mgraham, Author at Stand for Children Tennessee

A Moral Budget for a Safer Memphis

Moral Budget | 06/25/2023

Makenzie Graham Marketing and Communications Manager

In light of the persistent need to fund necessary community services in Memphis and Shelby County to improve our safety and wellbeing, the Moral Budget Coalition supports adding sustainable revenue to both the City and County budgets.

Conservative state laws and decades of fiscally conservative local leadership have limited our options for providing the resources we need to invest in under-resourced people and communities, so increasing property tax is one of the only remaining progressive avenues to raise our local revenue. As we have expressed in previous budget cycles, the Moral Budget Coalition supports efforts to raise revenue for both the city and the county to invest in public transit (MATA), affordable housing, school facilities, Regional One, youth programs, and other services that promote our health and well-being.

A budget is a moral document. Currently, our local budgets allot a disproportionate portion of funding to police and the criminal justice system, instead of expanding critical social services. In fact, the conservative revenue-neutral state law, along with a constant local focus on lowering the property tax rate, ensures that we will not keep pace with inflation, much less increase revenue required for expansion of critical services.

Lowering the property tax rate over the last 20 years has notably benefited the people living in areas that have seen the greatest increase in their property values (East Memphis, Downtown, Midtown, Poplar Corridor). Our under-resourced communities (majority Black) are left to suffer from the lack of investments in social services and supports that could drive economic mobility.

During the 2023 budget cycle, we led an email campaign on the City and County levels to urge City Council to vote to increase property taxes to fund healthcare and our public transit system, and to urge the County to increase property taxes to fund new schools and a hospital upgrade. Despite these efforts, both budgets were passed without property tax increases. Our work over the past three budget cycles has laid a solid foundation for more success in the future, and we look forward to continuing to work with Shelby County and the new Memphis administration to find ways to add sustainable revenue sources so we can fully fund the services that will contribute to our health and safety going forward.

Momentum Memphis Demands Integrity for Superintendent Search

Uncategorized | 06/22/2023

Tikeila Rucker Momentum Memphis Leader

At the beginning of the search a year ago, school board members committed to having a new, permanent MSCS Superintendent before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, and that the current interim–who has no background in education–would not be a contender for the position.

Now, the 2023-2024 school year is right around the corner, and we still do not have a new superintendent. With Board Member Sheleah Harris’ mid-meeting resignation and the unwarranted bans of five activists speaking on behalf of students, community trust in the School Board is at an all-time low. Instead of using the pause to reset and bring integrity into the process, the Board restarted the search by establishing new minimum qualifications that watered down important long-standing policy criteria. These changes would allow the current interim to be considered as a finalist despite failing to meet the original minimum criteria.

The Momentum Memphis Coalition is deeply concerned for our students as this process continues to be full of politics, power plays, and a disregard for community input. We will gather at the MSCS Board meeting on Tuesday, June 27 at 5:30 PM (in the back parking lot) to speak to these concerns and state our demands.

The Moral Budget Coalition Supports New County Investments

Uncategorized | 06/5/2023

Ron Davis Field Organizer

In 2021, the Moral Budget Coalition (MBC) united to advocate for the government budgets in Memphis and Shelby County to prioritize investments in people and communities, especially those in under-resourced areas. The Moral Budget Coalition has reviewed the new investments proposed in Mayor Harris’ budget for essential infrastructure improvements to Regional One Health and school capital projects that include bringing new high schools to Frayser and Cordova. We believe these investments align with our values and support a budget that prioritizes improving the quality of our public school systems and medical services.

New investments such as these sometimes require bringing in new revenue. The mayor has proposed increasing the wheel tax (motor vehicle registration fee) to provide the needed revenue this time. Since our founding, the MBC has been a strong proponent for generating new revenue, recognizing that conservative state laws and decades of fiscally conservative local leadership have limited our options for providing the resources we need to invest in under-resourced people and communities. Because this type of tax is regressive, we met with the mayor to identify opportunities that could limit the impact on those with the fewest resources.

We support the investments for Regional One and new schools. We support viable revenue options that fund these investments. The County Commission should not dismiss the current revenue solution without having a clear, viable solution to secure these investments that can achieve the votes needed to pass. We encourage all County Commissioners to vote to approve the wheel tax increase on its first reading at the June 5th meeting. This allows the Commissioners and the public to review and compare any alternatives that should arise at the meeting. If there is an equitable proposal that will limit negative impacts while showing viability and sustainability, we look forward to seeing that and comparing it to the wheel tax proposal.

Re-Elect Rep. Justin J. PEarson!

Elections | 05/26/2023

Cardell Orrin Executive Director

Representative Justin J. Pearson has shown us all that he’s ready to stand up for young people and bring Memphis’ voice to the Legislature, even in the face of immense opposition. After he and Rep. Justin Jones were unjustly expelled, Rep. Pearson continued to raise the consciousness of our state and country, even having the ear of the President and Vice President.

We need Rep. Pearson’s voice in the upcoming special session and beyond to protect our children from gun violence, fight for restorative justice and mental health support in schools, and push anti-poverty legislation to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. We know he’ll keep elevating important Memphis issues on the state and national levels during his whole term, and we’re proud to officially endorse Rep. Justin J. Pearson for District 86!

Celebrating Ninth Grade Success!

Freshman Success Network | 05/9/2023

Dr. Lori Oduyoye Director of the Center for High School Success

Ninth grade is a make-or-break year for students. If a student ends ninth grade “on-track,” meaning having successfully completed at least a quarter of the credits needed to graduate, they are 3-4 times more likely to graduate on time than their off-track peers. This session, our Center for High School Success team advocated for HB 1295, which would invest in targeted 9th grade student success supports, and it passed almost unanimously! This new investment will increase awareness of best practices to support 9th grade success across Tennessee, which will allow schools to set up systems that help our students finish their freshmen year on track and ultimately improve graduation rates throughout the state.

HB 1295 was one of the 2023 winners of EdTrust TN’s Ten for Tennessee award, and CHSS’ important work to increase freshmen on-track rates is featured on our website.

JSA Opposes MPD’s Juvenile Crime Abatement Team

Justice & Safety Alliance | 04/17/2023

Justice & Safety Alliance

On April 14, the Justice & Safety Alliance (JSA) shared a presentation with journalists
outlining a newly formed Juvenile Crime Abatement Team within the Memphis Police
Department (MLK50 Article). The JSA firmly opposes the plan outlined in this presentation, which is
now “on pause” after articles on the team’s existence were published. Our coalition of
community-based advocates demands further commitment from MPD that it will stop
the use of racial profiling and targeted task forces — for juveniles and adults.

Created by department leadership, this new specialized unit will end up racially
profiling, surveilling, and criminalizing young people based on racist generalizations
and failed stop-and-frisk policies. It is an intentional policing policy change focused on
Downtown Memphis and represents an egregious, racist conception of public safety that
would violate the civil rights of young people and undermine trust between the
community and law enforcement.

The timing of this announcement is particularly alarming, coming just months after a
SCORPION task force killed Tyre Nichols and just days after the City Council finished
passing a slate of community-supported police reforms. Despite clear and consistent
community calls to end pretextual stops, eliminate the use of plain clothes officers, and
disband specialized units, this Juvenile Crime Abatement Team:

● Creates a new specialized unit to target children,
● Allows for pretextual pedestrian stops that criminalize normal teen behavior, and
● Employs plain clothes officers to carry out these stops.

If they choose to implement this plan despite all of the community pushback, MPD will
further erode trust between law enforcement and the people they are supposed to
protect and serve.

We cannot allow policies and practices like these to persist in our city. Young people in
Memphis deserve better. They deserve a city that invests in their education and safety,
not one that puts them on a path to prison and family separation. We must work
together to build a city where young people, regardless of their race or income, can
thrive and reach their full potential. We remain committed to working towards justice
and safety for all in Memphis.

JSA Urges Public Officials to step down from Crime Commission

Justice & Safety Alliance | 04/6/2023

Local officials’ role on the nonprofit board presents a conflict of interest in their public service duties

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Monday, April 3, the Justice & Safety Alliance (JSA) sent an open letter to the local elected (and some appointed) officials who sit on the nonprofit board of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission (MSCC), urging them to step down and avoid conflicts of interest that could unduly influence their official service to the residents of Memphis and Shelby County.

The MSCC often presents and lobbies its viewpoint to public officials and bodies as a unilateral body. These viewpoints have traditionally been led by the particular perspective of MSCC staff leadership, as might be expected from an “independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.” By serving on the board, elected officials and justice-related appointees, whose offices would be greatly impacted by the MSCC’s recommendations, imply that they agree with and condone the Crime Commission’s views. This can limit the fair exchange of ideas as different viewpoints are expressed, which allows the MSCC an outsized position in the public discourse. The presence of decision-making officials on the nonprofit’s board directly contradicts the democratic principle that an elected official works for and represents ALL of the community they serve, instead of just one segment.

“The Crime Commission positions itself as fully representative of the community with an implied view that it is a public/private entity, when fundamentally, it is a nonprofit that supports an agenda that does not represent the interests of our entire community. There has been an implication that the MSCC presents objective data, research, and recommendations, when in reality, the nonprofit has traditionally presented data, ‘research,’ and recommendations that support their ideological perspective, which clearly prioritizes increasing incarceration and policing.” said Cardell Orrin, a representative of JSA.

The partner organizations of the JSA represent justice-impacted communities, young people, families, educators, faith leaders and practitioners, legal professionals, and workers. Together, we are formally asking the following elected and appointed officials to remove themselves from the MSCC’s Board of Directors: District Attorney Steve Mulroy, Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, County Mayor Lee Harris, County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, City Mayor Jim Strickland, City Councilman Frank Colvett, Police Chief CJ Davis, and U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz.

A copy of the JSA’s official letter to the elected officials currently on the MSCC board can be found at: https://justiceandsafetyalliance.org/open-letter-to-local-public-officials-on-crime-commission/.

Channeling grief into action

Current Events | 03/29/2023

Our hearts are with everyone who experienced The Covenant School shooting on Monday, March 27. Nothing will bring those children and educators back, but we can channel our grief and rage into action so gun violence stops being a “normal” part of school life.

Before we dive into actions, we encourage everyone to prioritize your mental health & remember, in the face of tragedy, you are never alone. If you or any loved ones need support, here are some resources to get you started:

Child Mind Institute: Helping Children Cope After a Traumatic Event: http://bit.ly/3nsRRbG
National Public Distress Helpline: http://bit.ly/3zdEMG6
- If you need to speak to a crisis counselor immediately, call or text 1-800-985-5990
Office for Victims of Crime (@OJPOVC) : http://bit.ly/3FWtU2O

As we discuss the “why” behind these tragedies and how we can prevent them in the future, we must state the obvious: gun violence would not exist without guns. TN’s irresponsibly lax gun laws are merely choices: the majority of our lawmakers are actively choosing to accept, allow, and enable gun violence with every vote they take to strip our gun laws and all the fear-mongering they push to sell more guns. In fact, Tennessee has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, and we’re now in a place where guns are the leading cause of death among Tennessee children and teens.

Despite the choices politicians make, Tennesseans across race, place, and background know our children’s worth. Our voices matter. Together, we can call on our current elected officials to enact meaningful change and elect future leaders who truly understand the value of our children. Join the call for common sense gun reform and connect with groups already engaged in the work: https://forwardtn.org/gun-safety/

Advocating for more resources that center students’ mental and emotional wellbeing are also equally as important when we talk about student safety. How students feel in school carries into how they feel in the world. If they don’t feel supported in the place that’s supposed to lay the groundwork for their future, we are setting them up to fail. But we still need to remind many lawmakers in our General Assembly that everyone—regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression and identity—deserves to see themselves represented in libraries and school curricula and feel a sense of belonging and safety.

While extremist lawmakers will try to use the shooter’s transgender identity as fuel for their hateful agenda, we know that transgender and gender non-conforming people are far more likely to be victims of gun violence than perpetrators. TN’s anti-trans, anti-drag, and school censorship laws will only add to the cycle of trauma, simply due to some lawmakers’ unfounded fear of identities they don’t understand. Take action to stop these bills from harming more students: bit.ly/edtrustaction

Regardless of the laws passed in Nashville, we know teachers and faculty are doing the best they can in supporting and teaching kindness to students. Providing students with the proper support and resources in schools AND changing gun laws is the only way to prevent these tragedies for good.

And we echo our partners: Safety does not mean increasing police presence in Black, Brown, and low income communities. It means passing common sense gun laws that protect our children and families from mass shootings and all other types of gun violence. It means passing trauma-informed and inclusive policies that create community and school spaces where everyone–regardless of race, class, gender expression and identity, sexual orientation, and ability–feels a sense of belonging and care.

We will keep The New Covenant students, staff, and families in our hearts as we continue to call for meaningful change from our current and future elected officials, so that no child, family, or educator experiences school gun violence again.

Stand and Decarcerate Fellowship Update

Who We Are | 02/16/2023

Paul Garner Regional Organizing Director

Since November 2022, Stand for Children and Decarcerate Fellows have been meeting weekly to deepen their deepen their skills and confidence as community organizers, plug into work we and our coalition partners are engaged with in the field, assist in deep-canvasing, attend City Council and School Board Meetings, and other community events.

After the last workshop, our fellows will never look at a blanket the same way again. This week our fellows worked together to accomplish a seemingly impossible task: flipping a blanket over while they’re standing on it. They worked together, strategized, and eventually implemented tactics to reached their goals. The real revelation came during our debrief when fellows shared stories about times they experienced challenges collaborating with others to reach a common goal. The exercise served as a jumping off point to discuss the challenges and solutions that often go hand and hand with working collectively to solve a problem and reach a shared goal.

Stay tuned for more updates from this next crew of community leaders!

Transit Equity Now!

Moral Budget | 02/16/2023

Ron Davis Field Organizer

Stand for Children fellows and volunteers held an action to celebrate Rosa Parks’ birthday and honor her legacy of advocacy and action for transportation equity. Through the work of the Moral Budget Coalition, we created a deep canvass designed to begin having conversations with people about the need for a community centered budgeting process, and how it could benefit public services like our public transportation system.

On Saturday, Feb. 4th, we went out to the Benjamin Hooks Library for our first deep canvass to give out hand warmers, talk to bus riders about their experience with MATA, and share our vision for a better transit system. This was many of our fellows’ first time participating in any type of canvass, and they were able to practice their skills and have deep conversations with riders. We captured some powerful stories about the hardships people face using our current public transit system. One of those stories, told by a local rider named Tim has been included below.

Tim’s Testimony

We look forward to continuing to have these conversations with people about their lived experiences, and we hope that these stories will compel our elected leaders to provide better funding and transparency that will make our vision for a better public transportation system possible.