Memphis Faces an Uncertain Future

Outside the city limits of Memphis, two of the nation's Top 100 best places to live according to Money Magazine are situated. Bartlett, Tennessee and Olive Branch, Mississippi are suburbs of the city and within a ten minute drive of just about any area of the city. With softer taxes and less crime both communities are prime growth areas. And with great schools and strong retail opportunities, both areas will continue to see a wave of people from both inside Memphis as well as surrounding areas looking to make Bartlett and Olive Branch home. But what does that say about the city itself?

Is there any community inside the city limits of Memphis that is worth looking at to call home? Are there any areas of the city with a strong enough communal feel to pay the added taxes and endure the perceived crime problems to make Memphis your home address? Such is the problem facing the Chamber of Commerce and is a major point on the campaign trail as the city looks to elect its mayor in October. With the incumbent having served since the early 90s many Memphians are beginning to wonder if it is time for a new direction and new leadership at 100 North Main. In Carol Chumney and Herman Morris, Memphis has two candidates who have experience, one in politics the other in the corporate world. Ms. Chumney served thirteen years in the legislature before returning home to run for mayor in 2002. She has been a member of the city council the last five years or so. Herman Morris on the other hand ran the largest private utility in the country, the city's Memphis Light Gas & Water.

Regardless of who is elected in October the reality will be the same. Addressing the image problem facing the city will be a high priority as Memphis positions itself as a global aerotropolis and commerce capital of the world. Since the current mayor, Willie Herenton the city's former school superintendent took office; the city has seen moderate growth in the business community. With FedEx headquartered here and International Paper moving here during his tenure, economic fortunes have increased. And with the downtown redevelopment making major headway to rebranding the downtown community, portions of the city have successfully redefined themselves. However, that cannot be said for two of the city's most populated areas, Hickory Hill and Whitehaven.

Home to almost 100,000 people, Hickory Hill lays on the southeastern side of the city. Over the last twenty years since the city annexed the area, white-flight has occurred. White-flight is a term used to describe the process of non-minority citizens leaving a particular area to replant themselves in other, outlying areas. While the term is racially motivated the reality is that a large number of African-Americans have flooded Hickory Hill while many non-minorities have sold their homes and made areas like Cordova and Olive Branch their new home. Today, Hickory Hill is the richest African-American community in the state of Tennessee with more college graduates and professional minorities per capita than any single area in the state.

Whitehaven's claim is that it was the Hickory Hill of twenty-five years ago. Up until the mid-80s, Whitehaven was the community professional minorities called home. It was then that Whitehaven saw its solid citizens begin to leave and be replaced by less-desirable citizens. Their issue was not one of race. Even then, Whitehaven was predominantly African-American, but when your best citizens leave, what is left is crime and punishment. And that is what Whitehaven has become with no major industry and little retail stability in the area, most of its economic base has exported to Southaven.

This issue of community has not received the attention of the proposed football stadium, crime, or political morality. But when businesses look at moving their regional or international headquarters, the vitality of community both inside and outside of the city will matter more than spending $200 million on a football stadium that will be used ten times a year. They will not care if Memphis redevelops the Fairgrounds area or whether they close Beale Street an hour earlier. They will care about the quality of life of the driving communities for its employees. So to those three candidates pursuing votes in October take a page from the lessons learned in Atlanta, Nashville, and Austin. Quality of life will return quantity of citizens. People will come if you build a city worth living in. Otherwise, Bartlett and Olive Branch, Cordova and Southaven will continue to be the addresses of choice for family-oriented, community-active citizens.

And Memphis will pay the price. We will pay the price.