Dreamstime
As Memphis commemorates its bicentennial this year, it’s important that we reflect, remember, and dream, but also celebrate and honor those who have made our city a better place.
Last year’s MLK50 events in and around the National Civil Rights Museum did just that, but we need to keep this conversation in the forefront. Memphis has a rich history, filled with change-makers and activists, both living and deceased, who fought or are still fighting to make Memphis, and our country, more just — and we need to introduce them to our children.
As a parent of two young girls, Ella, 7, and Beatrice, 4, I try to be as honest as I can about our city and country’s history, including civil rights and the sanitation strikes that heavily define our past. They have lots of really good questions and are already learning so much just by living in a diverse neighborhood and going to school. Our discussions range from slavery to poverty to equal rights to minority contributions in art, literature, and sports. Last year, in fact, Ella was champion Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas for Historical Halloween at her school. Not to mention the girls have participated in several marches around our city for women and immigrants.
While there have been some big wins achieved through the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, there have also been some dark, deplorable times from which our city is still recovering. God knows there are immeasurable wounds from our past, but we can acknowledge the injustices and work to ensure they don’t ever happen again. That’s why this year I hope to take my kids on a tour of the city to show them that history was made and is still being made right here in our hometown. From food to music, nightlife to art, there is so much to celebrate and share this month and all year long.
First up, I plan to take them on Carolyn Michael-Banks’ aka Queen’s A Tour of Possibilities. A Tour of Possibilities (ATOP) was created to share the historical and cultural gems that African Americans have contributed to Memphis, as well as explore their influence on local business, music, sports, politics, education, and religion. As Queen would say, “The possibilities are endless!” Last time I took the tour I was blown away by the expertise and passion she had when it came to where certain speeches were given and where plans were made for different marches and protests. I even got the chance to stand at the pulpit where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. famously gave his final “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple of the Church of God in Christ. This is something I will never forget and forever cherish.
Next, we plan to visit the Brooks Museum of Art to check out the Ernest Withers: A Buck & a Half Apiece photography exhibition. On display through March 20th, this show includes photographs taken on Beale Street, in Memphis recording studios, nightclubs, churches, and on city streets. Withers’ photos are a perfect conversation starter with my kids to talk about Memphis in the 1960s and ’70s. From there, and to see more of his work, we will stop by the Ernest Withers Museum on Beale Street. Five dollars gets you in, and there is so much there.
Finally, I plan to take the girls to the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum, which offers an in-depth look at one of the largest forced migrations in history. I look forward to witnessing this incredible experience through the eyes of my girls as they see and hear this story. I’ve been more times than I can count, but every time I go, I learn something new and am able to take away something special. The last time I went, I was moved by the use of quilts as symbols to let slaves know it was clear to pass and enter the Burkle Estate. The use of creativity, collaboration, and ingenuity to avoid capture is astounding.
When I think about being a kid studying and commerrating Black History Month in school, I remember writing reports about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and discussing Rosa Parks’ defiance on a bus that fateful day in Montgomery. Those important stories continue to inspire. But I want my kids to know more than I did as a kid and have more of a depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding to take with them into adulthood, and to teach their kids.
Jeff Hulett is a Memphis superfan who enjoys sharing with his two daughters what he loves about the city.