If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves. The political and social realities in Tennessee — and particularly in Memphis and Shelby County — are riddled with inequities that elected officials refuse to name. Public statements from those in power often evade accountability, trading in optimism rather than truth. As a Black faith leader and community advocate, I don’t have that luxury.
For centuries, “State of the…” addresses have been moments where leaders inform the public, outline policies, and provide hope. But today, they are political spectacles — staged performances meant more to entrench power than to educate. In an era of manipulated algorithms and AI-driven disinformation, the danger of leaving the public misinformed is more pressing than ever. The societal and cultural ills we face — racism, fascism, white Christian nationalism, threats from President Donald Trump and the death of intellectualism — require truth-telling that no elected official seems willing, ready, or able to offer. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” That time is now.
The perils we face in Tennessee and Memphis
The state of our society is perilous. In Memphis and Shelby County, unchecked power, systemic neglect, and political cowardice define the landscape.
Policing in Memphis remains brutal and unjust. The U.S. Department of Justice’s report on the Memphis Police Department confirmed what many already knew — racial profiling, excessive force, and unconstitutional surveillance are not isolated incidents but ingrained practices.
Yet, despite these findings, leaders refuse to embrace real reforms. Gov. Bill Lee and state legislators have done nothing to address systemic abuses. Instead of investing in community-based safety initiatives, they continue to prioritize over-policing and mass incarceration.
Public education in Tennessee is under siege. The state legislature aggressively pursues privatization, diverting public funds to private and charter schools while weakening oversight.
Local leadership is just as ineffective. Mayor Paul Young and the Memphis City Council have not fully committed to meaningful transformation. Symbolic gestures are offered, but the same policies that led to the murder of Tyre Nichols in 2023 persist.
Economic disparities in Tennessee are deepening. Memphis remains one of the poorest metropolitan areas in the nation, with nearly one in four residents living in poverty. While developers and business elites secure multimillion-dollar incentives, everyday workers struggle to afford housing, health care, and basic necessities.
Lee’s administration has done little to alleviate these burdens, rejecting federal funding for essential services while keeping the minimum wage stagnant at $7.25 an hour. Meanwhile, Memphis and Shelby County leaders operate in austerity for public resources but in abundance for corporate handouts, funneling millions in tax breaks to developers who contribute nothing to the communities they displace.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Public education in Tennessee is under siege. The state legislature aggressively pursues privatization, diverting public funds to private and charter schools while weakening oversight.
Memphis and Shelby County are prime targets, as majority-Black school districts are first to be dismantled under the guise of “school choice,” and a limited school voucher plan that passed in 2019 only applied to Shelby and Davidson Counties.
Lee and state officials push vouchers and charter expansion, harming Black and low-income students while the instability within the Memphis-Shelby County School Board creates opportunities for state intervention. The goal is clear: weaken public education, siphon funds to corporate interests, and render Black children intellectually and culturally vulnerable. If our children are not taught their own history and denied critical thinking skills, their futures are predetermined.
A path forward rooted in truth and justice
In moments like these, I am reminded of the four lepers in 2 Kings 7. Facing death and desperation, they chose to move forward in audacious resistance rather than succumb to despair. Their courage led to unexpected deliverance — a lesson for us all.
Racism and fascism are not relics of the past; they are shaping our present and threatening our future. White Christian nationalism is not about faith; it is about fear
We, too, must move forward with revolutionary audacity, even amid anxieties and uncertainties. This means calling out the lies and half-truths that dominate political speeches. It means telling our own truths — unapologetically and unrelentingly. The truth is that fealty to Trump is not just a political ideology; it is a spiritual sickness that has spread into every corner of our society, including Tennessee.
Racism and fascism are not relics of the past; they are shaping our present and threatening our future. White Christian nationalism is not about faith; it is about fear — fear of a world where Black people are no longer subjugated, fear of a justice that holds the powerful accountable and fear of a truth that cannot be silenced.
Our response must be prophetic. We must confront rogue policing with demands for systemic reform. We must counter economic exploitation by organizing for fair wages and policies that prioritize people over profits. We must resist the privatization of education by advocating for schools that empower rather than exploit.
A vision for collective liberation
Tennessee and Memphis demand a response, and that response must begin with us. It must start in our churches, our community organizations, our grassroots movements, and even at our kitchen tables. We must reject the empty rhetoric of political performances that offer hope without action, promises without plans, and rhetoric without resolve. Instead, we must organize, strategize, and mobilize. We must speak the truths that others are afraid to utter. We must build power—not just for survival, but for liberation.
As the four lepers showed us, it is better to risk the unknown than to accept the unacceptable. The state of Tennessee may be perilous, but it is not beyond redemption. If we move forward with courage, conviction and community, we can transform this moment of despair into a movement of deliverance. And that is a state of the culture worth fighting for.
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Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
SUMMARY: Desmond Mills Jr., a former Memphis officer who pleaded guilty, testified during the trial of Tadarrius Bean and others charged in Tyre Nichols’ 2023 death. Nichols was beaten after fleeing a traffic stop; footage showed officers laughing while Nichols struggled. Mills admitted hitting Nichols out of anger after accidentally pepper-spraying himself and regretted failing to stop the beating. Nichols died three days later from blunt force trauma. Defense argued Nichols resisted arrest, while prosecutors said officers were “overcome by the moment” and failed to intervene. The trial, moved from Memphis due to publicity, addresses charges including second-degree murder amid scrutiny of MPD’s conduct.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 12:15:00
(The Center Square) – Democrats and Republicans from three states are supporting a 287-mile trail that would include Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.
The lawmakers are asking for a feasibility study on the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail. U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said Wednesday the trail deserves a national scenic designation.
“The Benton MacKaye Trail is an invaluable part of my district in East Tennessee that thousands of Tennesseans and Americans hike each year, and the trail connects some of the most beautiful and pristine parts of Tennessee with Georgia and North Carolina,” Fleischmann said.
The trail that winds through the Southern Appalachian Mountains was completed in 2005, according to Bob Cowdrick, president of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, which has supported its development since 1980, according to the bill.
“This study would help protect our storied outdoor heritage for future generations, support local economies, and provide a wide array of recreation opportunities for everyone from day hikers to thru-hikers and solo trekkers to families,” Cowdrick said.
The trail’s path is made up of 95% of federal land. It passes through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Chattahoochee-Oconee, Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests. It begins at North Georgia’s Springer Mountain and ends at North Carolina’s Mount Sterling, according to the Benton MacKaye Trail Association.
The bill is cosponsored in the House by Democrats Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Lucy McBath of Georgia. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., is also a cosponsor. Republican North Carolina Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd are cosponsoring it in the Senate with Rep. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. The bill is currently in the House Natural Resources Committee.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article reports on bipartisan support for a feasibility study on the Benton MacKaye National Scenic Trail, without advocating for a particular ideological stance. The language used is factual and neutral, primarily focusing on the collaboration between Democrats and Republicans from three states. The article does not show a clear bias in favor of one political party or the other. It simply highlights the specifics of the bill, its sponsors, and the potential benefits of the trail, such as supporting local economies and outdoor recreation. Therefore, it adheres to neutral, factual reporting without promoting a specific viewpoint.
The trio charged in a Tennessee political corruption case shared text messages in early 2020 complaining about the state’s failure to pay a mysterious vendor for work on lawmakers’ constituent mailers, at one point cursing the administrator in charge of handling invoices.
One text message from former Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson to ex-Speaker of the House Glen Casada said, “Connie’s a bi—.” Casada responded, “Agreed!”
Smith, who pleaded guilty in the fraud and kickback case and is cooperating with federal prosecutors, was referring to now-retired Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley, who handled payments for the state’s postage and printing program for lawmakers. Ridley held up payments because of problems with W-9 tax forms by the vendor, Phoenix Solutions, which was run by former legislative aide Cade Cothren, and Casada, testimony showed.
Smith testified she was “highly frustrated” because Ridley approved work without having the federal tax documents on hand. Eventually, Cothren sent the state a W-9 signed as “Matthew Phoenix,” one of the key documents prosecutors are using in the case to show deception by Smith, Casada and Cothren to direct business to Phoenix Solutions without state officials or lawmakers knowing who was behind the company.
Casada and Cothren had stepped down from their posts at different points in 2019 because of a racist and sexist texting scandal. Casada remained in the General Assembly but not as House speaker.
Connie Ridley, former director of legislative administration, shown leaving Nashville’s federal courthouse on April 25, 2025. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
Another text displayed for the jury Tuesday showed the state had paid for work on a lawmaker’s constituent mailer but didn’t include taxes.
Smith and Cothren sent each other “incredulous” text messages and Smith added another one saying, “Quite the bullsh–.”
Smith, former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, met with Ridley to speed up payments in February 2020 when the state owed Phoenix Solutions $34,000 for work on several Republican lawmakers’ constituent mailers, including now-former Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain, Rep. Dan Howell of Cleveland, Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes of East Ridge, Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro, Rep. Susan Lynn of Mt. Juliet, Rep. Bud Hulsey of Bristol, Rep. Chris Hurt of Halls, Rep. Andrew Farmer of Sevierville and Smith and Casada.
Ridley testified earlier this week she didn’t find out Phoenix Solutions was run by Cothren until May 2020 when federal authorities told her to continue processing the New Mexico-based company’s invoices.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson ruled that prosecutors can present evidence showing the trio wanted to expand from constituent mailers, which are paid for with tax money, to House Republican Caucus work. Defense attorneys argued that the prosecutors should be limited to evidence about the postage and printing program because it is outlined in the indictment, not an effort to tap into caucus funds.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content highlights a political corruption case involving Republican lawmakers in Tennessee, presenting factual details about legal proceedings, text communications, and testimonies. While it exposes misconduct within a specific party, the reporting style remains largely neutral and focused on the facts without overt editorializing or broad partisan critique. This aligns with a center-right bias, as it scrutinizes members of a right-leaning party but in a relatively balanced and fact-based manner typical of moderate conservative or center-right news coverage.
