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: Rome Ramirez, former Sublime member, celebrates his solo debut with the single “Why Me.” The song reflects his 15-year journey with Sublime, flipping the negative question “Why me?” into a message of gratitude and perseverance. Written with close friend Chris Galbuta, the track showcases Ramirez’s personal growth. The debut single’s cover artwork features a young Ramirez with a Sublime poster, symbolizing his roots. Ramirez, now living in Nashville, is also gearing up for upcoming festivals, including Summerfest in Milwaukee, while releasing more music throughout the year. He remains grateful for his experiences with Sublime and his musical journey.
He is a multi-platinum singer and songwriter, and now He is debuting his solo career today on Local On 2! You know Rome Ramirez from his time as the front man of Sublime and Rome! Now he is stepping out on his own with his new song, “Why Me?”
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 12:36:00
(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s revenues for March were $33.3 million less than the budgeted estimates, according to Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson.
The $1.6 billion in collections is $69.3 million less than March 2024.
“Sales tax receipts, which reflect February’s consumer activity, were likely impacted by adverse weather conditions,” Bryson said. “Corporate tax collections came in slightly below target but remained largely in line with expectations.”
Fuel taxes exceeded budget expectations, increasing by $9.1 million, a 10.39% jump.
Corporate collections are down 13.9% when compared to March 2024, a difference of $44 million. Corporate tax revenues year-to-date are 9.65% below estimates and down 22% when compared to August 2023 to March 2024 numbers. The General Assembly passed a corporate franchise tax cut in 2024 that was estimated to cost the state $1.6 billion. Corporations started applying for the tax break in May 2024.
Bryson reported a decline of $35.4 million in general fund revenues for March.
“Although we fell short of our monthly target, year-to-date revenues remain just below forecast,” Bryson said. “We will continue to closely monitor economic indicators and revenue trends to maintain fiscal stability.”
March is the eighth month of the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.
The General Assembly passed the $59.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 earlier this week, which does not include any tax breaks.
Lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about possible federal budget cuts that could affect Tennessee. Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, said when the budget process began in February that the state was already seeing a freeze in some programs.
House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to Bryson this week asking for more details on federal budget cuts.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear oral arguments next month over President Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure birthright citizenship, though the justices won’t decide on the merits of the case just yet.
Instead, they will choose whether to leave in place nationwide injunctions from lower courts that so far have blocked the Trump administration from implementing the executive order.
The oral arguments, scheduled for May 15, will likely provide the first indication of whether any of the nine justices are interested in revisiting the Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War.
The amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that the 14th Amendment guarantees any child born in the United States is entitled to U.S. citizenship, even if their parents are not citizens.
Trump disagrees with that ruling and signed an executive order on his first day in office seeking to change which babies born in the United States become citizens. If that order were implemented, babies whose parents were “unlawfully present in the United States” or whose parents’ presence “was lawful but temporary” would not be eligible for citizenship.
Several organizations and Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits seeking to block the executive order, leading to nationwide injunctions against its implementation.
Last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the lower court’s nationwide injunctions, limiting them to the organizations and states that filed suit.
The three cases are Trump v. State of Washington, Trump v. CASA, Inc. and Trump v. State of New Jersey.
Legislation
Nationwide injunctions by lower court judges have become an issue for Republicans in Congress as well as the Trump administration.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced a bill in Congress that would bar federal district court judges from being able to implement nationwide injunctions.
“We all have to agree to give up the universal injunction as a weapon against policies we disagree with,” Grassley said during a hearing earlier this month. “The damage it causes to the judicial system and to our democracy is too great.”
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.
