JENSIZED LAST ACTIVITY IN MEMPHIS TOWN

Memphis: Dont call it a comeback

By Jen

A few weeks ago I had a great conversation with a bar customer named Richard.

Richard’s lived in Memphis pretty much forever, and has been in Midtown about as long. He told me one of his adult children — who like many of my friends left for what seemed like something “bigger and better” — is returning to the city.

She realized she had all she needed in Memphis; she just had to find out the hard way. He’s welcoming her home with a big “I told you so.”

Memphis has everything, he told me. Food, professional sports, entertainment, culture, business — Memphis has all the trappings of a big city with the friendly closeness of a small town.

“But we’re our own worst critics,” Richard said.

I thought of my conversation with Richard after I watched the video for Memphis CVB’s new campaign for the first time on The Memphis Egotist.

There goes that civic self-esteem problem again. “Comeback” only lends credence to the idea that Memphis is unsafe or uninteresting. As one commenter on the Commercial Appeal website remarked, it’s like a restaurant with an “Under New Management” sign.

The aforementioned CA article (warning: paywall) says comeback can be interpreted two ways: as the city making a comeback, or as an invitation to come back. Neither interpretation is particularly positive. “Hey, yeah, this place has kinda sucked, but things are lookin’ up!” versus “Hey, please give us another chance?” Excuse me while I call my travel agent and tell him to book me a flight to anywhere but that steaming pit of desperation.

The idea that Memphis is on the brink of a comeback? Couldn’t be further from the truth. The Memphis this campaign is trying to promote — to quote LL Cool J — has been here for years. Has it gotten better? Hell yes. Was it awful before? No.

(And don’t even get me started on the obvious nod to Elvis . Will he ever get a chance to rest in peace?)

Comments

sdt

I grew up in Memphis. Moved to the East Coast for 9 years. Completed college and grad school during that time. Went back to Memphis for 15 months. Couldn’t find a job (even with a master’s degree). Moved to Nashville 2 months ago for a great job. Hope to never return to Memphis. Ever.

My mom says I’m too harsh on the city. I say Memphis isn’t harsh enough on itself. At least not in an honest way that allows it to address and fix its flaws. I hear a lot of talk about what’s being planned, but I don’t see the systems (or finances) in place to support that talk. Until then, I’ll enjoy my new city and hope it doesn’t become another Memphis.

Art

Sounds like Memphis is much like Atlanta (where I’m at): kind of a Nowheresville that tries to convince itself that it’s in the league of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, and actually it registers on the national psyche somewhere below Cleveland and Milwaukee. But many of us residents figure we’d fall flat on our faces in the bigger cities, so we keep floundering on, searching under every sofa cushion for something to convince us our town is really “happening” and is the next mecca, and not the church-and-guns Right Wing hive it’s portrayed as. But it becomes harder to convince ourselves as the years roll by…

Joe Kaegi

Great entry, Jen. I completely agree with everything you’ve written. I was born and raised in Memphis, went to school in Knoxville for an athletic scholarship, then years later moved back home for grad school.

I’ve been home for five years now and couldn’t be happier with my hometown. I’ve been able to find two very good jobs and plenty of opportunity for those qualified and looking. I’ve also had a great time, with plenty to do always.

I don’t like the whole “comeback” campaign. Like you said, it only lends credibility to the notion that Memphis went away at some point. As a city, we are who we are. And who we are is awesome.

I may not live in Memphis my whole life. I don’t know, I can’t tell the future. But if I were to leave, it wouldn’t be because I don’t love being in Memphis.

Instead of a “comeback” campaign, I think we should push the city’s true differentiator : Memphis has big city excitement with the friendliness of a small town.