The political and social realities in Tennessee — and particularly in Memphis and Shelby County — are riddled with inequities that elected officials refuse to name.
Public statements from those in power often evade accountability, trading in optimism rather than truth. As a Black faith leader and community advocate, I don’t have that luxury.
For centuries, “State of the…” addresses have been moments where leaders inform the public, outline policies, and provide hope. But today, they are political spectacles — staged performances meant more to entrench power than to educate. In an era of manipulated algorithms and AI-driven disinformation, the danger of leaving the public misinformed is more pressing than ever. The societal and cultural ills we face — racism, fascism, white Christian nationalism, threats from President Donald Trump and the death of intellectualism — require truth-telling that no elected official seems willing, ready, or able to offer. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” That time is now.
The perils we face in Tennessee and Memphis
The state of our society is perilous. In Memphis and Shelby County, unchecked power, systemic neglect, and political cowardice define the landscape.
Policing in Memphis remains brutal and unjust. The U.S. Department of Justice’s report on the Memphis Police Department confirmed what many already knew — racial profiling, excessive force, and unconstitutional surveillance are not isolated incidents but ingrained practices.
Yet, despite these findings, leaders refuse to embrace real reforms. Gov. Bill Lee and state legislators have done nothing to address systemic abuses. Instead of investing in community-based safety initiatives, they continue to prioritize over-policing and mass incarceration.
Local leadership is just as ineffective. Mayor Paul Young and the Memphis City Council have not fully committed to meaningful transformation. Symbolic gestures are offered, but the same policies that led to the murder of Tyre Nichols in 2023 persist.
Economic disparities in Tennessee are deepening. Memphis remains one of the poorest metropolitan areas in the nation, with nearly one in four residents living in poverty. While developers and business elites secure multimillion-dollar incentives, everyday workers struggle to afford housing, health care, and basic necessities.
Lee’s administration has done little to alleviate these burdens, rejecting federal funding for essential services while keeping the minimum wage stagnant at $7.25 an hour. Meanwhile, Memphis and Shelby County leaders operate in austerity for public resources but in abundance for corporate handouts, funneling millions in tax breaks to developers who contribute nothing to the communities they displace.
Public education in Tennessee is under siege. The state legislature aggressively pursues privatization, diverting public funds to private and charter schools while weakening oversight.
Memphis and Shelby County are prime targets, as majority-Black school districts are first to be dismantled under the guise of “school choice,” and a limited school voucher plan that passed in 2019 only applied to Shelby and Davidson Counties.
Lee and state officials push vouchers and charter expansion, harming Black and low-income students while the instability within the Memphis-Shelby County School Board creates opportunities for state intervention. The goal is clear: weaken public education, siphon funds to corporate interests, and render Black children intellectually and culturally vulnerable. If our children are not taught their own history and denied critical thinking skills, their futures are predetermined.
A path forward rooted in truth and justice
In moments like these, I am reminded of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7. Facing death and desperation, they chose to move forward in audacious resistance rather than succumb to despair. Their courage led to unexpected deliverance — a lesson for us all.
We, too, must move forward with revolutionary audacity, even amid anxieties and uncertainties. This means calling out the lies and half-truths that dominate political speeches. It means telling our own truths — unapologetically and unrelentingly. The truth is that fealty to Trump is not just a political ideology; it is a spiritual sickness that has spread into every corner of our society, including Tennessee.
Racism and fascism are not relics of the past; they are shaping our present and threatening our future. White Christian nationalism is not about faith; it is about fear — fear of a world where Black people are no longer subjugated, fear of a justice that holds the powerful accountable and fear of a truth that cannot be silenced.
Our response must be prophetic. We must confront rogue policing with demands for systemic reform. We must counter economic exploitation by organizing for fair wages and policies that prioritize people over profits. We must resist the privatization of education by advocating for schools that empower rather than exploit.
A vision for collective liberation
Tennessee and Memphis demand a response, and that response must begin with us. It must start in our churches, our community organizations, our grassroots movements, and even at our kitchen tables. We must reject the empty rhetoric of political performances that offer hope without action, promises without plans, and rhetoric without resolve. Instead, we must organize, strategize, and mobilize. We must speak the truths that others are afraid to utter. We must build power—not just for survival, but for liberation.
As the four lepers showed us, it is better to risk the unknown than to accept the unacceptable. The state of Tennessee may be perilous, but it is not beyond redemption. If we move forward with courage, conviction and community, we can transform this moment of despair into a movement of deliverance. And that is a state of the culture worth fighting for.
