Raymond Neal graduated from Hamilton High School in 1969 and worked about 35 years as a waiter. He recently came out of retirement to help a friend, who owns the new Mahogany Memphis Restaurant. Last November, he showed up at Memphis City Council seeking a sponsor for a resolution naming the late Robert R. Church Sr. the “Father of Modern-day Memphis.”
He reminded the council members that “Mr. Church” was responsible for restoring the Memphis City Charter after it was revoked following the yellow fever epidemic (around 1878) that caused a reduction in the city’s population and a loss of city revenues.
“It was Mr Church’s $1,000 city bond which restored health to the city’s coffers and qualified Memphis to regain its standing as a sustainable municipality. Other people joined in following Mr. Church’s generous example, but it was due to his initiative that set Memphis back on sound financial ground.”
To Neal, an actor and self-published author, that certainly makes Mr. Church the “Father of present-day Memphis.” He sketched two benefits of passing such a resolution.
“Number one, it will put a cap on our tremendous celebration this year (2019) of the first 200 years of the existence of Memphis, Tennessee. And what better way to do that than to honor one of our greatest, albeit forgotten citizens, Mr. Robert Church, Sr.?
Benefit two, he said, would be the ignition of “a sense of pride and patriotism in our African-American youth to a degree that it would make a positive impact on their lives. …
“We have got to do something to rescue our children from this insanity of devaluing life. To you, sirs and ma’am, I say thank you.”
Joe Brown, who has since term-limited off of the council, agreed to sponsor the resolution. When Neal return for the vote a month later, the resolution was passed without opposition. He was given a copy on official City Council stationary.
Married for 21 years, Neal and his wife have between them six children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. What inspired and drove him to make such a move on the council?
“Well, it’s been something that’s been in the back of my mind for years. I know that Robert Church Sr. and Robert Church Jr. were very, very prominent Memphis citizens…because I study. I read. I’m an avid reader. I’m a Memphis historian.”
In response to a question and without hesitation, Neal detailed the highlights of Robert R. Church’s life and contributions to Memphis (and particularly African Americans), including the first African-American-owned bank and Church Park.
“There had been so many killings of our young people until I just had enough, and I decided that I (had) to be proactive… (had) to find out something to do to make our young people realize that they are valuable, that life is valuable; somebody to look up to that had done a tremendous job here in Memphis, for Memphis.”
So, he sat down at that point, wrote his speech to the council, went down there and gave it.
Reminded that Memphis has broken multiple barriers with the election of African Americans to high-profile public offices and that the problem-scenario he outlined exists nonetheless, Neal said, it remains his hope and prayer that the time for change is here.
“I seem to think that if I was a young teenager and was taught that one of my forefathers has been honored by being named ‘Father of Memphis,’ that would touch me. That would really touch me. …”
