Ep 38 | The Failures in Memphis Schools

Charles Cole: Hey, welcome to Color Commentary, a podcast where the stories shaping our world are told in black and white first, and then we dig into the deeper meaning than full color. Each week I'll be bringing you the news like this. First, we'll start with what I like to call the black and white section: a clear, straight shooting rundown of the facts and the traditions of greats like Ed Bradley, Walter Cronkite, and the classic voices of journalism. Then we'll shift into the color commentary section where I have my own personal opinions and insights. Sometimes it'll just be me. Sometimes we'll have guests. I'm a scholar, I'm a hip-hop junkie, a movie and culture nerd, and an avid book reader. In these shows, you will get to see all of it. Okay. And normally this is where I say let's get into it. But first, just a few things, a few disclaimers. So we're definitely playing around with the the the way in which we shoot the show. Like I really like doing segments and the clips have been working really well. I know some people we we tried that last week and some of you were like, where's this full episode? I missed that. And I hear it. I hear you. I'm just trying to be responsive to, you know, ⁓ consumer demand. Our clips do way, way better than our traditional episodes, but keep giving me that feedback. I love that feedback. tonight will be kind of ⁓ in the middle of both. ⁓ I am coming off the road. ⁓ In Memphis from speaking, which you'll hear about in this episode. ⁓ I have ⁓ we got delayed on a crazy for like six hours for a crazy reason yesterday. If you want to know, I will share it. It will probably be a funny story next week, ⁓ but I'm still tired from it from happening yesterday. But came home from Memphis late last night around 1230. I'm here today. That's it. I gotta unpack, repack, I'm doing that now, washing doing all that, and then I will be traveling to New Orleans ⁓ for the National Charter Conference where I ⁓ pitched an idea about an education podcast festival inside of that ⁓ inside of that conference. And so I'm getting to do that. And we got some pretty big announcements that's happening. We got some big podcasts that'll be there, but the one that people are really excited about. is the A Black Hands reunion happening there. and I I'm excited for it. ⁓ you know, it's been a while since I've been with all the guys in one place. ⁓ I'm interested to see how our chemistry is. We did an episode of, you know, my brother Chris's ⁓ show and well Chris and Sharif show ⁓ Freedom Friday. and it was cool. Like we kinda some of it was like riding a bike. ⁓ but you know we started A Black Hands so long ago ⁓ and now people are older now. We're in different places. Think th you know, so I'm really interested to see how this live show goes. And I don't know what happens after that. So we we shall see. ⁓ the South Star Classroom will also be there. ⁓ that's another podcast I do with my colleagues. I love David, Omar and Jubilee, and I'm just really excited about it. So today's episode should be a fun one though, because I got to spend it This last few days with some people that I really truly care about. And you're gonna hear about everything that happened. So with that said, now let's get into it. Let the music play, brother. 22nd, 2026, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the Tennessee Public School Accountability Act into law. It strips elected local governors from Memphis Shelby County Schools and replaces it with a nine-member state-appointed oversight board. The bill passed the Tennessee House 73 to 19 and the Senate 27-6 on April 22nd, 2026. Memphis Shelby County Schools is Tennessee's largest public school district. It serves more than one hundred thousand students and operates on an annual budget of one point seven billion dollars. The new oversight board is required to convene by July 1st, 2026, and it is not advisory. It controls the district's operating budget. It is approval authority over contracts and expenses above a set threshold. It can hire, fire, and set the contract terms for the superintendent. It has a near unlimited access to district records, including teacher evaluations and curriculum materials, and it can block the Shelby County Commission from approving the district's annual budget. Without its own sign-off first. Board members are appointed by the governor, the House Speaker, and Lieutenant Governor, all Republicans, and they can be removed at any time without calls. Eight of the nine members must be Shelby County residents. The board serves a four-year term that can be extended to six years if performance benchmarks are not met. This law is not written for Memphis alone. It applies to any Tennessee school district that meets four of six criteria: academic underperformance, chronic absenteeism, D or F school grades, priority school designation, financial mismanagement, and leadership instability. Memphis Shelby County Schools is the latest district currently meeting all six. Seven other districts meet three. The governance crisis behind this law is well documented. The school board fired Superintendent Dr. Marie Fagans in January 2025, only 10 months into her tenure, after an 18-month search that cost taxpayers more than $70,000. Fagan said publicly that, quote, board members chose chaos over children, and she has since sued the board, alleging the firing violated Tennessee's Open Meetings Act. Memphis Shelby County Schools has had four different superintendents in five years. The Shelby County Commission passed a formal no-confidence motion against the school board after the Fagan's firing. And the district was simultaneously undergoing a $7.6 million forensic audit described by some officials as among the worst they had seen. On the academic side, the data tells two stories at once. More than 75% of students failed to meet state proficiency standards in reading and math in 2025. Only 27.5% of third graders met reading expectations in 2024. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math proficiency sat at 13.6, 17.5, and 17.7% compared to the state rates that more than doubled those numbers. One in five graduates earned the ACT score needed for Tennessee's Hope Scholarship. Chronic absenteeism stood at 28.1% in 2022 to 2023, nearly 29,000 students. 23 schools, about eleven percent of the district received F grades in 2024 to 2025. At the same time, the district posted a level 5 TVAAS growth score, the highest possible for the fourth consecutive year. The graduation rate reached 83.4% in 2023 to 2024, the highest in more than a decade. Two-thirds of schools earned a C or higher on the state report card, a six-point increase from the prior year. Third grade ELA proficiency rose from 22% in 2021 to roughly 29% in 2025. The Memphis Lyft, the parent organization that was founded in 2015, has been central to the story. I also am wearing the shirt because I was there. You see it. This is the shirt from Memphis Lyft. The organization now represents more than 4,000 volunteers, parents, and grandparents across Memphis. Memphis Lyft's founding came after door knocking research found that nearly 90% of Memphis parents did not know their children were attending a low-performance school. This past Saturday, June 20th, Memphis Lyft hosted a citywide event in Memphis called Saving Our Children, a call to action for parents in the community. It was billed as a citywide revival for families. The event ran from 12 to 4 p.m. at 2109 Chelsea in Memphis, Tennessee, and it included food, giveaways, vendors, live music, and a special appearance from The Memphis mayor, ⁓ Dr. Willie Harrington. Event sponsors included Memphis Lyft, Partners in Unity, the Sterling Institute, and Hope Beyond Barriers. And I was also invited to ⁓ keynote that event. That's the black and white. Now let's get into the color. So I am a huge fan of Sarah Carpenter and the Memphis Lyft. I and I'm gonna be very honest. ⁓ I'm I'm biased towards her. I call Sarah Carpenter the modern day Fannie Lou Hamer. And if you study Fannie Lou Hamer and you st and and and you study who her priority always was, it was always the people. She was in that community, she lived in that community, she talked like that community, like All the things you try to heap on people from low-income black communities, Fanny Lou Hamer stood in it and and she did it proudly. And Sarah Carpenter is always who she is. And one thing about Sarah Carpenter is that if your school is bad, she don't care if it's a traditional school, a charter school, a private school, a home school. She doesn't care if it's bad and it's bad for kids, she wants you shut down. And if it's something good for kids, she wants it spread out. She don't care about democratic reports. Republican, she don't care that you gotta be on some some some weird code ⁓ when it means that black kids are being failed. So I I I stand with her. I will always stand with her. I truly, truly love that woman. And I went up there and I got to I got to give my talk, and I love that it was in a revival tent. One It was hot as hell in Memphis, yo. Like I sweat through that thing. It was, it was, it was a big one. It was, it was it was definitely 90 plus degrees. but it it it was good because everybody in that tent was giving something up. Everybody in that tent was together. And and I made the crowd look around. ⁓ I made them see who was there and honor who was there in that heat with them, and I made them act take exception to who was not there. Who always says they'll be there, who comes around when it's time to vote for them, who comes around when they need their support, who comes around when they need money, who comes around when they need political clout, but was not willing to be in that tent with them people. And it was just, man, it was. It was just a moving experience for me. I I am I love speaking. It it is one of the things that I'm pretty good at. I don't know if I felt like myself speaking, I don't know, man, the last few maybe years or so. Like I'm still decent, but like but that that thing was good for my soul, man. And I delivered one of my better speeches, I think, in the last decade. ⁓ I told those people the truth. I stood in front of those numbers. I told those people they should be more mad. They should be more upset than what they were. we had the spirit of a revival. You know, we tapped into that. And I'm just so grateful. ⁓ Of course I didn't tape or film. They said they did. ⁓ I'm supposed to be getting a copy at some point, at which point I will, you know, release it. I don't know if I can recreate the talk. I don't know if I can recreate the ever everything that that came from it. I I I contemplated like reading some of my notes here, but I really one, I'm tired. ⁓ so again, y'all give me some grace because I'm still coming off a six plus hour delay flight. From Memphis. It only takes an hour and ten minutes to fly from Chicago to Memphis and vice versa. But you know, and I gotta finish packing and and head out to New Orleans tomorrow. so forgive me if I don't do all that, but I wanna just get to the heart of it. The heart of it is we we need each other. And we have to go into our communities, and the first thing we have to do is we have to remind that community that they deserve better. See, there's a lot of guilt in communities like mine. Memphis is a community like the one that I grew up in, whether it's Paducah, whether it's Maywood, whether it's Oakland, whatever. Only thing that changes is the accents. And what I've seen now for doing this work over 20 years, my lord. Is that our people don't think they deserve better. It's the most heartbreaking shit. I spend more time. I spend more time. I spend more time telling our people you deserve better. I don't care what you've done. I don't care what your education level is. I don't care if you're a doctor or if you only got past the third grade. These are public schools. You're paying for them. They make you a promise. So that was what I had to do first, is I had to establish their worth. I had to re-establish it. I had to I had to establish it in each other as made them look at each other. I had to tell them that it doesn't matter what your background is. It don't matter if you've been in and out of jail. It don't it don't matter. Like public education is not contingent on your lot in life. It shouldn't be. And these people that are failing these kids over and over that keep telling them that they should be happy because there was growth. I read that in the black and white section. I think the numbers went from twenty three percent proficiency to twenty nine percent. That's three out of ten kids being proficient in something. What the hell is your standard? And I told them that when those people say that, you look at them and you say, that's not our standard. And you ask them, is that the standard for their child? Is that the standard for their children? Because a lot of people that run education in Memphis Shelby County, a lot, not all, but a lot of those people, their kids ain't touching those schools. They kids are in primo schools, whether they be public or private. Many of them are private. And I got nothing against private schools. If you got the means, your kid is valuable. Spin that shit. I am not judging you. But there's an issue when you're telling these people that these crumbs are good enough for them when your kid, you wouldn't let them touch it with a 50-foot pole. You understand what I'm saying? Anytime somebody tells you that you should be grateful that three out of ten of your kids are proficient in anything, they damn near asking for you to punch them, man. See, those numbers mean something. I know that there are gonna be people that's like, man, forget those standardized tests, forget this, forget that. But those standardized test numbers predict with pretty good accuracy of who gets paid in the future, who gets good jobs in the future. Wait a second. Well, and who gets to go to college in the future? But let's even stop there on the education stuff. They predict shit like who gets to continue to live in this city later, who will get sick and die sooner? Who goes to prison? Who has children young and all this stuff? There are some pretty strong predictors. There are some big decisions that get made off those scores, especially when you have year after year after year after year after year of data. And stuff coming back. And the more kids that go into third grade, the more kids that take that test in eighth grade, the more kids, the more kids that are taking that test and passing through, are the more that are graduating or being graduated or dropping out. And those guys are becoming adults. And those ladies are becoming adults. And you get to see. Researchers look at this stuff all day. Go to a wealthy town if you want to and tell them. That only three out of ten of their kids are gonna be able to read on grade level, that is a war crime. That is a, that is a you are signaling war. People don't play about their kids. Y'all remember the Varsity Blues scandal? Love that movie by the way. Varsity Blues scandal was where those celebrities got caught getting that special coach to cheat they and get their kids in the Ivy League schools. See, them the type of people that run systems like this. You understand? So that's one. Two I just I told them after we got off of them and their worth, I told them they weren't angry enough. And I gave some scenarios. I said, think about the angriest you've been at a relative. Think about the fights you've seen. Think about the people in this community that have shot at each other for less. Think about the fights that might have happened over fifty dollars or five hundred dollars. These people got damn near two billion dollars. And this is one of the poorest looking districts that you will ever see. I'm not asking for violence against any kind of professional. I'm not asking that. What I'm saying is the same anger that we can muster for each other. I'm getting I'm getting passionate and emotional thinking about this again. Because you gotta pull people out the matrix. You gotta pull them out of it. You really do. Think about the vitriol that neighbors have for each other on Facebook, going back and forth with each other. But then get in front of these officials that's failing your kids and ain't got none of that smoke. Think about it. Not that I need to, and this may sound absurd, but the second thing I did or tried to do, humbly, was give those people permission to be far more upset than what they were. And then that leads to organizing. Number three. They were gonna try to turn this into a Democrat Republican thing. They were gonna try to turn this into a Trump thing or whatever. They were gonna try to do all this stuff. It Listen man. We we talking about y'all kids, man. We we talking about y'all kids. See, on this whole Democrat Republican thing or black and white thing or whatever the case is. You gotta interrupt when anybody has low expectations for your kids. You just do. You gotta interrupt when anybody got low expectations for your neighborhood, you just do. I'll share a personal story. If I were to I y'all know my story, okay? I don't have to remind y'all every week. But the level of poverty, the level of things that I came from, I heard, I've I've heard people, I remember going to the office at Lafayette Elementary School in West Oakland. And when I was going to pick up my bus tickets, because I stayed at the shelter, and so they got me these bus tickets. And one of the people said, it was this lady that I always would stay behind and make sure we all got what we needed. It was a few of us. Actually a few of us lived in that same shelter. And one other coworkers said, why you always spending so much time and effort on those future gangbangers or something like that? It was really disrespectful. I mean, I was in the fifth grade, man. I was in a fifth grade. I was in a fifth fucking grade. Okay? You and that woman was black like me. That said that bullshit. You understand what I'm saying? Y'all know I'm blackity black. Y'all know that man, when it comes down to it, I got the fist up, baby. I'm I'm always riding. I'm always riding. But you can't play in our face either. You think that was okay to say in front of kids? So when people are pointing out well, the Republicans are the ones that want this oversight. And the Democrats are upset about it and the Democrats point to this six point jump from twenty three percent proficiency to twenty nine. The Memphis Lyft and all those black parents and grandparents rightfully fucking so said, Are you out your fucking mind? Again. That organization is fighting for the lives of those kids. And for some of y'all that don't know Sarah Carpenter and don't know Memphis Lyft, one look ⁓ up. Two, type in really check Sarah Carpenter's resume, and her and her family have lost so much personally. Sarah Carpenter has lost kids in these streets. She lost a grandson in these streets. There have been multiple times that I've come down there to visit or do work, and we are mourning the loss of somebody that is very close to her. She set her office up in the middle of the hood for a reason. And it's beautiful. It's the most beautiful thing in that neighborhood. It's gorgeous. And it's a place for that community. And guess what? Some of those gang bangers or people that get written off protect that place. Look over that place. And look over her. But this is not somebody that don't know what they're talking about. This is not somebody that has just gotten rich off of this work and don't live. She's there. She lives there. She is Memphis. And I rebuke anybody that tries to come at her or those parents just because some Republicans agree that the standard should be higher. I know what time we in. I know what Donald Trump is. I know how crazy it is. I understand that. And I also understand that there's sometimes things that's happening at a local level that's different than now on the national level. I also understand that sometimes you might be aligned with some people. that you don't really like. The saying is No permanent friends or enemies. You have to be politically mature and savvy and have street smarts and have heart and guts to do what is right for kids and to stand on it. So I stand with them. I do. I really do. The fourth thing that I pointed out to them is, now, I don't know who are the people on this on that's gonna be on this special committee. I think Memphis Lyft knows them, you know. And what I said to them, whether you like them, love them, or hate them, you wash their asses like a hawk. You take the mindset of. Our kids in our community is worth $1.7 billion. And you know what rich people do? They hire an accountant to watch the accountant. One of my favorite comic books of all time, one of my favorite, well, don't call it a comic book. Okay. All right. They'll get a they get offended. Graphic novel is The Watchman. And one of the catchphrases in The Watchman is, who watches The Watchmen? See, oversight and transparency are never a bad thing until somebody skimming. Until somebody getting over, until somebody is over promising and undelivering. And okay with that. So Fifth thing, when I was up there in that heat, I really thought about my grandmothers. I thought about my paternal grandmother, who was buried in the same cemetery as Mamie Till, who was friends with Mamie Till and connected to her. And just the stories that I've heard about her. And My maternal grandmother, who was very good friends with my paternal grandmother, because my parents dated when they were young, who was buried in Paducah, Kentucky. And I drive out there, I need to go more to go visit and talk to her grave site. And just Memphis feels like a convergence of those two women that I lost too soon. I lost all my grandparents very, very young and early. I was raised by my maternal grandmother until she passed away. Memphis has a very special place in my heart. I lived in a city like Memphis that is always counted out, disrespected. You know, a place where young people want to be the murder capital so they can have they can stand on that and have something to be proud of. Not all, but I've met some. I'm just very grateful to do it. And I don't know what speeches can do, you know. I know what they've done for me. I know what King speeches and X speeches, and you know, I've heard some incredible orators. ⁓ but I'm so honored and humbled that people were moved emotionally and got some really good feedback. And some that told me that they didn't thank thank thanked me for reminding them that they should be more upset. And thanked me for reminding them that their voice matters and it counts. And thanked me for reminding them that as much fighting as we do it with each other, we can spare a few hands for these people. So I'm happy with it. I look tired because I am. I ain't even sponged my hair before I got up in here, man. I know I look a little rough. I know that my shirt's a little wrinkled. I gotta, like I said, I'm I'm cleaning, I'm packing. But I wanted to get y'all this episode because that is what God called me to do. And I'm not about to get super religious. Y'all know I'm a heathen. I'm a Baptist. I love the Lord. I really do. And I'm a heathen. I work on it, I repent, but I'm not hitting you with some holier than thou stuff. And I just said all that to say, back in front of that microphone with that type of energy, I re found something that had been missing from me in a while. And was reminded that God built me to be able to do that, to be able to communicate these things that are often overcomplicated. to make it plain for our people, to make it actionable for these cities, and to make it palatable for these young people that have all but lost faith in the older generations ahead of them. I'm extremely grateful. So that's it for today. That's it. I ain't I told you, I ain't I ain't gonna bear you down today. I ain't gonna bog you down, you know. But I'ma get out of here and let Tommy do what he does. That's our show for this week. If something in this episode stays with you, or if you wanna push back on something I said, I wanna hear it. Send your thoughts, your questions, and your own color commentary. The color commentarypod at gmail.com. And until next time, I'm Dr. Charles Cole III. Stay in the black and white when you need the facts. And hop into color, full color, when you're ready to talk about what all that means. Peace.