The storm that hit the Memphis, Tennessee, area on 22 August lingered for only about half an hour.
asserted
that → hit → hour
But the destruction it left was lasting: $18m in damages, fallen trees and more than 100,000 people without power.
asserted
it → leave → power
Amber Sherman was one of the east Memphis residents who lost power, but her first thoughts were of her neighbors.
asserted
thoughts → lose → neighbors
“My main thought was that the power’s going to be out for a while and people aren’t prepared for that and it’s very hot outside,” Sherman, a coordinator for Black Voters Matter (BVM) in Memphis, said.
asserted
Sherman → go → Memphis
Days after the storm, a series of rain showers and thunderstorms known as a bow echo storm, the high in Memphis was 91F (32.8C).
asserted
high → know → Memphis
As an organizer, Sherman knows how to connect with people.
asserted
Sherman → know → people
She contacted her boss at BVM, as well as other partner organizations, to talk about what relief efforts could look like.
uncertain
efforts → contact → what
She checked on neighbors and helped with meal distributions.
asserted
She → check → distributions
She also used her social media platform to update people on the situation.
asserted
She → use → situation
“I think a lot of times, people outside of Memphis don’t know what’s happening here, and I thought it was really important because of what was happening in Gary, too,” Sherman said.
asserted
Sherman → think → Gary
Shortly before Memphis was without power, Gary, Indiana, a majority-Black city more than 500 miles to its north, lost power.
asserted
Gary → lose → power
Both storms came near the 21st anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which prompted some people to draw comparisons between the majority-Black cities and what’s viewed as an inadequate governmental response.
asserted
what → come → response
“Highlighting that this issue with infrastructure in Black cities is not a new problem, but a consistent problem that we really need to address.”
asserted
we → highlight → that
Eventually, many branch libraries, Memphis parks community centers and Memphis parks senior centers were available as places to cool off, charge devices, and get food or water for residents.
asserted
libraries → cool → residents
The city’s mayor, Paul Young, and the Memphis city council chair, Jana Swearengen-Washington, announced MemphisCares, a partnership between the city, the city council and the United Way of the Mid-South that would coordinate relief efforts.
asserted
that → announce → efforts
Through MemphisCares, the city made up to $100,000 available to help residents replenish groceries and receive food assistance.
asserted
residents → make → assistance
“For many Memphis families, days without power also meant losing groceries they simply can’t afford to replace,” Young said in a statement.
asserted
Young → mean → statement
“We know recovery looks different for every family.
asserted
recovery → know → family
Through Memphis Cares, we’re working with [the] city council and United Way to get help to the Memphians who need it most.”
asserted
who → work → it
But affected residents were only able to begin calling MemphisCares’s hotline on 31 August, more than a week after the storm hit.
asserted
storm → affect → August
Just hours after the hotline became available to residents, funds were depleted.
asserted
funds → become → residents
Memphians who called were automatically directed to a message that said, in part: “We have received more requests for assistance than funds available.
asserted
We → call → funds
The staff at United Way is currently processing the requests and will distribute assistance beginning tomorrow until all fundable requests have been met.”
asserted
requests → process → assistance
In the absence of governmental resources, the organizers relied on skeletal plans and protocols for what to do in rapid response scenarios.
asserted
organizers → rely → scenarios
They were able to respond to the crisis almost immediately.
asserted
They → respond → crisis
Derrick Tillman, a Memphis small business owner who runs the Detailers Multi-Service, a home contracting company, drove 85 miles (136km) down to Oxford, Mississippi, to purchase generators from Ace Hardware.
asserted
who → run → Hardware
About 15 generators, including some sourced from Jackson, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, were distributed from Tillman’s home.
asserted
generators → include → home
He went across the city, servicing people without lights.
asserted
He → go → lights
He set up generators for them, running cords through their homes and explaining to them how to use the machines.
asserted
He → set → machines
His own neighborhood was hit pretty hard, with trees down, but his power was only out for two hours.
asserted
power → hit → hours
“I was able to still operate, to just help people, because I wasn’t stressed out on my end, mentally or physically,” Tillman said.
asserted
Tillman → operate → end
He said that he expects communities to come together in times of crisis as those in Memphis did.
asserted
those → say → Memphis
“We all stick together and make things happen and use our resources, most likely we can take care of each other with no problem.”
asserted
we → stick → problem
Multiple groups and businesses across Memphis and the mid-south, including Young, Gifted & Green, an environmental justice organization; Da Sammich Spot, a restaurant and resource hub; the Mid-South Environmental Justice Center; and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, coordinated hot meal distribution, in addition to passing out water.
asserted
groups → include → water
Sherman said that the Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition, formed in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and fortified during the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis, responded quickly by helping to get generators into the city.
asserted
Coalition → say → city
Elders, pregnant women and children were prioritized to receive donations.
asserted
Elders → prioritize → donations
Some volunteers delivered groceries to families who were afraid to leave their homes due to their immigration status.
asserted
who → deliver → status
The organizers and volunteers worked in local church kitchens to ensure that congregants were able to get something to eat.
asserted
congregants → work → something
“I don’t think that there’s been a greater testament to the character of Memphis and Memphians than what we’ve seen,” said Richard Massey, a community organizer and environmental justice advocate.
asserted
Massey → think → what
“Regular people pitched in, donated resources, pooled resources and prepared hot meals for the community for free.
asserted
people → pitch → community
…and 13 more, not listed.
