MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Orange mound is a very tight-knit community and has been for years. It’s a part of what makes it so hard for residents to see crime increasing in their neighborhood.
On Saturday morning, neighbors and elected leaders in Orange Mound joined together to focus on curbing crime in their community. They met in response to the shooting death of Paula Appleberry the weekend before. That shooting also injured her young grandson.
“I’m tired of going to kids funerals,” one resident said.
Gun violence is an epidemic in Memphis, but neighbors and local officials are working to decrease crime in Orange Mound by coming together and making a plan.
“Not just identifying the problems but offering these solutions,” Representative Hardaway said. “That’s what the Orange Mound Collaborative is all about. It’s being on the ground and being able to bring the problems together with suggested solutions to the table.”
Arguably, finding the right solutions is critical, but the current state of Memphis is making parents hesitant to "let their kids be kids."
“I think it affects the kids playtime — I think it affects outdoors,” Carmona Perry said. “The respect level is not there anymore.”
Representative Hardaway says voting in local elections plays a vital role in how future leaders will handle crime.
“You will vote or die with the way that the extreme crime rate is steadily increasing nowadays,” Hardaway said.
Newly elected Councilwoman Janika White echoes that civic engagement in Orange Mound can have a direct impact on reversing crime.
“Just give us some time — we’ve been in there a month but we are working and we have a heart for service,” White said. “Show up at council meetings, find out what’s going on.”
Still, neighbors said the solution also takes officials doing more.
“Outside of just in the office, I think they need to step into different areas you know, go from door to door because not everybody is going to speak out,” Perry said. “You got some people that are going to close in.”
Over the years, engagement at city council meetings has increased, particularly after the killing of Tyre Nichols by former MPD officers.
Councilwoman White is hopeful the community will continue showing up as they see ordinances put forward that they pushed for by meeting with their councilmembers.
