Several recent headlines sent shock waves throughout Memphis and Shelby County, but it was years earlier when the seeds were likely planted in the form of domestic violence that thwarted optimal brain development and put children at risk. We cannot effectively deal with youth violence until we deal decisively with domestic violence, because they are often links on the same chain.
There was a recent headline in The Commercial Appeal that said, “Fewer two-parent homes in Memphis,” and it reported on a trend that has existed here for more than a decade. The article reported recently-released 2010 U.S. Census information: two out of three children younger than 18 in Memphis are being raised in one-parent families.
We are now officially in the campaign season for the City of Memphis. We hope that our children, especially the youngest ones, aren’t overlooked as they often are in the blizzard of questionnaires sent to candidates by politically active groups and in the campaign speeches by candidates.
All of us believe it and most of us have said it at one time or another. The question for us then is this: why is it so hard for the reality of our youngest children to match our rhetoric? Often, it feels that on issues of early childhood, it’s one step forward, two steps back.
Graduating to a Better Memphis
June 13, 2011
Graduation is always an exciting time, and it was made even more special this year with President Obama's commencement speech at Booker T. Washington High School as the national spotlight shone on Memphis.
Fighting the Flood Threatening Memphis
May 18, 2011
There is a flood in Memphis. Every year. It may not be as dramatic as the rising of the Mississippi River but it's much more serious in the long run. It's the stress flooding the lives of too many of our youngest children every day.