by Sarah Lockridge-Steckel When we started the Memphis Music Initiative, we knew a few things were true. More than 26% of youth in Memphis’ underserved communities will not graduate from high school, and only 5% of youth have access to after-school music programming. This is critical because music is a powerful tool that can deepen […]

by Brittney B. Bullock Your liberation is bound up with mine. – Lilla Watson I often talk about liberation. How it functions and feels. I question at times if I have it, and if I’d know when I had it. I point it out when I see it. When I see it lovingly drenched over […]

by Doug Waddill “I know, I know, I know…oooh oooh, call on me, I know…”  We have all been in classes with THAT guy or girl.  The “know it all.”  As a former teacher, I was always amazed at that stereotypical kid that had to be first and had to know it all.  Usually when […]

by Rhonda Broussard What if solving for pain points isn’t good enough?  From product designers to UX/UL to social entrepreneurs, we’ve been trained to get close to the problem.  Bryan Stevenson urges us to get proximate to people so that we can really understand their pain.  Last year, we worked with Memphis Music Initiative (MMI) […]

by Sam O’Bryant  Since 2011, I have worked on projects and initiatives that have deliberately and intentionally discussed the role of race and equity in America. My work has included planning regional conferences on racial healing in the American South, hosting community conversations on race in the Delta, and even promoting black male achievement within […]

A conversation with Janet Thompson Let’s start with the strategy and how it’s evolved. Can you talk about how you’ve approached building relationships in the schools and how that approach has developed this year? When I came on board with MMI, I really felt that my first priority should be to extend the reach of […]

by Doug Waddill There are invisible lines everywhere we go.  There are boundaries of cities, states, and counties that are real, but they cannot be seen with the naked eye.  There are more figurative “lines” that occur as well.  For example, when one moves from hungry to full or from a run to a sprint.  […]

by Kiesha Davis With a multitude of challenges, the nonprofit sector working with community to support those needs are often pushed beyond their own capacity to do so. Sector leaders, and those all to often focused on serving communities of color, are routinely faced with a barrage of competing interests calling for their attention and […]

by Lecolion Washington The last few years have been an amazing time for the MMI in-schools team as our work has grown by leaps and bounds. One of the key attributes that MMI brings to the table is that we have created an environment in which the tail doesn’t wag the dog. The level of […]

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde Years ago while I was evaluating the success and impact of performing arts presenters in the Midwest, I observed a distinct barrier when utilizing the funder’s evaluation tools to demonstrate grantee success […]