MEMPHIS, y’all
Hand-in-hand, we strolled down Front Street, the Memphis sky as blue as the air was crisp. At the new bakery, I ordered lox and bagel, cafe au lait, and, for Tom, a breakfast sandwich with drip coffee. The small bakery space was almost empty, quiet, until we stepped back to wait on our order, and the people poured in. At 9:30 on a Friday morning, the people kept coming. Black, white, Black and white, kids, and one lolling-headed puppy. The couple were trying to give the puppy away. I think they might have found a taker.
Outside at the cafe tables, a man yakked with a woman visiting from San Fransisco. She was in town for the Blues and Civil Rights. She’d done B. B. King’s nightclub on Beale Street and the National Civil Rights Museum. The guy gave her suggestions for other free activities. “You could walk across the river,” he said, and I wondered if she, not knowing about the pedestrian bridge, thought, yeah, if you’re Jesus.
A car pulled up and the family in it piled out to speak to others seated at the tables. One of the girls was named Evangeline. That’s our pup’s name. We shared this with her. “Is it a family name?” I asked, and her mom said no, her dad picked it. I said, “Because it’s a beautiful name.” She beamed. Tom and I were the only old people in sight.
The woman from San Fransisco said, “Everyone here is so friendly.” “We love our city,” the guy replied.
This is Memphis, y’all. The city that ignorant people call a hell hole. Who snap at us, “Why would you have a place in Memphis?” Who rudely say, “I understand it’s gotten pretty bad there.” As if our worst traits define any one of us.
We love our city. You would, too, if you knew what you were talking about.
Jim Van Hecke
I think Memphis is a great city!❤️
Ellen Morris Prewitt
❤️ ❤️🙏❤️
Emma
Memphis does have some great attributes. As in any city, one must be cautious as there are always dangers if one is not noticing. I loved certain aspects of Memphis – our writing critique group for one – and good eats. Sadly, our home in Memphis where we lived for 10 years (on a main and heavily traveled street right off Central Ave) was burglarized three times. Could happen anywhere of course. Drugs and guns are a problem in any town, and that brings me to politics – background checks should be required for gun purchases. Too many victims, mostly young. We do not all have the means to hang out in nice coffee shops in the best parts of town, and the shady sides are not tourist destinations. No, Memphis is not a “hell hole”, but crime is a problem there as in New Orleans and many other places. Too many lackadaisical judges offer young offenders a revolving door. In New Orleans, a youth court judge told me that 90% of the crimes there can be attributed to 3 families. Possibly the same in Memphis, I do not know. We do not need troops in our cities – we need competent law enforcement and better parenting. Sorry for my rant. But not.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
What you are saying, Emma, might have been true at one point, but it’s not today. As of the end of September, New Orleans is on track for murder rates to be the lowest since the 1970s. That’s fifty years. Memphis has the lowest crime rate its had in 25 years. Yet, someone last night said their “friend’s mom in Metarie” said it had gotten bad in New Orleans. And people gasp when we say we live in downtown Memphis. They are flat wrong. Of course, these rates apply across the city, not just “the best parts of town.” These drops didn’t just happen. They’re the result of both cities changing the way they police and money in the community stepping up to fund services for kids. Yet, again, people continue to react based on anecdotal stories and old news. I would note that Waveland (and Hattiesburg) have higher burglary rates than New Orleans. 🙂
Sharon Pavelda
This should be published on the front page of the New York Times, Ellen.
Thank you for writing this from your beautifully fierce, loving heart and articulate, gorgeous head.
Lord, but I love reading what you write.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
I love your fierce support!!! And as a former Memphian, the support of your once upon a time home. ❤️
Marie A Bailey
“We love our city. You would, too, if you knew what you were talking about.” What a perfect retort to anyone who denigrates Memphis, in particular anyone who has NEVER been there. I’ve never been to Memphis, but I reserve “judgment” until I go there. In the meantime, I happily take your word for it. Every city has its problems, but every city also has that which makes it shine.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Thank you for your trust in me, but you can see the stats: as of September, Memphis is on track to have the lowest crime rate in 25 years. Twenty-five years. Trump is sending troops into cities KNOWING they have dramatically falling crime rates so he can then point to the SAME crime rates and claim, I did this. And people will believe him because they have been saturated with the slandering of these cities.