memphis

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Water in Memphis Part III

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Water in Memphis Part III

I know most of the country felt horrified and helpless as Flint, MI, went without a safe water supply for years. YEARS. And even now, the lead pipes remain a clear and present danger to the populations they serve. We rarely think about where the water in our ubiquitous bottled water comes from, but much of it is essentially stolen by mega corporations like Nestle and Coca Cola. You can walk into your local convenience store right now and buy water bottled from Las Vegas’ municipal supply. Las Vegas. A desert city.

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Water in Memphis -News Alert!

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Water in Memphis -News Alert!

Last week, the primary bridge over the Mississippi River between Arkansas and Tennessee was shut down due to a crack all the way through a structural beam. Repairs will take months, and the impact on national shipping will be felt for much longer. Much of the 50,000 daily vehicle average over the bridge is I-40 East-West long haul shipping truck traffic. The southern riverbarge traffic was also affected, although the Coast Guard opened the lanes on Friday.

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Water in Memphis, Part II

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Water in Memphis, Part II

Many things matter to me, and I am vocal in several spheres. But it is articulating and uplifting the moral voice in the care of Creation that makes up most of my work. I believe that we who live in that world are ideally placed to help us transform and shift as a culture into one that can thrive in a world of radical global change.

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Water in Memphis Part I

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Water in Memphis Part I

I grew up on the Mississippi River, in Memphis, TN. Water does not only form our western border, water is all over the city itself. The Wolf River winds its way into the Mississippi here, and small streams and creeks are woven throughout the neighborhoods. Much of the city’s storm runoff system is made up of these water channels reinforced with structure and drains.

Harming the Future for a Room With a View

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Right before Earth Day last week, someone - no one yet knows who conclusively - took a chainsaw to 200 yards of trees on the Mississippi River bluff in Memphis, TN. This is in an area so sensitive, the US Corps of Engineers is the permitting agency for anything done there. The bluffs are held in place partially by the roots systems of the trees and other vegetation. These bluffs are what separate Memphis from the Mississippi River.

Furiously searching news sites for other incidents of such crimes, I found many. It is apparently common for the wealthy to fell trees and clear land with no regard for anyone else, future generations, or the environmental impact of their actions. It should not surprise me, this arrogance and self-centeredness, but it always does. Especially when these people could pay to do it right, with some care and respect. When the wife of the famous entertainer Steve Harvey had 2 magnolia trees illegally removed from their Bluff home in March, she at least paid professionals to do it properly. 

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I find the hubris of the rich shocking. Mudslides will take their ten million dollar homes as quickly as they will take a shack. Their grandchildren won’t have special air to breathe. I have no illusions that I will be able to imbue the wealthy and privileged with a sense of common cause or obligation. Frankly, I’ve spent decades trying to do that in a variety of systems and I’m done with it for now. Those who think they know best simply believe this so deeply that little evidence to the contrary is effective.

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But they got what they wanted, as the wealthy usually do - the trees are gone. For now, we’re left with the aftermath of their destruction, the need to replant, and the sense that all of us are doomed if we can’t somehow get these people to see that we are all dependent on each other.

You can read the article in the Daily Memphian here: https://dailymemphian.com/article/21490/200-yards-of-trees-below-martyrs-park-cut-without-permission?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3XI_Hzfgy9Bt-G2MR3ovmJeg9BUoU5sFUhTK4LYFu_c5nW4L_7T8y7Lmk

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American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God

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American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God

I am a member of the Southern diaspora, but do not appear so at first glance. Many people I know in Memphis work ceaselessly for justice and equity, and I love the meme that asks us to “Consider the South to be large communities of people of color and small resistance cells held hostage by fascist governments.” I am not alone in my belief that the American South is key to shifting how we live, to teaching us how to work together, to building the world we need to survive crisis and change.