In a news article that covered the recent protest of the
election of Donald Trump, Congressman Steve Cohen attended and stated, "This
is the worst election result we've had in my lifetime and maybe the country's
history. It's scary the racist and xenophobic statements that were said about
people by candidates — and the tolerance of them.” He went on to say that, “’our
city has a soul,’ even if the country didn't represent that on Tuesday.”
Memphis is one of the few areas in Tennessee that actually
went blue in the 2016 election. However,
Trump still carried all of the electoral votes for the state. Memphis seems to
strive to set itself aside from the rest of the South, and in this case the
nation, that accepts racism and xenophobia. Because “the Memphis Model” sets
examples for others to follow. Memphis
is thought of as a progressive city in the South, so it is not like the
rest. It’s important to note that this
is not always the case. No matter what
narrative the officials want to tell about the city, there is no avoiding the
truth. Memphis is not beyond the
problems found within other cities. In
terms of the 2016 election, an estimated 339,218 people voted within the
Memphis area. Although Hillary Clinton
received most of the city’s votes, 116,131 people voted for Donald Trump. That means a little over one third of voters
in Memphis walked into their polling sites and cast their votes for a candidate
that elicited sexist, xenophobic, and racist remarks. That’s nearly 35% of those that voted in
Memphis! Imagine if it had rained on election
day, then Memphis would have been that much closer to going red with the rest
of Tennessee (generally if it rains on election day, then democrats take a hit
for voter turnout within cities).
I question the soul of Memphis that Cohen, like many of his
predecessors, claim exists. Every time
there is a situation in the United States that involves deeply rooted social
issues, Memphis acts like it is a progressive city without those problems. For those occasions
in which the issues are criticized and exposed, Memphis officials claim to deal
with the problems “swiftly” and “effectively”. This is what is referred to as the Memphis
Model. However, this narrative hides the
issues that torment the Memphis soul. I
applaud the efforts of local officials attending the protest of Trump’s election,
but I think that the city has to acknowledge that it is not the picturesque
model that it makes itself out to be. I
think the city needs to shift from the dialogue of “our city has a soul” or “it’s
not like the others,” to a more realistic approach that recognizes the
imperfections within it. Although I
based my argument on the 2016 election of Trump, I think my point can be
applied to other instances in Memphis—present and past.
Raven, I think you make a really interesting--and important--point in your post. We definitely should not try to oversimplify narratives. If Memphis were to come out and say that they always handle things in the best way, that our city does not support bigoted ideas, it would not be on the whole truthful. This reminds me of our breaking down of the master narrative of the Civil Rights Movement. If we listen to the popular conception, we learn that the Civil Rights Movement lasted two decades at the most, that Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Kennedys, and Lyndon Johnson did all the work, and that African Americans were immediately happy once segregation ended. We know that this story is way, way, WAY too simplified, not to mention inaccurate. People describe the movement in this way because it's easier to tell and easier to understand. I think city leaders do the same about the current state of Memphis for similar reasons. That being said, though, I do think it's important to acknowledge the good that Memphis has done. Congressman Cohen was right when he said that, as a whole, we did reject all of the things that Trump stands for. Yes, 35%ish of people voted for him, but that means 65%ish percent didn't. In complicating the narrative, I think we have to consider both the good and the bad. Only then can we gain a broader and more accurate understanding.
ReplyDeleteAs Brooks pointed out in his comment, the master narrative of the Civil Rights Movement is a problematic reflection because it promotes false claims of change and oversimplifies the Movement as a whole. In relation to the situation discussed in the above post, the reading “Woke: Was the Protest on the Bridge a Sign of Real Change to Come?” demonstrates the inaccurate framing and assertion of the movement toward greater freedom in the city of Memphis, TN. Ultimately, the protest on the bridge, which shut down I-40 for a few hours, was praised by city officials for being peaceful and nonviolent. However, the mere fact African American protesters had to shut down I-40 to start a conversation with the Mayor is not praiseworthy. Due to the master narrative, the moment on the bridge is really tricky, because the protest can be seen as either a culmination or a launch. While I agree with Brooks that it is important to consider both the good and bad, I think the real consideration is, will Memphis stay woke - what does that mean moving forward and what will it look like in the future?
ReplyDeleteRaven,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement about how Memphis is seemingly oblivious to its own issues. There is also the question of what defines Memphis. I surely think the city of Memphis itself went blue, but what about Germantown and Collierville? If you asked them, I'm sure they would claim they were from Memphis, but embody the problems you stated.
This is definitely an important point to make and to play the devil's advocate here (while I wholeheartedly do not support the outcome of the election)-- I think what makes our city so appealing is the diversity among the people in it whether that's with race, religion, or political beliefs. I will say that having someone as racist and xenophobic as Trump be elected to office is appalling and I try to make sense of it everyday- is it because he was the republican nominee and people wanted to vote their party? is it because he's a celebrity? is it simply because they didn't like Hilary? We have to keep in mind that not everyone who voted for Trump agrees 100% with Trump just like how everyone who voted for Hilary does not agree with her 100%. I wish the results were different but that's the outcome that we have to live with. I don't really think it's useful to group that 35% of people who did vote for Trump as racists and xenophobes because surely the people who did agreed with those points made up a much smaller percentage.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with your devil's advocate comments, I believe we need to be focused on the positive aspect of Memphis. Although we have trump supporters, that does not mean they necessarily believe in him wholly. They could have used the reasoning that they liked his politics better then Clinton's, and overlooked the rest of him (which I believe is still no excuse, but is what I have heard from some people). There will be trump supporters wherever you may go, and definetly still some racist and xenophobic comments heard on our streets, but I think it is a huge step that Memphis went blue in a sea of red, and speaks to the kind of people that make up the majority of our city.
ReplyDelete