Memphis NAACP – Memphis Flyer

State and local groups are denouncing the recent distribution of racist flyers promoting white supremacy groups in Memphis.

The flyers have been seen around the city in the past few days, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and The NAACP Memphis Branch. They allegedly show anti-immigrant images and are similar to ones seen recently in other Tennessee cities, Ohio, and Virginia.

CAIR said one flyer promotes the Ku Klux Klan. Another promotes “another white supremacist group.” Such flyers for Patriot Front have recently surfaced in other areas.

Public images of the flyers online are scarce. Some that were posted on social media were removed for their content. This was the case for the Ludlow (Kentucky) Police Department that said, “after some discussion we have decided to take down the flyer because it serves no real purpose but we will keep this post up.”

“We are aware and have already taken one report for this disturbing and disgusting KKK propaganda that is being passed around our community,” the agency said on Facebook. “This hateful garbage has been turning up in other cities as well.”

One flyer from the KKK shows Uncle Sam kicking people with the phrase, “Leave now. Self deport.” Another shows Uncle Sam with his foot on a cage full of people with the same phrase and, “Americans on guard. Help us protect our homeland.”

The NAACP described the distribution of the flyers as “cowardly acts.” Those responsible party’s “attempt to divide us will not succeed.”

“These actions are deeply offensive to the values of equality, unity, and justice that our community hold dear,” said NAACP Memphis Branch president Kermit Moore. “The circulation of such vile propaganda under the name ‘The Ram of the Knights’ seeks to intimidate, sow fear, and divide our city at a time we must come together to address critical challenges and uplift one another.

“The reprehensible act reminds us of the ongoing presence of hatred and racism that we must confront and dismantle with unwavering resolve.”

The group asked local leaders and agencies to condemn the flyers and asked local police to investigate the matter.

CAIR has condemned similar racist and white supremacist activity in Tennessee and around the country in recent years. The group echoed the sentiment of the NAACP.

“This type of hate propaganda will not succeed in intimidating or dividing the communities of Memphis or any other American city,” said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper.

A new coalition launched last week urging the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) toward a fossil-fuel-free future by 2030, but the provider aims to get there by 2050 to ensure low-cost and reliable energy.

Dozens of organizations formed the Clean Up TVA Coalition (CUTC) last week. It includes environmental, social justice, and political groups like the Memphis NAACP, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), the Sierra Club, Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light, the Center for Biological Diversity, and more

They formed CUTC in response to TVA’s move to replace coal-fired power plants in Kingston (East Tennessee) and Cumberland City (Middle Tennessee) with a new methane gas plant and 149 miles of new gas pipeline. Instead of investing in gas, the group wants TVA to invest in clean energy solutions to replace the coal plants.

“TVA is too reliant on fossil fuel energy and plans to continue to generate millions of tons of carbon,” said Pearl Walker, co-chair of the Memphis NAACP Environmental Justice Committee. “Households in the TVA footprint — especially Black, Brown, and low-wealth communities — will continue to be disproportionately burdened by high utility bills and dirty energy.”

In May 2021, TVA board members endorsed a plan to move toward net-zero emissions by 2050. The power agency has cut its carbon emissions by 63 percent since 2005. To get there, it added 1,600 megawatts of new nuclear capacity (the most of any utility in the nation, TVA said), added 1,600 megawatts of wind and solar capacity, planned to retire 8,600 megawatts of coal capacity by 2023, and invested more than $400 million to promote energy efficiency.

“The steps we’ve already taken operationally and financially have created a strong foundation for supplying cleaner energy without impacting reliability or low cost,” said Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO. “TVA is an industry leader in carbon reduction, but we aren’t satisfied. We are focused on increasing carbon reduction while maintaining our commitment to the low-cost, reliable energy our customers expect and deserve.”

TVA is on the path to cut carbon by 80 percent by 2035 without impacting TVA’s reliability or costs, Lyash said. It expects to retire all of its coal plants that year, using natural gas facilities as a “bridging strategy to effectively allow the addition of more renewable energy without impacting system reliability.”

But to get to net-zero carbon emissions will take new developments like energy storage systems, carbon capture, and advanced nuclear solutions.

President Joe Biden wants carbon-free electricity by 2035, according to an executive order he issued in December. Federal operations and federal procurements will be carbon-free by 2050, under Biden’s order.