MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Forgive me if I am not thrilled by a morning visit to Memphis Wednesday by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. By most accounts, the governor’s message to minority business leaders was warmly received by a polite audience. But the speech was heavy on platitudes and extremely light on substance.
Lee was here as the keynote speaker for the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum’s Economic Development Forum breakfast downtown. And he used his roughly 20-minute message to praise the work already being done in Memphis to create more economic opportunities for minority businesses.
But the question left unanswered was, what is the governor and his administration doing at the state level to help with the effort? My answer is – not much. The truth is, Lee rarely talks about ways to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in any area – particularly in education and economic development. If anything, he wants less attention paid to the topic and has been outspoken about it.
I do give the governor credit for at least recognizing that local government and business leaders have made tremendous strides increasing minority business development, despite mostly lip service from the state.
And some of that lip service was on display Wednesday at the economic development forum breakfast. The bottom line is, Lee is headed toward certain reelection in November without being held accountable for a record that actually opposes diversity, instead of embracing it.