Black Men Crowned holds town hall for young people
Memphis rapper NLE Choppa headlined a town hall at a downtown church Saturday afternoon focused on giving the city’s youth an opportunity to voice their opinions on improving the city.
Nonprofit Black Men Crowned hosted the “Speak Up with NLE Choppa” town hall at Light of Glory International Church, 225 Exchange Ave., in Downtown Memphis. About 100 people attended the nearly three-hour event at the church’s sanctuary, of which the majority were Memphis-area middle and high school students.
“When you speak on the youth, I feel like I’m part of it myself, I’m 19 years old,” said Choppa, who is also known as Bryson Potts. “I ain’t even reach 21 yet. When you speak on the youth, it’s the future. A few years from now, they’re gonna be the adults.”
The town hall centered on key community issues such as communication between the youth and older generation, Memphis’ crime rate and mental health. Black Men Crowned and Choppa’s goal was to uplift and encourage the youth who attended Saturday’s event.
The town hall had nine other panelists including state Sen. London Lamar (D-memphis), Choppa’s mother and manager Angeleta Potts and two Memphis students.
Launched in 2021, Black Men Crowned is a nonprofit organization “devoted to honoring, celebrating, and empowering Black Men in the City of Memphis while uniquely designing a space to mold our youth into becoming productive citizens in their communities.”
For Black Men Crowned, Saturday’s town hall represented the start of conversation on these issues because they are not ones that will be solved overnight or in the immediate future.
“It’s gonna take time, it’s gonna take a lot of work,” said Black Men Crowned CEO Justin Hart. “But I truly believe that this town hall is the first step in the right direction in creating a positive image that we want to see.”
Memphis students spoke about struggles and areas where they want to see increased change in the future. Some of those points included seeking more spaces for youth activities, facing both positive and negative peer pressure and communicating better with those in their household on a daily basis.
“A wise brother told me the problem between the older generation and the younger (generation) is humility,” said Middle College High School Senior De’aree Harris. “The younger generation we’re living in the present-day time, so we believe we got the answer, but the older generation says we’ve been doing this, young cat, we got the answer. If we cannot listen to each other with the heart condition of humility, then we’re going to be stuck exactly where we are. I think in order to do that we’ve got to work on ourselves.”
Choppa, who is a parent to a young daughter, said establishing a friendship between a child and parent can be one way to improve that dynamic. He said that’s because most youth tell their friends things they wouldn’t necessarily tell their parents.
“If you’re a friend to your child, they’re not gonna hesitate to tell you anything,” Choppa said. “Once you’re able to come to your mother as a friend, a lot of things communication wise will go smoother. That’ll bridge that gap” between the generations.
Saturday’s town hall also included a discussion on changing the narrative around “snitching,” particularly in relation to crime.
Lamar said the Black community has to change their way of thinking in regard to snitching making people feel “lame,” because not reporting incidents only makes the community less safe.
She also pointed out how many sent in anonymous tips in the investigation of late Memphis rapper Young Dolph’s death this past November.
“Find you someone you can trust,” Lamar said. “Your teachers are not your enemies. Your principals are not your enemies. They are in these roles to protect you. If you don’t say anything to them, bad things are going to continue to happen.”
At the event’s conclusion, Shelby County Commissioner Eddie Jones presented Choppa with a special proclamation for his community work in the past few years.