MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More organizations have criticized Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s closed-door meetings with protest organizers and other community leaders.
Leaders of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) were at Wednesday’s meeting, and now they said they won’t attend any more.
“We are not here for incremental change,” MICAH President Stacy Spencer said. “MICAH is here for radical reformation.”
The coalition of 63 organizations said they were surprised to learn, via an email from the mayor, they were never meant to be included in the conversation.
“After learning that MICAH was not considered a necessary part of the mayor’s table, other pastors who were invited reached out to us to make sure that MICAH was at the table,” interim executive director Meggan Kiel said.
Spencer said he doesn’t plan to attend any future meetings, especially after he said a city official offended their organization.
“To say that we’re not necessary, to say that we’re not substantive is really an insult,” Spencer said.
Spencer said they are looking for tangible systematic change.
One of those changes includes the re-appropriation of funds from the police department to other venues such as transit, homeless initiatives and education.
Spencer said he feels the meetings with city leaders need to be open to more people in order to see change.
“People who are experiencing the injustice, experiencing police brutality, experiencing poverty, those voices need to be heard,” he said. “After all, it’s the people of Memphis who elected these officials. We don’t work for them. They work for us.”
MICAH said they are in the process of completing a plan of action. They plan on presenting it publicly Tuesday morning in front of city hall.
