As a native South Memphian, I’ve witnessed multiple efforts over the years to tackle the systemic challenges facing our community—each with varying degrees of success. This is the community that raised me, and I believe deeply in its potential. Now is the time for us to come together with urgency, unity, and purpose to help Memphis become all that we know it can be.
Memphis needs a comprehensive plan that strings together educational, occupational, and external factors to chart a path toward creating an economy and city that works for all of us. For the past several years, our partners have been working together to create exactly that—the More For Memphis plan. While there has been a lot of energy behind this comprehensive roadmap, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure it becomes a reality.
While the $1.4 billion price tag on the More For Memphis plan (which includes private, federal, state, and local funding) seems like an insurmountable barrier, consider this: The Shelby County Sheriff's Office told the Shelby County Board of Commissioners this week that it will cost $1.4 billion to build what is deemed to be a necessary new prison. Would you rather spend $1.4 billion on a new prison or on a plan that will provide opportunities for generations to come?
