When a group of rogue Memphis police officers mercilessly beat Tyre Nichols last January, it understandably made national headlines. And a year later, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis faces an uphill battle to keep her job, even though she has the support of new Mayor Paul Young.
Rev. Dr. Earle Fisher of Abyssinian Baptist Church has been a longtime advocate for social justice in Memphis. And in a recent Op-Ed for MSNBC, Fisher said that the winds of change are blowing too slowly, if at all.:
Whether Davis is removed from office remains to be seen, but she shouldn’t have lasted this long. She should have been relieved from her duties immediately after Nichols’ death.
Fisher went on to acknowledge that even African American leaders are not all aligned, given that the NAACP Memphis Chapter has thrown its support behind Davis as well.
Like so many cities have before us, what we are witnessing in Memphis is the difficulty of enacting meaningful criminal justice reforms at the local level even after a high-profile tragedy that made news across the globe and garnered worldwide outcry. In our case, there’s not even unity within the activist community, as a local branch of the NAACP expressed its support for Davis this week. At the same time, many community members are calling for the city council to reject her reappointment. We’re demanding real reform.
