The city of Memphis is nationally known as a city plagued by violence.
From physical brawls to arson, there is rarely a dull day for city police and members of the community. Among the various crimes committed in city limits lies a world of violence the entire country knows all too well: gun violence.
In 2010, there were more than 50,000 crime-related incidents, with 10,384 being of a violent nature. Studies found that the violent crime rate in Memphis was 151.34 percent higher than that of the entire state of Tennessee.
Mayor of Memphis A.C. Wharton is aware of the statistics for the city he represents and has created a campaign to help curb the violence in the city by targeting those who can start a movement of change: the youth.
Memphis Gun Down, founded in February, is Wharton’s initiative to curb the gun violence in Memphis. In light of the heightened gun violence in the city, Wharton has banded together a group of five teenagers led by those who have been affected both directly and indirectly by gun violence.
This group of teenagers comprises the Social Media Team for Memphis Gun Down. Their duty is to actively seek the problems in their communities that lead to gun violence and encourage positive changes in various aspects of community life.
The goal is simple, yet it has been one that many have tried and failed to communicate in the past. Their main targets are males from the ages of 14-21, and the group says their approach will ensure greater results because it is one that hasn’t been tried before.
“This campaign is different because it’s actually youth reaching youth instead of adults reaching out to youth,” Matthieu, a member of the social media team, said. “That has been seen many times before, but it hasn’t been proven effective because not many young adults feel comfortable talking to elders or authority figures.”
The social media team intends to target South Memphis and Frayser directly, but the entire city of Memphis is in focus. Their hope is to make the city safer not only for them but generations to come.
The fight for understanding the causes of gun violence has been debated for years and has been heightened since President Obama’s re-election in January. Efforts have been made to pass stricter gun laws, though the first attempts were voted down in Congress on April 17.
In Tennessee, those who own firearms are allowed to apply for a handgun carry permit, but are held accountable for their actions and responsible for their knowledge of the laws. The government website for the state of Tennessee states “a permit to carry a handgun is not a license to use deadly force.” The right to bear arms comes with responsibilities to store and maintain these weapons safely, and to obey applicable laws.
In many states across the country, it is required the weapon be concealed. However, this is not the case in Tennessee. The law does not require concealment of handguns by those with a permit. Because no permit or licensing is required to buy a shotgun, rifle or handgun in Tennessee, such weapons are easy to obtain.
Studies have shown that states with strict gun control laws have lower numbers of gun-related deaths. While states such as California, Colorado and Connecticut look to intensify their already strict gun laws, Tennessee legislators have successfully pushed House Bill 118, a bill that allows gun-owners to carry weapons in their car wherever they go. This would include school and workplace parking lots.
While Bill 118 was passed, Tennessee Senators voted against a bill on April 17 that would have expanded background checks of those looking to buy guns, something Kayla Illich, a member of the Memphis community, believes would have helped curb the gun violence in the city.
“Guns are too easily accessible to the wrong people, especially in the city limits,” Illich said. “Turning down a piece of legislation that could’ve kept weapons out of the wrong hands is absurd and makes me question whether members of this state’s government even know of the realities of gun violence in this city.”
Illich, who has lived in Memphis since getting assigned to Coast Guard duties in the city, has found that things she once loved in Memphis have changed due to the gun violence. To her, it’s less about feeling safe and more about the experience of her go-to places being changed.
Though the area she lives is known to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the city limits, places around downtown such as the acclaimed Beale Street and surrounding blocks have seen drastic changes in the eyes of Illich.
“Even for those of us who live here, Beale and Main Street are usual hang outs,” Illich said. “It’s just devastating to have it be taken over at certain times of the day and year by the fear of getting shot.”
Last year, there were multiple incidents involving Memphis Police Officers on Beale Street that caused Wharton to make a crucial decision.
After four officers were injured on Saturday, June 9, 2012, trying to clear the streets and the police gunned down a man on Beale Street on June 12, 2012, Wharton said the city would establish a police substation in the entertainment district of Memphis to promote safety.
With Wharton having taken action against crime prior to the nationwide discussion over heightened gun controls, the idea that Memphis along with the state of Tennessee would tag along and adopt stricter gun laws was what Illich had expected. However, this was not the case.
Though Wharton plans on reducing gun violence in the city, his methods are not by means of increased law. Instead of looking to lawmakers to strike a change in Memphis communities, Wharton plans to go directly into those communities and solve these problems on a person-to-person basis. He spoke further of his plans to ensure a change in communities at a town hall-type meeting on the University of Memphis campus on Tuesday, April 23.
“If you begin just taking one person at a time, you get success by success by success,” Wharton said. “It is so easy to get guns in Memphis, so we are focusing on that.”
It would seem easy for Wharton and the social media team behind Memphis Gun Down to target the Memphis community and ask for their support in stricter laws. However, they found the problem was more related to education.
As a part of Michael Bloomberg’s foundation to reduce handgun violence, Memphis had been selected in 2011 as one of the few cities to receive a $4.8 million grant. This money funds salaries for staff members and provides support throughout the project’s duration. The Mayors Project, a new innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, will work simultaneously with Wharton and his Innovation Delivery Team to educate youth, provide jobs where needed and bring vacant properties in abandoned areas of the city back to life and prosperity once again.
“Most places in the community are afraid of teens,” said Jada, a member of the Social Media Team. “Our goal is to inform teens and the population of upcoming events and job opportunities, because in essence a main cause for crime in Memphis is not having enough to do.”
