Memphis Makes Me... Proud

When the murmurs of a shelter in place order began in Memphis, my out-of-town family suggested we leave to stay with them for the quarantine. “Are you sure you want to be in Memphis while this is happening?” was the question we heard over and over. We were not at all tempted to leave our home in the first place, and Memphians have solidified what we already knew: we are exactly where we need to be. 

This global pandemic has caused us all to contemplate what James Lane Allen famously said: “Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.” The current crisis is showing who we really are in Memphis. While it may not all be positive, I have been so proud of my city, and especially my neighborhood.

We live in the heart of the city, in a neighborhood with no garages, so when we moved here three years ago it didn’t take long to get acquainted with most of our neighbors. We have always felt welcomed and safe, surrounded by people who are looking out for us.

Shortly after the Safer At Home order, we saw so many posts on our neighborhood communication app (called NextDoor) from neighbors offering to grocery shop, take trips to the pharmacy, or run errands for anyone who was not comfortable leaving home. One kind individual volunteered to be the weekly Click-list shopper for our street, so that we could pool our orders, putting less of a strain on our local Kroger and avoiding multiple trips. People have shared extra masks, hand sanitizer, and canned goods. In a time when so many have succumbed to hoarding and monopolizing, Memphians have shown what it looks like to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Artwork to brighten Memphians’ day on a wall in a midtown Memphis neighborhood

Our neighbors have been so creative and thoughtful to find ways to connect us all. One man put up an inflatable screen in his yard to play cartoon movies for others to watch from their yards. The neighborhood association paid a local restaurant band (currently out of work) to walk up and down the street and play music. Families were able to enjoy the concert from a safe distance on their porches. People have placed sanitized boxes of chalk by brick walls and on sidewalks, so kids can leave artwork. Different neighbors left eggs full of candy, palm branches, and homemade cupcakes on our porch for Easter week.

One of the proudest moments I had was reading a post on NextDoor from a woman who shared a need, very vulnerably, for medicine for her dog. She wrote that both she and her partner were temporarily out of work, and weren’t able to pay for the non-essential items in their budget. Not even an hour after she made the post, someone left the medicine on her porch.

We have a very special neighborhood, full of people who have made Memphis home and are committed to making it a better place. But I have heard countless similar stories about other areas of our city, and that is why I am proud to call Memphis home. There is no place I’d rather live–even in the middle of a pandemic.