Why should we care?
SCS’s ability to provide a quality, equitable education is being undercut by high teacher turnover and year-long teaching vacancies, as well as significant maintenance deficiencies within the schools, all of which leads to higher financial, educational, and health costs. A lack of access to wraparound services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, and nurses inhibits the successful treatment of trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Abuse, neglect, and trauma significantly increase the likelihood of suspensions, juvenile criminal behavior, and incarceration. With a median age four years below the national average, Memphis’s population can support economic development, but only if we provide children in our community access to opportunities and support.
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Equipping people of faith and goodwill to organize communities for systemic change through collective action.
Make Them Known: A Vigil to Remember Lives Lost Inside the Shelby County Jail
Sat, Aug 01
|Memphis First United Methodist Church
Time & Location
Aug 01, 2026, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Memphis First United Methodist Church, 204 N 2nd St, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
About the event
Since 2018, 68 people have died in the custody of the Shelby County Jail due to a combination of staff abuse and neglect, and negligence by the healthcare provider. The lives of these people mattered, their families were left without answers, and their names too often go unspoken. They were human beings.
Please join Just City, MICAH, and the Justice and Safety Alliance for Make Them Known: Remembering The Lives Lost At the Shelby County Jail.
At 6:30 pm we will gather at Memphis First United Methodist Church in downtown Memphis, just three blocks from the jail. We will say their names. We will hold space for family testimonies, light candles, and the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church Sanctuary Choir will honor them in song. At 8:00 PM, we will walk together in silence to the jail entrance for a moment of silence and laying of roses in remembrance.
This is…
Upcoming Events
Fri, Aug 28Details on registration pageProgressive National Baptist Convention in partnership with National Action Network
Multiple DatesThu, Sep 17Idlewild Presbyterian ChurchBetter Transit for a Better Memphis, led by daily riders and other community champions, organizes and advocates for fully funded, accessible, and equitable public transit.
Sun, Nov 15Avon AcresJoin us for an enchanting afternoon of celebration, community, and great live jazz!
Upcoming Events
- Fri, Aug 28Details on registration pageProgressive National Baptist Convention in partnership with National Action Network
- Multiple DatesThu, Sep 17Idlewild Presbyterian ChurchBetter Transit for a Better Memphis, led by daily riders and other community champions, organizes and advocates for fully funded, accessible, and equitable public transit.
- Sun, Nov 15Avon AcresJoin us for an enchanting afternoon of celebration, community, and great live jazz!