The 9:01: Blacklist trial caps years of unrest
Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings took the stand Monday in the trial over the city’s ‘blacklist,’ a dossier of political activists first reported by The CA in 2017.
U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla already ruled the city violated a 1978 consent order forbidding the city from gathering “political intelligence” on non-criminals. At issue now is whether the plaintiff, the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, has standing to bring a complaint, and if so what the ramifications will be for the city and MPD.
The whole ordeal is a big, ugly, nationally watched mess for the city. But how did we get here? Here’s the timeline — although not a comprehensive one — of the administration’s souring relationship with activists:
1 The city is banned by a judge from collecting intelligence on political activists after long-time spying on the civil rights movement.
2 Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, a moderate, white Democrat, took office Jan. 1, 2016, on the promise to get tough on crime in a predominantly black city. Although not allies, Strickland and activists had a more cordial relationship. Meanwhile, Trump’s ascent begins spurring a new wave of progressive activism that found a voice in the Black Lives Matter and Occupy movements.
3 Political activists march onto I-40 in support of Black Lives Matter, shutting down the Hernando DeSoto Bridge for hours. Despite police fears of another Dallas sniper attack, then-interim police director Rallings, who is black, successfully negotiated an end to the protest, promising follow-up meetings. Strickland, who didn’t go to the bridge, makes an effort to answer activists’ demands in subsequent
1978: January July 2016: 2016:
weeks, but is criticized for his tone by prominent activists, including Tami Sawyer, now a Shelby County commissioner-elect. The rift grows.
4 Some activists stage a “die-in” on Strickland’s front lawn, causing him to heighten his security. His administration, which touted Rallings’ response on the bridge earlier in the year, begins hardening its stance against activists.
5
December 2016: February 2017:
The CA writes the first story about the ‘blacklist,’ aka ‘security book,’ after activists complain that police are required to escort them in City Hall. Memphis Police officials initially refuse to answer questions about how the list was created, and Deputy Director Mike Ryall responds to those questions by saying, “We don’t even need to pursue that down the road.” The story triggers outrage from activists and several lawsuits, one of which the ACLU of Tennessee joins in on.
6 The Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville fuels progressive opposition to white nationalism and Confederate monuments. Strickland’s administration had already clashed with activists at several protests and over public assembly permits , and begins getting criticism over not immediately removing Confederate monuments. MPD arrests several TakeEmDown901 activists.
7
August 2017: December 2017:
The city sells two parks and their Confederate statues, which are then removed, following the Historical Commission’s denial of a permit in October. In the days, weeks and months following, Strickland and activists wrestle over who gets the credit.
8 The ACLU lawsuit over the blacklist goes to trial.
Perhaps the relationship between Strickland’s administration and activists is beyond salvage at this point —
August 20, 2018:
especially as we head into the 2019 elections.
Activists’ more fiery rhetoric is partly to blame for the soured relationship, no doubt. But they’ve been doing what activists do. Strickland and his administration should have worked with activists, keeping in mind that he’s supposed to represent all of the city, including his critics. Instead, he chose to fight fire with fire.
And so, the city goes to trial over the extent of its political surveillance of activists.
A neo-Confederate victory? Nope: A Nashville chancellor blocked the sale of Memphis’ Confederate monuments this week, Daniel Connolly reports. Although Memphis Greenspace wasn’t planning to sell the statues before the conclusion of a lawsuit, Sons of Confederate Veterans spokesman Lee Millar declared victory:
“Though a small victory, this ruling none the less sends a giant message that the SCV continues the fight to bring the City and Greenspace to justice. We continue to maintain that what the City and Greenspace did in removing the memorial statues was illegal.”
But, of course, it wasn’t a victory for the SCV. If anything, it was another defeat, considering the chancellor didn’t side with the SCV against removing the pedestal of the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from Fourth Bluff Park.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.