On a brisk, busy Friday evening, members of the Memphis Youth Manifesto movement walked the protest line on the corner of Poplar and Union Extended. Their purpose was to highlight the misinformed images of youth of Memphis in the media. After weeks of research on Memphis media, newspaper and television, the group assessed which outlets used their 60 minutes of prime time presence to highlight something good about Memphis youth, and which outlets only presented a negative image of Memphis youth, to the rest of the world. All the outlets spent some portion of their news hour focused on youth crime; however, it is primarily black-on-black crime that comes across the airwaves.

Fortified by their own research, members of Memphis Youth Manifesto movement take to the street, complaining of media coverage they say is weighted toward negative images of Memphis youth. (Courtesy photo by Memphis Youth Manifesto/True Vision Photography)

In the tradition of peaceful protest by the affected against that which keeps them bound, the youth took to the streets, with their hand-man signs of indignation, shouting I AM Not A Thug, I AM newsworthy. They marched in the twilight of dusk, resounding loudly and reminding us of another time in Memphis history. As men, black men, stood with them symbolically dressed in black suits, white shirts and black ties, they marched for what they believe in – for a hopeful future that doesn’t look like today.

The Memphis Youth Manifesto members stood on the principles they created, demanded positive images of Memphis Youth, and cried out for support from the city they live in and love. They asked themselves, “Is this too much to ask, to expect from our city?” As one, they shouted, “No, it is as it should be.”

In the November issue of the Memphis Downtowner magazine, an author writes, “A single bullet brought Memphis to its knees in 1968, with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memphis and many other cities found themselves in turmoil and distress. But out of that tragic event, an idea bloomed for healing and putting the pieces back together again.”

The author was speaking of the birth of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, MIFA. Well, the same could be said of the birth of the Memphis Youth Manifesto. Out of a lifetime of combating the fear and condemnation of the youth in Memphis, this group formed to take a stand, to present a different image to the world of Memphis. Their goal is to combat the reputation of Memphis from cops shows, murder rates, infant mortality statistics, and all the other “firsts” our city has earned, for all the wrong reasons.

We marched with them, handed out flyers to passersby, answered questions from the curious, and assured the nervous that the protest was a good thing; that these youth want only what is best from our city. Many pledged to visit the Web site, get informed about the movement, to encourage the young people in their households to become involved. We ask the city of Memphis to join these citizens in their quest to know more about the Memphis Youth Manifesto, to support our youth as they work to make a difference in our city.

Something is happening in Memphis, will it happen with, or without You?

(For more information, visit http://memphisyouthmanifesto.com. Denise Lofton is a free-lance writer living in Memphis and a Memphis Youth Manifesto supporter.)