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We kicked off our One Memphis town hall meeting this week; this series will tour monthly through all of our districts and will give our administration the opportunity to hear from you regarding the issues and concerns you are experiencing in your community. Stop one on the tour was the Whitehaven community, where Whitehaven High School graciously welcomed us into their space. And while we were saddened to hear that the Tigers lost a very close game to Collierville during the event, our community won big at the town hall.
The series is being spearheaded by Director Reginald Boyce, who leads our Office of Community Affairs. His energy, along with that of our senior staff and Council members Edmund Ford, Sr., Pearl Walker, and Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, provided the welcoming foundation, and Whitehaven showed up for it. I think we all expected a crowd - because Whitehaven always shows up - but what really resonated with me was the obvious commitment to creating a stronger Memphis from everyone in attendance. We heard from small and large business owners, parents, nonprofit organizers, and a couple of people whose stories chronicled the struggles faced by too many in our community. The struggle of having to choose between criminal activity or not being able to take care of family. I think we are all in agreement that this is a decision that no one in our community should have to face.
For those of you who attended the session - thank you. We heard you, and we are working to make the community safer, stronger, and more welcoming for you. And for everyone else - we will be in your neighborhood soon! (See below for more info.)
The other meeting getting a lot of press this week was a meeting I had with some local-area gang members. I asked for the meeting because we have to engage the subjects of our discussions if we really want to find sustainable answers to the problems we are facing. If we are talking about youth crime and we aren’t talking to the youth engaging in criminal acts, we are missing a piece of the puzzle. But some of the news stations have gotten the headline a little wrong - I didn’t go in with a major ask, and they didn’t make any demands. I did ask what it might take to get a 7-day cease-fire and what it would take to turn around some of their negative activity, especially as it related to their youngest members. And they were honest. They said they could agree to a cease-fire, but they would have to know that their rivals were in agreement, too. They expressed that they would like to see me and other leaders in their community speaking with them more often. They also told me that some of their younger members were stealing cars because they were bored, and stealing cars was fun. Let me restate that - they told me that this epidemic of car thefts, a central portion of our crime problem, is being fueled by kids who are looking for a bit of fun. As a father, that hits hard. As a Mayor, I know we have to do something radically different. We will continue to engage and find ways to change the outcomes in our City.
 Mayor Paul Young with Brian Clay of The Brian Clay Chronicles - Intelligent information & ideas for today's urban intellectual. (click image to view interview)
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