This is continued from our last blog post.

After a recent post, Wake-up Calls for Economic Growth Demand Action, we received the following question from a reader, and because it is one receive fairly regularly, we asked a few friends of ours to answer it, and in this installment, Charles Santo does another masterful job of speaking about things that matter to Memphis :

I’ve read several similar articles recently about Memphis, and it has made me want to do more to get involved.  I’m a transplant to Memphis from the Mid West, and am a fairly highly educated (MBA) professional.  I moved to Memphis out of college for a job, then out of Memphis for work, and chose to seek a job back that brought me back to Memphis.  I’d like to get involved and look into how we can make Memphis a city that attracts more young, educated professionals, but I have no idea where to start.  What are the best ways to get involved in moving the city forward?

Charles Santo, University of Memphis:

Memphis is a place that quickly engenders affection from newcomers. Whether this happens despite disdain from outsiders (read: TJ Simers, Forbes, etc.) or because of that disdain – as a kind of natural defensiveness or rationalization technique – I’m not sure. But I think it is a credit to the uniqueness of the place and its variety (in a homogenizing world). Regardless, many people who are transplanted to Memphis, whether for work of other reasons, quickly come to consider themselves “Memphians by choice.” I consider myself among that lot.

Recognizing the assets of the city, Memphians by choice want to bring others along, in part to make the city better. There are certainly ways to connect to others with like-minded goals. In a big small town, if you just give it time those connections will happen. But if you’re looking for the structure to facilitate those connections, I’d suggest organizations like Leadership Memphis, or the New Memphis Institute, which hosts a Memphis Connect program and engages fellows in Community Action Projects.

If you’re looking for ways to help Memphis appeal to more young and educated professionals, a second strategy would be to get involved in organizations that promote the things that are important to you, and to why you love Memphis. For example, If you’re into sustainability that might mean hooking up with the Sierra Club or getting involved with the Midsouth Regional Greenprint planning process, or volunteering with Citizens to Preserve Overton Park. Or, if you have some skills or talent you want to share and use to connect, put it out there with Guild Local.

I think talent attraction and retention is critical to the future of our city, but I also think that moving Memphis forward has to mean more that focus alone. What has come to make me nervous about talent attraction boosterism is the subtle message that in order to move Memphis forward, what we need is… more people like us. In a place whose appeal is its variety, I worry that we become too insular in this approach. Moving Memphis forward has to also be about addressing the challenges facing those who are not Memphians by choice (yet).

As Darrell Cobbins and Cardell Orrin have been saying lately, we need to start waving our yellow growl towels at some everyday problems too. And there are opportunities. If you have a church, ask them about their outreach ministries to see where you skills could be of use. Or consider volunteering for an organization like Advance Memphis, which works to promote economic self-sufficiency among households in poverty, and is considering alternative approaches to developing worker cooperatives as a means of neighborhood entrepreneurship. Or help Memphis address economic hurdles by building life skills with an organization like Literacy Mid-South. Or work with Stand for Children to improve educational outcomes and address disparity in education.

In the meantime, the simplest thing you can do to move Memphis forward is continue to live where you live — supporting your community by becoming an advocate, and by living your life locally: shopping, eating, playing in your neighborhood. Encourage Memphians who might otherwise run away from the problems of the city to stand firm — to stay and face those challenges in their city and in their neighborhoods. A commitment to this city — like any city — involves risk and raises legitimate concerns; especially for those raising families. While recognizing this, I believe that more people would be more willing to make the commitment to Memphis if they knew they were not alone in doing so.