In a night featuring a mixture of singing, dancing, applause, booing, and audible protesting, Memphis Mayor Paul Young delivered his second State of the City address Tuesday, Feb. 10. Between a constant barrage of heckling, he touted the city’s declining crime rate, economic development and voiced concern about the city’s population decline.
Attendees began gathering an hour before the speech, some seeking better seats and others standing with signs outside First Baptist Church-Broad on Broad Avenue protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Memphis Safe Task Force, and the Memphis Police Department’s role with the federal operation.
“I would like for him to have more of a plan moving into the next two years to address poverty instead of getting so much money to police,” activist LJ Abraham said. “I would like for him to take a real opportunity to listen to the community because it doesn’t seem that he does it ever. He’s always defensive, but when the community addresses it, we don’t ever get a real response from him.”…