its 2023 festival site, Strickland's office released a statement on Friday.

In it, Strickland said: “Constant bickering between MIM and MRPP is not acceptable and does not achieve positive results for Memphis." Read more about Strickland's response and the unfolding dispute in Bob's story.

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Black homeownership is lagging in Memphis.