Program aims to combat District 10 blight
Shelby County official launches ‘Shine Blight!’ effort in the area where Eliza Fletcher’s body was found
Last week, the body of Eliza “Liza” Fletcher was found behind a blighted home in South Memphis, hidden by tall grass.
Now, Shelby County Commissioner Britney Thornton, who took office just last week, is launching a program called “Shine Blight!” to honor Fletcher and take on the issue of blight in District 10, which includes the home behind which Fletcher was found.
“I wonder if there was not an abandoned house and overrun grass in the case of Ms. Fletcher, could this story have ended differently?” Thornton asked in a news conference Friday. “There’s no way to know, but to see that have been a crucial part of this story, it definitely is unsettling and one we know we can take action on.”
The Shine Blight! campaign will occur over the next 3 months with an evaluation to be presented to the public in December.
Leaders in District 10, which goes from Hamilton High School to Graceland and out to Cherry Road, are asked to identify blighted properties in the area. They will then receive quotes on yard care from lawn care providers who are located in District 10. Then, dates will be chosen to service the overgrown lots, with a comprehensive report presented to the district and public.
The projected project budget is $96,000, funded through small donors and corporate sponsors to be sought over the next month. Government funding will not be used. If more money is raised, more blocks will be mowed, Thornton said.
Supporters can sign up as volunteers or donate funds and equipment at www.wearedistrict10.com, a website which will launch this weekend. Residents can also identify blighted properties on the website.
The program will be modeled after “Mow the Mound,” a program Thornton started through her nonprofit Juice Orange Mound.
Rebuilding South Memphis ‘from the inside out’
The home Fletcher was discovered behind had been vacant for more than a decade, its previous owner driven away after his property was burglarized.
And, a nearby resident described “worsening crime, discomfort in her own home and community, and discontent with the negative behavior attracted by the blight in her neighborhood,” according to a news release.
Damon Curry Morris, who two years ago lived about a half mile from where Fletcher was found, said it was no surprise to hear Fletcher was found in South Memphis.
“Ms. Fletcher’s death was very, very, very tragic,” Morris said. “But it’s not anything we who lived here in South Memphis does not know anything about. I can take you to other sites where I have seen bodies dumped, where I have seen trash dumped, where I have seen blighted properties. … South Memphis has seemed to be a forgotten community.”
Others gathered with Thornton Friday agreed that South Memphis residents have been forgotten, and that people inside the district want to step up and change the community.
Fred Johnson, who owns the empty lot where Thornton held her news conference, said he and others are “trying to rebuild South Memphis from the inside out.”
“And that’s really how Memphis became great in the first place,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t because of outside people coming in, it was because of the people in these communities that made it great. Memphis is known for its food and its music. It wasn’t people outside these communities who taught us these things.”
The campaign draws its name from a video circulating online of Fletcher singing “This Little Light of Mine” to her students.
“As the runners this morning sought to finish the race that Liza started, we are here today to represent District 10 and our commitment to represent the legacy of Ms. Fletcher,” Thornton said. “We are inspired by the 34 years that she was able to allow her light to shine and we recognize that we’re committed to shining light over our community and not to just allow darkness to run its course.”
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.