5 Months After the Bridge--Did Memphis "Stay Woke"?

This summer on July 10^th, protesters took to the streets of Memphis after the killing of two African-American men by law-enforcement officers. More than 1,000 people marched on the I-40 bridge.  The night ended with praises for the Interim Police Director Mike Rallings.  Of the event, the Memphis Flyer reported, “The question now becomes: Will the protest result in any real change? Or was it just a matter of the city and police artfully allowing people to let off steam before returning to business as usual. Will Memphis ‘stay woke’?”

The next day, a meeting was called at Greater Imani Church at which city leaders and community members consulted about where to go next. The staff at Memphis Flyer recalled that the meeting was “combative and chaotic, with some audience members demanding that Strickland hire Rallings as permanent police director immediately.” Those demands were a part of a list presented by protest organizer Devante Hill, who advocates for “One Memphis, One Vision”.  Let’s take a look at the list of demands Hill presented before the city leaders.

1. Michael Rallings should be immediately hired as permanent police director
2. Investigate public works spending and more funding to African-American businesses to better reflect city's demographics
3. Increase in spending in community and youth empowerment initiatives
4. More community policing and working with activists, paired with cultural and sensitivity training for officers

Eventually, there was an agreement to host a second meeting on July 21^st.  Unfortunately, that meeting was cancelled, but there were promises to host another meeting during August. 

In August, there was a small protest outside of Graceland at the end of Elvis Week.  The night ended with two arrests of protesters who attempted to break through the police barricade.  Additionally, some Black citizens felt racially profiled that night.  One former employee of Graceland recalled that the officers would not let him through the barricade.  Another black man claimed a police officer told him, “Graceland does not want you here” after he stated that he was a fan of Elvis.  On the other hand, several white citizens were granted entrance after some questioning. 

So where are we now exactly five months after the first protest erupted this summer?

To date, the city has hired Michael Rallings as the official police director of the Memphis Police Department.  However, activists such as Tami Sawyer believe that Rallings has not stayed true to his promises made to protectors five months ago.  Sawyer stated, “Rallings…feigned solidarity with protesters, when he was interim Police Director, and after being named the permanent director, weeks later, began to condemn their positions and vilify their movement.”  The city has not made many efforts to work with the movement since, and city officials never made good on the promise to hold another meeting between city leaders and concerned citizens.

As of now, the answer to the staff at Memphis Flyer’s question seems to be Memphis will not stay woke.  The protest was just a matter of the city and police artfully allowing people to let off steam. Let me know what you think in the comments below.