Month: March 2019

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Women of Color in the Arts Co-Founder Kaisha S. Johnson Visits Memphis For Performing Arts Summit

Kaisha S. Johnson drops a reminder: “Memphis is a unique city with a unique history, but there are many cities and communities grappling with the same issues.”

The issues being grappled with begin with implicit bias that inhibits inclusiveness and equity in the arts. These problems plague other industries too, obviously, but as the co-founder, and founding director of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA), this is where Johnson’s efforts are focused. She’s coming to Memphis April 5-7, to facilitate conversations for the inaugural Memphis Performing Arts Summit, an event created by Memphis Performing Arts Coalition (MPAC).

“MPAC along with a lot of other organizations around the country, are all looking for change, right?,” Johnson says, laying the groundwork for subverted expectations. “The first step— We need to be on the same page in terms of language and how we think about things and how we express ourselves, right?” Right!

“So the first thing everybody thinks is,  ‘We need some kind of training,’ Johnson says. But that’s not where her story ends. “As an organization, my organization doesn’t think ‘training’ hits it on the head. Because we can’t ‘train away’ bias. We can’t train you ‘how to be’ 

in the world. What we do is facilitate conversations. We instigate dialogue so people can begin to think differently about how they work. To think differently about impact — the impact direct and indirect actions have on their colleagues. On their fellow humans. That’s the work we’re immersed in.

“A lot of people jump on the ‘We want to fix it,’ bandwagon, but maybe the fixes aren’t well thought out,” Johnson says regarding issues like equity and inclusiveness where ”fixes” can be just another expression of bias. “Our job is just getting everybody in the room that actually wants to be there. It’s the first critical step in initiating change.”

MPAC is a, “coalition of Memphis performing artists working in a collaborative way to engage our community to promote equitable and safe practices.”

Women of Color in the Arts Co-Founder Kaisha S. Johnson Visits Memphis For Performing Arts Summit

The Memphis Performing Arts Summit kicks off Friday April 5th, 5:30-8:00 with an introductory “meet and greet.”

Via MPAC:

Saturday April 6th or Sunday April 7th, 9am-4pm: Pick either day. We will be providing the same facilitated dialogue on both days, to reach as many people as possible. Limited to 40 attendees per day. On both days, we will have a delicious lunch at Caritas Village (not included; lunch prices range from $5-$10).

How do we create safer and more equitable spaces in our small companies, artists studios, as well as the major institutions in this city? With the right tools, artists can leverage their collective power to institute new practices that dismantle systems of inequities.Together we can harness our energy and engender a community of learning and sharing with a weekend of community action and professional development at Caritas Village.

Kaisha S. Johnson is Co-Founder and Founding Director of Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA), a national service organization dedicated to creating racial and cultural equity in the performing arts field. Johnson, who recently received the Sidney R. Yates Award for Outstanding Advocacy on Behalf of the Performing Arts from APAP, will guide our community through an anti-oppression and implicit bias dialogue as well as facilitate next steps on helping us implement fair practices in the community.

For more information about the Memphis Performing Arts Summit click here. 

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

What’s Us About? Dr. Marina Levina On 2019’s Most Intriguing Film

Lupita Nyong’o as Red in the climax of Us.

Jordan Peele’s provocative horror film Us is on track to break $100 million at the box office in its second weekend. It seems to be one of those rare moments when commercial and artistic success line up. I talked over coffee with Dr. Marina Levina, a scholar of horror at the University of Memphis’ Department of Communications and Film about the Us phenomenon. We went on at great length, so I was merciful and edited our conversation for clarity and (relative) brevity.

Do I have to say there will be spoilers? Because it’s wall-to-wall spoilers, so this conversation is best consumed after you see the film.

Dr. Marina Levina
I was excited to see this movie. I went to see it on opening night, because I knew my film students would want to talk about it immediately. On Monday, most of them did. They went to see it on opening weekend. It’s what everyone’s seeing and talking about. My Facebook page, which is my colleagues, media studies professors from all over, that’s all anyone is talking about.

Chris McCoy
It’s literally in your wheelhouse.

ML
I teach horror and monster films, and I write about monstrosity. It’s an interesting movie. It gave me a lot to think about it. It’s not as clear cut as Get Out. It’s more experimental. There were parts of it that worked for me, and parts of it that didn’t work for me. But it’s definitely something I’m thinking about every day.

CM
Me and Laura, my wife, have talked about it nonstop. I’ll wake up and we’ll have coffee and she’ll be like, “So, in Us…” What makes it so interesting?

ML
First off, it’s Jordan Peele, and Get Out was such a breaking point in the horror genre. A horror movie with a black filmmaker is significant. Unfortunately, that’s still significant. A horror movie that addressed the question of race in America, in academia, that’s all anyone was talking about for years, and still are. That sound you hear is dissertations being written about Get Out. And now you can add Us. The expectations were super high. It’s one thing to make a horror movie that’s scary. It’s another thing to make a horror movie with ideas and analogies. Academics always like those movies. For me, it was not a scary movie. But then again, I am very hard to scare at this point. I’m sure other people found it more jumpy. What was interesting to me is, I hate the home invasion genre. It is the only genre of horror movies that genuinely spooks me. It gives me heebe jeebies. I avoid them as a rule, and I was kind of leery about going to see Us, because it looks like a home invasion movie. But it really wasn’t a home invasion movie. It was something different.

CM
It was like he was cycling through horror subgenres every fifteen minutes or so. It’s like a home invasion movie, but it’s an awkward dad comedy for fifteen minutes.

ML
Peele’s movies are genuinely funny. But it’s interesting that it sort of displays the question of race in some way, shape, or form. I guess the race of the characters is important. But that’s not the point. It is important how unimportant it is. It is definitely subversion in a horror movie for black characters to be a well-to-do family. Usually, you see those characters in an impoverished area with gang violence. This is an upper middle class family who can afford a summer home and a boat, who hangs out in Santa Cruz, which is super white. I used to go to Santa Cruz. I loved that it was Santa Cruz, because it’s the same roller coaster from The Lost Boys…there are references to the 80s throughout the movie.

The boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California as seen in the 1986 vampire horror classic The Lost Boys.

It engages race, but at the same time it displaces race. At some point I was expecting to see that the white characters didn’t have a Tethered. It would only be the black characters who had a Tethered. But when everyone did, it was really, really surprising. To me, the best way to think about this movie is as a companion piece to Sorry To Bother You. I think there are certain similarities, with the black people being immersed in white culture—the “white voice” that sort of permeates these black characters lives…Someone pointed out that they didn’t have any questions about calling the police. I kept waiting for the moment when it became a thing, but it never became a thing.

CM
Because that’s not what this movie is about.

ML
It’s such a subversion of expectations…In Sorry To Bother You, it’s a more overtly political critique of capitalism and the white establishment.

CM
It’s more overtly science fiction as well.

ML
It has that same sort of surreal element. In Sorry To Bother You, you have these horse people who are underground. In this, we have the Tethered. Who created them? It’s never really explained. But who would have the money? Who would it benefit? There’s this larger conspiracy framework to it.

Whatever we’ve built, we always built on the backs of others. It’s easy to say that these others are people who we don’t have to pay attention to. But they’re not. They’re us. At any moment, it could be us. The flip at the end, that’s what that’s indicative of. It is us on whose backs everything is being built.

CM
We think we’re the upper class, but we’re really not.

ML
Do we really think that any more? I keep trying to think of this movie in the context of the Trump administration. I don’t really know what to make of it in that context, but I think it’s like when [Lupita Nyong’o] says, “We are Americans”.

CM
It drops like a bomb at just about the middle of the movie.

ML
I think it’s definitely about exploitation and otherness. Whatever it is that’s happening, this Make America Great Again. It’s about the myth of this nation, its success, built by the strength of individuals, is not really true. It’s always, perpetually, in a capitalist system, about the exploitation of others. I think that’s where he was going with it. I don’t think it was always clearly articulated enough, almost on purpose, but it’s this idea that we think we are not the oppressed, but we are. We don’t think we oppress anyone, but we do.

CM
I’m not sure he really knew what he was doing—and that’s when the best art happens. We don’t know, and authorial intent doesn’t really matter. But I think the best art comes when the artist is pursuing an idea that they don’t fully understand. You discover what the meaning is, for yourself and for everyone else, during the process.

ML
That’s the work that media scholars like myself do. It’s something I tell to students. This is not auteur theory. We don’t really care about Jordan Peele’s intentions. But it’s interesting to consider. He’s in a unique position as a black man in Hollywood. He himself becomes a part of the text.

Right now, I am writing a book on cruelty. I just got my research assistant to collect everything written on Us in the last week. I think it’s going to become part of the book. What do we do to others when we don’t think about it?

CM
Who do we have permission to be cruel to?

ML
Yes. And what is considered to be cruel? That’s how I’ve been thinking about it. Not every act of violence, not every law, not every discourse, is considered to be cruel. What is the cultural thing that happens that makes a certain act cruel? For example, when we talk about border policy, and we’re locking kids in cages. People are saying, Oh my god, this is cruel? And it is. But you know what is really cruel? Locking human beings in cages. It shouldn’t just be about kids. It should be about human beings. But it’s cruel because it’s kids. Others, we’re OK with that. We have a system of mass incarceration that locks adults in cages, and we are cool with it. But not kids. We have these delineations in society about whose lives matter and whose doesn’t. Whose experiences are validated and whose aren’t. And I think that’s what Us is fundamentally about. To whom can we do what things to? At what point does it come back and bite us in the behind?

Categories
Intermission Impossible Theater

Expansion, Upgrades Result in Abbreviated Season at Theatre Memphis

Theatre Memphis’ 100th anniversary is on the horizon and big changes are afoot. But first, a somewhat smaller 2019-20 season. When TM hosts its grand re-opening in August, 2020, patrons will enjoy expanded restrooms and common areas, additional service areas, and more.

And if the new season is somewhat abbreviated by the renovations, it’s also crowd-pleasing. Mamma Mia! AND Cats back to back on the main stage with only A Few Good Men in between?  That should fill seats and make people very thankful for the expanded bathroom facilities to come.

Mamma Mia!

Cats at Theatre Memphis, 2006

August 16 – September 8, 2019
Set on a Greek island and to the music of the international pop group ABBA, a young girl plans her wedding while trying to discover who of three men may be her father … all to the distress and ultimate joy of her mother.

Cats
October 11 – November 3, 2019
Based on the book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, will follow in the season line up with striking choreography and memorable tunes by Andrew Lloyd Webber. In this most-loved musical the scene is set in a large rubbish area which, after dark, becomes alive with cats of all types, shapes and sizes gathering for the Jellicle Ball, during which one cat will be allotted an extra precious life. Cats is heralded as one of the longest running shows on Broadway and includes the remarkable tune, “Memory”.

A Christmas Carol
December 6 – 23, 2019
A special holiday offering in December for the 42nd consecutive year at Theatre Memphis.
—————————
Little Women
Returning to the Next Stage
July 10 – 21, 2019
A sold out run during the 2018-19 season prompted the return of the classic which has been adapted and directed by Jason Spitzer. Though not part of the season membership, members will be afforded discounts on the adult full price ticket.

A Few Good Men.
September 13 – 29
Next Stage
An apathetic military lawyer is assigned to the case of two Marines charged with the murder of a fellow squadron member at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. An Internal Affairs legal ace thinks there is something amiss and pursues justice as the defendants refuse a plea bargain. The facts come out and lead to a court martial courtroom showdown that exposes the truth.

Ruthless! The Musical
November 8 – 23, 2019
Next Stage
[Ruthless!] satirize[s] old movie classics like The Bad Seed and All About Eve. The plot reveals a talented eight-year-old, Tina, who declares her show biz ambition. Enter Sylvia St. Croix, an overbearing, sleazy talent agent with a secret who encourages her to audition for the school play. Tina “accidentally” hangs her major rival to get the part … only to be sent up the river and swept aside by her mother, Judy Denmark, who finds her own voice and soars to stardom. Once Tina is released from incarceration, she returns for her own revenge with dreams of a comeback and more murderous

Categories
News News Blog

City Council-Supported Gym Tax Repeal Advances to Governor’s Desk

CREDIT: YMCA

YMCA

A piece of legislation that would eliminate a 10 percent tax on small fitness centers in the state and that is largely supported by local officials passed in the Tennessee Senate Thursday.

The legislation, HB1138, would do away with the 10 percent amusement tax on small fitness centers, those under 15,000 square feet. The tax currently applies to gyms and studios providing exercise, athletics, or other fitness services such as cross-training, ballet barre, yoga, spin, and aerobics classes.

If the proposed legislation becomes law, the tax would still apply to facilities such as country clubs, golf courses, and tennis clubs.

The bill passed with a 28-1 vote in the state Senate Thursday, after moving through the House last week with a 95-0 vote. The legislation has to be signed by Governor Bill Lee to take effect.

The move to eliminate the tax was backed by the Memphis City Council through a resolution last month. The resolution, co-sponsored by council Chairman Kemp Conrad and Councilman Ford Canale, passed unanimously.

Conrad said the council is “thankful for the work of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the local fitness community, and Representative Mark White (TN-83) who was a champion for this cause.”

“The repeal of this antiquated disincentive for small businesses and those wanting a healthier lifestyle is a win for all Memphians, and all Tennesseans, whether as operators or patrons of local fitness, wellness, and recreation opportunities,” Conrad said. “We appreciate the state legislature having acted in the interests of promoting healthy activity in our communities.”

Canale, who chairs the council’s government affairs committee, applauded the governor for including the repeal in his proposed 2020 budget, saying “healthier outcomes for Memphians is a priority of ours and we seek to encourage wellness for all citizens.”

The move has also been supported by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Shelby County Commissioner Brandon Morrison, and local small gym owners.

Tennessee’s adult obesity rate was 32.8 in 2017, making Tennessee the 15th-most obese state in the country, according to a report released in 2018. The report, called the “State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America,” also found that 30 percent of Tennessee adult residents are not physically active, 13.1 percent have diabetes, and 38.7 percent have hypertension.

The study, an effort by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, used body mass index and other data from the Centers for Disease Control to identify obesity rates.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Bill Barring Cities From Regulating Single-Use Plastic Passes House; Some Hope for Relief Next Year

House Bill 1021 (Senate Bill 431), which prohibits local governments from regulating, prohibiting, or applying fines to single-use plastic items like straws and retail sacks, made it through the state Senate on Thursday fairly handily, by a vote of 23-7, thereby dismaying various environmental organizations who have deplored the deleterious effects of plastic litter on the natural environment.

But opponents of the bill had some hope that that relief might be on the way next year.

Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis)

Among the minority of senators protesting the bill was Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), who said she understood the argument for uniformity of various policies under overriding state authority. But she observed that state government had not set any policy on the matter of plastic litter disposal. And she deplored the increasing tendency of state government to “take away local control” of matters which local legislative bodies have been elected to keep a close watch on. “We shouldn’t get in other people’s kitchens when we don’t know the recipe,” she said.

Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) agreed with Akbari, noting that every year the General Assembly seems to approve more “pre-emptive” measures.

Two East Tennessee Republicans added at least some moral support for Akbari and Yarbro. Senator Frank Nicely (R-Strawberry Plains) told a story about a friend in the cotton business who complained about plastic litter getting into cotton fiber and spoiling various products. “Yellow Dollar Store bags are worst of all,” he said.

And Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), calling himself a “retro guy” favoring paper products for the sundry items now using plastic, said he would not object to the current bill and promised to introduce legislation in the next session that would set a so far nonexistent state policy on the issue.

Elaborating, Briggs says he’s going to consult the National Conference of State Legislators this summer for an idea as to what other states have done. He indicated he favored some sort of ban or restrictions on the use of plastics and invited the Sierra Club and other conservationist groups that opposed the bill passed on Thursday to “buy into” his proposal.

Asked about the prospect of legislation such as what Briggs suggested for next year, Senate Republican leader Jack Johnson indicated that the major issue resolved by the bill’s passage was avoidance of contradictory policies by local governments that might affect companies’ doing business in Tennessee, and that a uniform state policy on environmental issues might be worth consideration. (Briggs had said he wanted to hold businesses to their claim of favoring a uniform state policy as against scatter-shot local measures. Yarbro welcomed the statement as a counter to the Senate majority’s “hypocrisy,” but defined the main issue as being “controlling the locals vs. local control.”

Asked about Briggs’ suggestion, Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, the Senate speaker, was lukewarm at best, saying that he would probably be hesitant about favoring such a state measure, on grounds that a restrictive state police on use of plastics might increase the price of items to the consumer.

In any case, for at least a year, the state ban will hold. SB 431 is identical to the House version, already passed by the other chamber.

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Spend An Uplifting Evening With Memphis Filmmaker Ben Siler

Memphis experimental film auteur (and occasional Memphis Flyer contributor)  Ben Siler is one of the most fascinating talents this community has produced. Siler’s short films range from the heady to the confessional to the downright weird. His editing is impeccable, and he’s never afraid to tell you exactly how afraid he is.

On Friday, March 29th, Cooper-Young Gallery and Gifts will put on a retrospective of Siler’s work. Beginning at 6 p.m., the gallery will screen a curated collection of the dozens of short film Siler has produced and directed over the last decade. Curator Joel Rose says the films will screen in an art gallery environment, and “you can move freely around the rest of the shop, like an art opening.” Siler will be on hand to meet and greet and answer questions, of which I am sure there will be many. Hopefully, he will also give life advice, like he does in this short film, directed by Robby Grant.

Spend An Uplifting Evening With Memphis Filmmaker Ben Siler

I don’t know exactly which films Rose and Siler have selected for this retrospective, but I will never pass up a chance to share this film. An Indie Grant-funded collaboration with director Edward Valibus Philips, and actors Jessica Morgan and Alexis Grace, “On The Sufferings Of The World” has a unique look that came about when Phillips took his cut and Siler’s cut and superimposed them on each other. It packs more story and characterization into a wordless four minutes than most blockbusters. Watch it now, or regret it later.

On the Sufferings of the World from Edward Valibus on Vimeo.

Spend An Uplifting Evening With Memphis Filmmaker Ben Siler (2)

Categories
News News Blog

Community Group Plans March in Protest of Memphis 3.0

A community group in one North Memphis neighborhood has plans to protest on Saturday in opposition of the Memphis 3.0 plan.

The New Chicago Community Partnership Revitalization community development corporation said Thursday that the action, dubbed the “Stop Gentrification 901 March,” is meant to dissuade the Memphis City Council from passing the ordinance approving the comprehensive plan.

“African-American communities in Memphis will march against approval of Memphis 3.0 because we need capital investments, affordable housing, tax incentives, and jobs; not bike lanes and housing that prices us out of our neighborhoods,” the group said in an email.

In a Wednesday Facebook post, Carnita Atwater, president of the New Chicago CDC encouraged attendance of Saturday’s protest: “This opposition against the Memphis 3.0 Plan is too important to sit at home and just talk about it. React as if your life depends on it…and IT DOES if you want to stay in the city of Memphis!

Atwater also said the group is planning a march “in every black neighborhood across this low-down, disrespectful city until justice is served in this city. WE WILL NOT BE QUIET AND WE WILL CERTAINLY will pull the rug from over these low-down city leaders that think that black lives do not matter.”

[pullquote-2] The march is slated for Saturday, March 30th at 9:00 a.m. beginning at the New Chicago CDC headquarters on Firestone. 

Last week more than two dozen New Chicago residents attended the city council meeting to oppose the council’s passing of the plan. As a result, the council delayed the vote until its April 2nd meeting.

Atwater also said last week that she would be filing a $10 billion lawsuit against the city because the plan was not inclusive to North Memphis.

Atwater said Thursday that she is still in the process of filing that lawsuit, as “that’s the only thing that will stop these people.”

“The basis for the suit is racial disparity,” Atwater said. “It’s very clear it’s not inclusive. Why would you pass a plan and there’s no specific details for what they will do for African-American communities that look like war zones. It’s not a black thing or a white thing, but a human rights thing.”

But, Ursula Madden, chief communications officer for the city, said that Atwater “has been a part of the conversation” and that “the city has met with her on numerous occasions.”

[pullquote-1] “It’s unfortunate that Ms. Atwater feels this way,” Madden said in a statement. “Over the last two years, over 15,000 Memphians took the opportunity to share their ideas, any concerns and actively participated in the planning process for Memphis 3.0.

“The New Chicago neighborhood is one of many anchors in our plan and the New Chicago Community Partnership Revitalization CDC is listed as one of our community planning partners based on this group’s input in the plan.”

The Memphis 3.0 plan, which has been in the works for the past three years, is a comprehensive guide for future development and investments in the city, officials have said.

The plan details specific strategies for nurturing, accelerating, or sustaining certain neighborhoods within the city’s 14 planning districts.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Jerry’s Causes Stir with Orange Shirt

CREDIT: Jerry's, Facebook

Jerry’s, Facebook

Jerry’s Sno Cones, the beloved purveyor of frozen treats, upset some true-blue tigers fans when they posted an orange (UT) Jerry’s shirt on Twitter. Calls for a boycott were made.

“I got a bunch of girls, you know — hundreds of them for years,” says David Acklin of Jerry’s. “They really wanted an orange T-shirt to take back. They want to take a piece of Memphis.”

(They also have a blue shirt.)

Claims were made that Jerry’s Twitter account was then deleted. Acklin denies this but says he’s not social media savvy. He says that they blocked those who were not followers and those who were being overly rude and using crass language.

Jerry’s Causes Stir with Orange Shirt

“We didn’t shut down Twitter,” he says. “We didn’t want it to be used as a platform for people to be hateful to each other.”

Ultimately, says Acklin, he’s heartened by the fervor of Memphis fans.

“We want Memphis football to do well; we want soccer to do well, and we want people to show up no matter. Whether we’re losing or not, show up.”

Acklin adds that they adding a new sno cone called Eye of the Tiger tomorrow. What’s the flavor?

“We’re still working on it,” he says. 

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Conley Regains Griz Scoring Record: How Long Will He Stay?

Mike Conley’s time in Memphis is possibly coming to an end. If it does, he’ll go out as the team’s all-time leading scorer, which is a fitting accomplishment.

Although the Grizzlies fell short Wednesday night in a pseudo-road game against the Golden State Warriors in a FedExForum filled with faux-Warrior fans, Conley was able to regain the franchise’s all-time scoring record with a corner three-pointer in the first quarter.

Conley, who also leads the franchise in assists, steals, three-point field goals, and games played, joined LeBron James and Reggie Miller as the only players ever to lead in all those categories for their respective franchises.

Conley was a late-bloomer scoring-wise over his career, after struggles to be productive early. As a young player, he was often the butt of fan and media jokes, but Conley went from being the third to forth option on teams that had some combination of Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol to the team’s number-one option in recent years. His longevity, combined with his production, has now placed him among the franchise’s all-time greats.

But now, Conley has a cloud of uncertainty floating over his head, as he is constantly the subject of trade rumors — even as early as NBA Draft day — after not being moved at this year’s trade deadline. There are those who believe the Grizzlies will, in fact, move Conley either around the draft or at some point before next season’s trade deadline, the thought being that another team looking to re-tool going into next season might be willing to give more for Conley than the offers that were presented to the Grizzlies this season.

The Lakers, Jazz, Pistons, Pacers, and Magic seem to be the most likely candidates, based on previous interest in Conley, as well as speculative looks into their roster make-up, needs, and draft placement. Conley’s recent scoring production has made him look like a much more desirable player. There are those who say that Conley might even be “auditioning” or showcasing his abilities to a league-wide audience because he might not be opposed to the possibility of leaving Memphis via trade.

There are two ways of looking at his situation. There’s the obvious benefit of having Conley back next season, especially if the Grizzlies are not able to convey the draft pick they owe to Boston. A team that consists of Conley, Jackson, Anderson, Brooks, and some combination of the players acquired via trade this season could not only be good enough to convey the pick, but possibly be good enough that the pick lands high enough that it might not sting so much to lose it.

There is also the thinking that not only should Conley not have to be forced to be a part of a team that is clearly rebuilding, but that the Grizzlies shouldn’t try to rebuild on the fly, and keep Conley in the process. This kind of clean break would force the team — and the fans — to embrace life after Grit ‘n Grind, of which Conley is now the lone survivor.

Regardless of what the Grizzlies end up doing with Conley between now and the near future, it is great to see him cement his place in team history. His hard work, dedication, and loyalty to the franchise, his teammates, and the city has placed him where he belongs — on top.

Categories
News News Blog

Report: Memphis Sees Gentrification Without Displacement

CREDIT: TDOT

TDOT

A recent study showed that from 2000 to 2013 six different census tracts in Memphis were gentrified.

The report, “Shifting Neighborhoods: Gentrification and Cultural Displacement in American Cities,” was released last week by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), a grassroots organization that works to create opportunities for people to build wealth.

The NCRC identifies gentrified neighborhoods as areas with lower incomes and home values that see new investments and amenities, leading to increases in median home values, educational attainment, and income levels.

The study assessed the educational level and economic status of residents, and the value of properties in the neighborhood at the beginning of the census period, then assessing changes in the next U.S. census.

In Memphis, gentrification largely took place in census tracts in zip codes 38105 and 38103 Downtown, as well as 38107 in North Memphis, 38106 South Memphis, and 38109 near the state’s southern border.

Over the 10-year period, the combined average household income in the five neighborhoods increased by about $14,000. The total percentage of residents with a bachelors degrees also rose by more than 50 percent. 

[pullquote-1]

“Gentrification is a powerful force for economic change in our cities, but it is often accompanied by extreme and unnecessary cultural displacement,” the report reads. “As these rising costs reduce the supply of affordable housing, existing residents, who are often black or Hispanic, are displaced.”

“This prevents them from benefiting from the economic growth and greater availability of services that come with increased investment. Gentrification presents a challenge to communities that are trying to achieve economic revitalization without the disruption that comes with displacement.”

Though the study found evidence of gentrification here, it did not report any cultural displacement during the time period surveyed. This means that no population of a single race group in any of the neighborhoods decreased by more than five percent.

In Nashville, the study sites that between 2000 and 2010 there were three neighborhoods that underwent gentrification. But unlike in Memphis, one of the three areas saw cultural displacement with close to 14 percent of the black population moving out during that time period, while the white population almost tripled from 501 to 1,345.

Meanwhile the median home value nearly doubled from $82,800 to $191,400 there.

National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Number of areas gentrified in American cities

Across the country, of the 11,196 census tracts the study looked at, 1,049 tracts or about 9 percent of them saw gentrification and in 22 percent or 232 of the areas, cultural displacement was also evident.

Washington, D.C., saw the highest levels of gentrification, followed by San Diego, New York City, Albuquerque, and Atlanta.