Category: Who We Are

Building off of the big success of last December’s Memphis Power Summit, we teamed up with The Equity Alliance and Memphis for All to kick off the Memphis Power Fellowship last month! For the past month, the Power Fellows have been deepening their understanding of the organizing and political landscape in Memphis and Shelby County by attending community events and trainings, including City Council’s Day at the Hall at the end of April. Through events like this, they’re learning who some of the key decision makers are and how community events operate, so they have a strong foundation for being effective change makers and amplifying community voice in passing policies that will make the future brighter for us all.

Over the next several months, the Power Fellows will learn about the interconnection of communication and organizing, and they’ll sharpen their skills in public communications, media relations, canvassing, mobilizing community members, and policy advocacy. They’re currently learning about crowd canvassing and how to write a script that engages people and keeps the conversation going about issues that impact our day-to-day lives. They’ll practice those skills at crowd and door-to-door canvasses during their time with us to get out the vote for our local elections, advocate for a moral budget, and other justice actions that arise throughout the year.

Keep an eye out for the Power Fellows, and stay tuned for more updates!

Many milestones of my life come in 5s and 10s, and besides turning 50 on Saturday, this year marks:

• 25 years back in Memphis
• 20 years in Memphis politics 
• 10 years at Stand for Children – Tennessee

Throughout these years, my greatest privilege has been working alongside countless brilliant adults and youth to build real, lasting community power that will bring the changes we need for a brighter Memphis where all of us – especially Black youth, families, and communities – have the chance to thrive and live our best lives. I’m extremely proud of the impact and work that we’ve built together at Stand for Children TN over the last 10 years.This year, I’m hoping you can help me mark these milestones in a big way! Please help me celebrate with a special donation of $50 (or any multiple of 10 or 50) for my 50th birthday and 10th year at Stand. With your continued support, we can keep building true power and liberate ALL Memphians from the status quo that has kept us down for too long.

This picture of me and my parents reminds me of how I learned early on that sitting out is never an option: my mom and dad lived and breathed activism and community engagement. 

After the assassination of Dr. King, my dad (later differentiated as Big Cardell) helped organize a weekly student walkout protest (Black Mondays) that ended up leading to the first Black Memphis School Board Members. With Momentum Memphis, the Moral Budget Coalition, and the Justice & Safety Alliance, we’re continuing the fight for education equity by dismantling the lingering effects of segregation through fully funded public schools, ensuring our students learn comprehensive and truthful history, and breaking the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Many of you may know (or have seen around) my mom, Susanne, a true force for social justice. As a kid, she “dragged” me and my sisters to school board meetings, marches, and protests all around Memphis to fight for justice, equity, and building parental power to make sure all students received a high-quality education. She not only instilled in me the importance of ensuring everyone has access to education and opportunity, but also the importance of community strength. Early in my Memphis political career, you might have even seen me and my mom on opposite sides of campaigns, as I charted my own path to change based on the values and independence she taught me. I’m proud to continue building power through our coalitions and supporting values-aligned candidates from our endorsement process (where you can usually find Susanne sitting on the endorsement committee).

My parents taught me that change doesn’t happen alone, and it doesn’t happen in silos. Since coming back to Memphis 25 years ago, my most meaningful work has been building power in coalition with changemakers across the city. As I shift into the old guy in the room, I also look forward to supporting great new leaders rising up in our community. Even though we still have a ways to go before reaching those changes that will really move Memphis forward, I know we can get there together.  

To celebrate my 50th birthday, 10 year Standversary, and the legacy we all carry forward towards justice, please consider donating $50, $10, $100, $250 (or any multiple of 10 or 50) to Stand for Children Tennessee. Together, we’ll be the power we need to create a flourishing Memphis and beyond, now and for future generations!

Many thanks to all those who have walked this path with me, supported me, challenged me, fought with me, and helped me learn and grow!

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!

Want to attend a Stand Tennessee event but don’t know how to find us? Follow these directions below:

Park in the Crosstown Concourse garage or the parking lot next to it. Please refrain from parking in the 2-hour and food drop off parking spaces as those spaces are reserved and monitored by security. 

Next, walk towards the entrance labeled “West.”

Once you’ve entered the building, you will be standing in the West Atrium. Next, walk straight towards the elevators. They are located at the end of the West Atrium entrance. (Note: You will pass the Christ Community Health Entrance on your way towards the elevators).

Once in the elevator, press the button for the 4th floor. When the elevator opens, you will see this sign pictured below:

At this sign, you will make a right and walk straight down the hallway, where you will see this sign:

Make a quick left and you will be outside of our office doors. Hit the buzzer located under the smaller Memphis Education Fund sign to the right. The receptionist will let you in and will notify us of your arrival.  

My name is Dominique Garrett and I am the new Memphis Communications and Community Engagement Manager with Stand for Children Tennessee. You may have received emails from me inviting you to attend community events across the city or alerting you to take action to make equity in education a reality in Shelby County Schools. For those of you I haven’t yet met, I wanted to take a chance to introduce myself.

I was born and raised in Memphis to two parents who started me off early on my educational journey. When I was very young, my parents subscribed me to National Geographic Magazine, which was the best gift ever at that time. Just seeing my name on a piece of mail in the early ages of my childhood used to light up my day! As I grew older, science became my favorite subject, and I participated in every science fair I could. I went on to graduate from Wooddale High School and later from the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I’m currently working on pursuing a master’s degree in Project Management … so wish me luck!!!

While my educational experience was enriching and fulfilling, that’s not what I witnessed every day within my community. While it was – and still is – a norm for my family members to be high school and college graduates, this is not the norm for many youths in my city. I soon realized that everyone did not have the same educational opportunities I had, so I started to work with non-profits that focused on educational advancement for Memphis students.

I chose to join Stand for Children because of the valuable impact we are making for the youth of Shelby County Schools and because of wonderful supporters like you! Without your dedication and advocacy, I would not be able to shine a light on the educational equity injustices our community is experiencing every day. It is because of your stories that we were able to influence Shelby County Commissioners to Fund Students First by providing funding towards pre-K, facility improvement, and transportation.

Now that you’ve learned more about me and my role at Stand, I hope you’ll connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And if you know of any community engagement events that we should be apart of, please email me directly at [email protected].

An activist in her own right, Frances McNeil has spent decades advocating for her children – and all children – to have access to the best education and opportunities available.

“I’ve always been passionate about children, I guess because I had a home daycare. I raised my children at home… kids came to us. I’ve always had kids in my life so I’ve always felt passionate about children and wanted them do well.”

– Frances McNeil

Frances is a mother of two, resident of the Frayser community, and relentless advocate for children, education and families in her community.

Frances first joined Stand almost two years ago at a funding rally downtown where we called on the City of Memphis to invest in public education. Two years later, she remains an active participant in our education advocacy and seeks to gain an understanding of changes that she can share with children, parents and families that she knows.

“I stay in Stand for Children because I really want the people with special education (needs) to be just like the rest of the students and receive a good education.”

– Frances McNeil

Frances connects her passion for advocacy back to her own experiences as a mother after years of challenging the status quo for special education students. If one principal had not reached out to her asking for her trust in him, and to provide her son with the education and resources he deserved, her faith in public education for students with special needs would have dwindled. This principal not only restored Frances’ faith in her son’s education opportunities, but his faith as a student once he was given more elective classes and opportunities to express himself.

As a member of the Stand family and Momentum Memphis Graduation Success Task Force, Frances is a key member of our team and driving force of our work. We are proud of Frances and her commitment to supporting youth and encourage all who can join us in fighting for educational equity.

As we prepare to close out 2018 and look back on our work during this year, we find much to celebrate. Our network of passionate staff, dedicated volunteers, engaged parents, and steadfast community leaders has had some significant achievements this year. Here are just a few:

• More than 4,300 people signed our Momentum Memphis pledge to promote youth opportunity and success.
• We partnered with Cami Anderson and the Discipline Revolution Project to launch the Memphis/Shelby County Discipline Reform Alignment Initiative, an alignment of efforts to implement and support discipline reform, restorative practices, and preventive measures in Shelby County Schools and the greater community. 
• Our co-hosted Fund Students First press conference and rally in June drew a strong showing of community support that helped result in the Shelby County Commission’s approval of $12.7 million in additional funding for Shelby County Schools.
• The Memphis Educational Equity Learning Series has reached more than 300 community members with featured discussions on everything from school discipline reform to charter schools.
• All ten of our endorsed candidates in the August 2 Shelby County general election won their respective races.
• We expanded the Memphis Freshman Success Network to 13 local public traditional and charter schools, and have hosted two network meetings with nearly 60 educators since September.
• Our Momentum Memphis Task Force members have been doing phenomenal work: meeting monthly to coordinate activities, attending school board meetings, contacting elected officials, organizing rallies, and generally pressing forward with the steady, hard work of improving the education environment on behalf of youth in Memphis and Shelby County. 

Our work is far from over; our staff and Task Forces have already charted the course for 2019. We will jump-start the new year with a discussion about trauma and the criminal justice system with the ACE Awareness Foundation and Michelle Kinder, Executive Director of Momentous Institute, on January 8. 

Join us in the new year and help make 2019 a banner year of change for our children.