There are 30 article(s) tagged MICAH:

• July 2025

  • Opinion: ‘Death spiral will continue for public transit’

    “There is time for all Memphians of good will to ask their council representatives to properly fund MATA for daily riders, the businesses that employ them and the good of the entire city.”

    By Leo Arnoult, Dennis Lynch July 05, 2025

• February 2024

  • Guest Column: Celebrating community voice in superintendent search

    “The inclusion of community feedback exemplifies a process that is both inclusive and reflective of our community’s values. This alignment between the Board’s actions and community expectations sets a strong foundation for the collaborative work ahead.”

    By Barbara Beaver, Zahra Altareb February 24, 2024

• March 2023

  • Behind the Headlines: Local advocates discuss crime and reform

    Representatives from the Memphis-Shelby Justice & Safety Alliance, a group of various local organizations, discuss crime and criminal justice reform during a discussion on “Behind the Headlines,” which first aired on WKNO at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 24.

    By Julia Baker March 25, 2023

• February 2023

  • Speakers call third-grade reading retention law ‘unfair’ at town hall

    Under the third-grade retention law, students who don’t score proficiently on the English Language Arts portion of their TCAP test are eligible to be held back unless they meet certain conditions.

    By Aarron Fleming, Ian Round February 23, 2023

• November 2022

  • Opinion: Tackling injustice at the roots

    “It’s time to move past surface-level ‘fixes’ that blame the community for the problems that systems create. We believe that communities, particularly communities of color, deeply and intimately understand the problem and therefore hold the transformative solutions that will last.”

    By Ayanna Watkins November 16, 2022

• June 2022

  • Guest column: Lessons from Memphis can help with a crisis in democracy

    “What can save our nation are movements which mobilize political action over the long haul — like the movements that have happened in Memphis.”

    By Fred Morton June 26, 2022

  • Guest column: Memphis finally has an opportunity to invest in public transit

    “We ask every reader to call your city councilperson or county commissioner and let them know you support Memphis and Shelby County dedicating retiring PILOTs to building a viable and sustainable public transit system.”

    By Sweetrica Baker, Mary Lou McCaa, Sandy Smegelsky June 06, 2022

• March 2022

  • MICAH pushes for a conviction review unit at virtual town hall

    Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich, seeking a second eight-year term, has resisted creating a conviction review unit. 

    By Ian Round March 10, 2022

• January 2022

  • Nashville Conviction Review Unit could be a model for Shelby County

    Sunny Eaton, who runs Nashville’s Conviction Review Unit, said, “These wins are the kind that are absolutely changing lives for people who never deserved to be in that position.”

    By Ian Round January 17, 2022

• April 2021

  • MICAH calls on Strickland to open up police director selection process

    Social justice group seeks to be part of the discussion and decisions about police reforms and the selection of the next Memphis Police director.

    By Bill Dries April 02, 2021

• December 2020

  • Four local nonprofits to receive Award of Excellence from Gov. Lee

    Christ Community Health Services, the Mid-South Food Bank, Las Americas and MICAH will be honored for outstanding service in a very unusual year. 

    By Christin Yates December 11, 2020

• June 2020

  • Protesters ‘occupy’ City Hall to demand police reforms

    Protesters gathered outside City Hall Tuesday as part of a 21st day of demonstrations and events that have grown out of the Minneapolis death of George Floyd at the hands of police

    By Yolanda Jones June 17, 2020

  • Protest and activism grow to include restlessness with local status quo on race

    Memphians joining the past 21 days of protests are becoming more vocal about changing the city's traditional method for dealing with racial issues.

    By Bill Dries June 16, 2020

  • Fisher: What’s next isn’t just about protests

    A critic of the Strickland administration, the Rev. Earle Fisher, says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast that he hopes Mayor Jim Strickland's talks with religious leaders produce solutions. But he also expressed skepticism, as some of those in the group have accused police of using excessive force in the city's first George Floyd protest.

    By Bill Dries June 15, 2020

  • Six inmates, 13 employees are positive for COVID after surge testing

    Surge testing for the coronavirus among inmates and employees at Shelby County Correctional Center has been completed, and results show six inmates and 13 employees tested positive.

    By Yolanda Jones June 12, 2020

  • Religious leaders: Police handling of Memphis protests ‘excessive’

    The ministers who signed the letter include two who have been meeting with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in a review of police procedures. They specifically questioned the law enforcement response to the first local protest over the death of George Floyd that ended with five arrests.

    By Bill Dries June 12, 2020

• May 2020

  • MICAH continues multi-pronged push to help inmates during COVID-19 threat

    Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has agreed to accelerated COVID-19 testing of inmates at the Shelby County Corrections Center after meeting earlier this week with representatives of the community action group MICAH.

    By Yolanda Jones May 23, 2020

  • MICAH sees new awareness, new allies with pandemic’s focus on issues

    The director of the social justice organization says on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast problems with online learning as schools closed and maintaining school lunch programs have opened the eyes of Memphians to long- standing problems.

    By Bill Dries May 03, 2020

  • Politics Podcast: How the pandemic highlights digital divide, poverty

    MICAH director Rev. Ayanna Watkins talks about bail reform, the digital divide and homelessness and the new look its getting with the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic in Shelby County.

    By Bill Dries May 01, 2020

• February 2020

  • County Commission panel weighs MATA funding ideas

    Participants at a Shelby County public transportation ad hoc committee examined a number of ways the county can find dedicated funding for MATA.

    By Linda A. Moore February 05, 2020

• January 2020

  • MICAH applauds plan to fund MATA with wheel tax increase

    MICAH is rallying behind a Shelby County Commission resolution to raise the wheel tax by $20 to increase funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority.

    By Linda A. Moore January 08, 2020

  • Commissioners to consider $20 wheel tax increase to fund MATA

    Commission committees will be asked to consider raising the wheel tax by $20 to fund MATA.

    By Linda A. Moore January 07, 2020

• December 2019

  • Free Wi-Fi for MATA riders is here

    MATA now has free Wi-Fi for riders on buses, MATAplus and the trolleys.

    By Linda A. Moore December 23, 2019

  • MICAH presents plan to raise millions for MATA

    MICAH officials on Wednesday offered the Shelby County Commission alternatives that would raise all of the $30 million needed to fully fund the Memphis Area Transit Authority.

    By Linda A. Moore December 05, 2019

• September 2019

  • Candidates to address MICAH gathering Sunday

    Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope will host its second public meeting on Sunday. Memphis candidates were invited to attend and MICAH task force leaders will provide updates on equity efforts.

    By Abigail Warren September 13, 2019