Protesters and police officers face off during the 2016 Hernando de Soto bridge protest
A coalition of local nonprofit leaders wrote an open letter to local officials and business leaders, listing steps to address police issues and poverty in the city.
The letter, signed by more than 100 leaders of nonprofits here, lists eight demands related to police brutality and accountability, as well as five demands for tackling poverty in Memphis.
“We have come together as black leaders of the nonprofit space to amplify the cries and demands heard in our streets and around the country,” the letter reads. “Joined by our non-black colleagues in leadership, we demand more of our city’s leadership. We see the direct impact of racism and oppression daily.”
Specifically, the letter asks the following:
• Release all of the protesters that were arrested and drop all charges; investigate law enforcement brutality and misconduct during the recent protests
• Reallocate funding from the police department to fund alternatives rooted in community health and crisis response
• Ban chokeholds and strangleholds by Memphis and Shelby County law enforcement officers
• Require de-escalation as a first response by Memphis and Shelby County law enforcement officers
• Develop a duty to intervene when an officer witnesses another officer using excessive force
• Require reporting by officers any time they point a firearm at a citizen
• Give the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) the power to investigate and ensure accountability for police conduct and provide clear avenues for CLERB’s input on police training, policies, and procedures
• Include grassroots black and brown leaders and activists on the team selecting the next MPD chief
Next, the letter lists five demands to address inequality and poverty, explaining that the systemic issues go beyond policing.
“From education to wages, we have constructed and perpetuated a system that keeps our residents in poverty,” the letter reads. “We call on leadership in all sectors — government, nonprofit, and corporations — to adopt an agenda that addresses these issues. It will require doing businesses differently and centering the lives, dreams, and concerns of all of our residents.”
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The specific asks include:
• Combat poverty by tracking companies paying a living wage and having corporations sign on to a living wage pledge and a commitment to give temporary employees health insurance and benefits
• Renew investment in K-12 in the city budget
• End money bail and stop penalties for traffic tickets, court costs, and other fines
• Enact a citizen participatory budgeting process for the city and county that prioritize neighborhood-level investments
• Release a clear plan for more effectively funding the Memphis Area Transit Authority by August
“We believe deeply that the leadership in our city wants a city where all residents are treated with dignity and humanity and are provided opportunities to become thriving citizens,” the letter reads. “For us to get there, we ask the leaders in government and business to respond to these demands with clear commitment to ACTION.”
The letter calls for the recipients to respond with clear action steps by June 26th. Read the full letter and see the list of signees below.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, local organizations, leaders, and businesses have issued their own statements on racial inequality and support for protesters.
University leaders here largely spoke out against injustice in statements to their campus communities.
Carol Johnson, interim president of LeMoyne-Owen College, a historical black college, said this week that the struggle to achieve racial and economic equity is why HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) exist.
“There is more important work before us than reimagining our college community as a place where students are academically and socially prepared to confront injustice and lead the revolution of ideas, research, and policies that will eliminate racism and senseless harm,” Johnson wrote in a letter to students and faculty. “This is certainly beyond a single incident, or police department, but rather what we experience daily is embedded in a set of system structures that transcend multiple sectors and must be dismantled by those we educate. We can no longer ignore or tolerate injustice, if our students are to succeed.”
Read her full letter to the campus community below.
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Christian Brothers University president Jackson Shannon also sent a letter to CBU’s students and faculty this week. In it, he said the death of Floyd has “compelled us to confront how we, as a nation, continue to fall too short of the goal of a fair, equitable, and inclusive society in America.”
Shannon said any attempt to make sense of Floyd’s death is a “futile exercise, as it was both utterly senseless and totally unjustifiable.”
CBU has long been committed to advocating for equity, Shannon said, as “fostering a supportive, inclusive, and equitable community is at the very core of who we are as Lasallians.”
Shannon said as president, it is his role to facilitate a deeper and broader campus conversation about the issues raised by the senseless deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others.
M. David Rudd, president of the University of Memphis, said in a statement this week that the recent national events have revealed “some ugly and enduring inequalities in American society, sparking anxiety, upset, and outrage.”
“As an institution of higher education in one of the most diverse communities in America, our university is committed to being part of the solution,” Rudd said. “We are a place of hope, healing, and healthy debate, We have an identified set of core values that embrace fairness, equity, and justice, and we are committed to living those on a daily basis, particularly when they are most needed.”
Dozens of Memphis Restaurants, Organizations Show Solidarity With Black Community (3)
The Memphis Grizzlies said in a statement that the organization “stands squarely in opposition to racism and injustice,” condemning “all acts of violence.
“It is ingrained in our culture and part of our ethos, and we are going to build on established initiatives in our community,” the statement reads.
The Memphis Grizzlies stand squarely in opposition to racism and injustice.
Dozens of Memphis Restaurants, Organizations Show Solidarity With Black Community (12)
Memphis-based businesses International Paper and FedEx also joined the conversation.
"There is no place in our company, or in society, for racism or any form of discrimination," Mark Sutton, our Chairman and CEO, said in a letter to global team members Monday. pic.twitter.com/bLihgdRtlO
Dozens of Memphis Restaurants, Organizations Show Solidarity With Black Community (4)
More than a dozen local restaurants also shared messages of solidarity and black screens for #blackoutTuesday, a social media movement meant to bring awareness to injustice and police brutality.
Dozens of Memphis Restaurants, Organizations Show Solidarity With Black Community (27)
A protest in response to the recent deaths of black people in this country that was meant to be silent and peaceful Wednesday night escalated when counter-protesters showed up with Confederate 901 signs.
A video of the event posted to Facebook by local activist Hunter Demster shows close to 100 people gathered on Union Avenue in front of a Memphis Police Department station, protesting the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.
About 50 police cars surrounded the demonstrators, who chanted “No justice, no peace, no racist police” and “black lives matters.” On the other side of the street, a handful of counter-protesters responded with “police lives matter” chants.
At one point the crowd kneels down repeating “I can’t breathe,” a reference to Floyd who died after a Minneapolis police officer restrained him by placing his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for several minutes. In a viral video, Floyd can be seen telling the officer he can’t breathe several times before passing out.
Two arrests have been made by MPD as a result of the protest.
Here is a video posted by Demster capturing a portion of tonight’s events, which are still ongoing.
Protest Responding to Deaths of George Floyd, Others Shuts Down Union
Memphis Police officer Bridges McRae, who was videotaped beating transgendered suspect Duanna Johnson, was terminated yesterday afternoon following an administrative hearing. McRae was charged with “use of excessive force.”
McRae had been placed on desk duty pending an investigation after the incident happened in February. James Swain, the officer who held Johnson down during the beating, was fired immediately.
A coalition was formed in response to the incident to prevent further police brutality against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. The group met Monday night to form an action plan, which included establishing a gay liaison in the police department and demanding sensitivity training for police.
Brandon Dill 
Facebook/Tami Sawyer