A Seat at the Table.....The Public Service Announcement

I wonder does Mayor Strickland listen to Solange because his latest plan for the city of Memphis may have offered city residents "A Seat at the Table"(The name of Solange’s new Album… Definitely worth the purchase or legal download Lol)Mayor Strickland recently announced ‘Community Conversation’ as a series created to engage the people of Memphis in conversations dealing with social issues and for him to learn the needs of each community.

This series comes as a continuation of Mayor Strickland’s pledge on continuing dialogue after the protest in July of this year. On July 10, 2016 members of the Memphis community marched from the FedEx Forum to the I-40 Bridge, shutting down the bridge for hours and demanding that their voices be heard on the issues.

With all the complaints and concerns about the current and future state of the city these conversations can be viewed as a start in the right direction on handling issues. I’ve always believed that the responsibility of what happens is a shared one. We can’t have so much to say without action and we can’t expect for one person to make things better for us. If we don’t want someone in office we must vote, if we want change we must create an environment for it, and demand that the officials we elect do their part. My hopes for the meetings is that everyone is on the same page during these conversations. There should be no disrespect being displayed and people genuinely voicing their concerns. It should be taken seriously because it is serious. Let's not lose sight of the purpose.

I personally want to know why is Memphis so far behind in comparison to other major southern cities? Why the suburban neighborhoods located in Memphis have more opportunity, larger influx of capital, deemed as safer, and have phenomenal infrastructure when they are right down the street?

The First conversation is scheduled to take place in Frayser hosted by the Frayser Community Development Corporation on Oct. 25th at MLK Prep, 1530 Dellwood from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. All meetings will be administered by community development corporations throughout the city. Future dates and locations will be announced upon finalization.   

I look forward to running into some familiar faces during these meetings!​