Crime is down. But do Memphians feel the difference?
Members of the Memphis Safe Task Force, led by the U.S. Marshals, arrest a fugitive with a warrant in South Memphis Nov. 26, 2025. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
Mario Pugh stood solemnly in the freezing cold with hundreds of others to march the roughly 2-mile stretch near the National Civil Rights Museum in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
He gripped a cardboard sign with gloved hands that read “Silence is complicity.”
Pugh participates in the annual march on Martin Luther King Jr. Day every year with New Direction Christian Church, where he attends. But this year felt different, he said. The march route ran from Colonial Park in Uptown to Navy Park.
“It just feels like we’re living a repeat of what was going on back in the day. … I just don’t understand why they’re doing that. Hard-working people come here to work, come to this country for a better life and end up getting treated the way they’ve been treated. That’s why we’re here today. We’re still fighting.”
The status of the country served as a backdrop for the march, with people wondering if times are regressing or in opposition to the atmosphere around the country.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
Martin Luther King Jr. Day The National Civil Rights Museum Memphis Safe Task Force Renee Good Stephanie Creasy Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
Did you know we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization? We rely on a mix of revenue from subscriptions (50%), advertising, events and other earned income (25%) and fundraising (25%).
Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian today.
👉🏽 Your subscription pays for you to read all our journalism.
👉🏽 Your donation powers the work we do to reach everyone else with the news.
We believe an informed Memphis is a better Memphis. If you agree, join our growing list of donors now.
Aarron Fleming
Once an intern, he never left, joining the staff full-time in 2022 as an education reporter. He moved to public safety in 2023, where he covered some of the city’s biggest court cases, including the criminal trials for those charged in the deaths of Tyré Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also chronicled the Shelby County Jail and the deaths that have occurred at the facility.
He now provides suburban coverage, focusing on DeSoto County and the surrounding municipalities.
Public Safety on demand
Sign up to receive Public Safety stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Comments
Want to comment on our stories? If you’re a subscriber, scroll down to the comments. If you’re not a subscriber, only paid subscribers can add their thoughts, so subscribe now. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.