As we look ahead to a new year, I have asked some Memphians who care deeply about their city’s future for their resolutions or reflections for 2024. I am deeply grateful for their thoughtful submissions.   

This one is from Paul Morris, President and managing Partner AGCOMI & RL Partnership, former president of Jack Morris Auto Glass, former president of Downtown Memphis Commission, and an attorney.  He has been active in the civic life of Memphis in many ways, including serving as co-chair of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ transition committee.  He oversaw the operations of the Downtown Memphis Commission at a time when his efforts produced a downtown that was notably vibrant, clean, and livable.  

Paul Morris:

Thank you, Smart City Memphis blog, for inviting me to share my new year’s resolutions. I’ve got two. In 2024, I resolve to exercise more. And to recommit to Memphis. 

It’s been a tough few years for Memphis defenders. I frequently hear Memphians saying bad things about Memphis—about how they are planning to move, or wish they could. And I hear about this or that business considering leaving Memphis. And of course I hear about the crime. We all hear a lot about the crime, and of course many of us are victims. 

My instinct has always been to defend Memphis. I’ve got all the positive bullet points memorized. 

But I’ve grown so tired of defending my city that I’ve mostly stopped. I hate the crime, and I feel rage at the relatively few people—the criminals—who are terrorizing our community. And I often feel deflated and defeated by all the Memphis haters. 

I grew up here. My parents, Jack and Jane Morris, raised me to love Memphis. There is a book about my dad titled “A Heart for Memphis.” My parents were strong Memphis boosters and fierce defenders. My siblings and I knew growing up that we weren’t allowed to move away from Memphis. I mean, we could go away for college, and my parents even forgave me for moving to New York City for two years. But I always knew I had to move back.

When I did move back home to Memphis, I got involved. Among many other civic activities I pursued, I joined the board of the Center City Commission, now called the Downtown Memphis Commission. After serving on the board, I was hired to be the president of the commission. 

As president of the DMC, I was paid to improve, promote, and defend Memphis. I loved my job because I loved Memphis. And at the time morale was on the rise in Memphis. It was becoming cool again to love Memphis. A C Wharton had recently been elected with his “One Memphis” mantra. “I love Memphis” was showing up on walls and bumper stickers. Young professionals were moving Downtown. The Grizzlies were winning.

I couldn’t have been more in love with Memphis by the time I left the DMC to join my family’s auto glass business. At Jack Morris Auto Glass, itself a Memphis institution, I got to work with my dad for what turned out to be the final couple years of his life. Mom died a few years later. Memphis lost two major supporters, and I lost two encouraging optimists who believed that Memphis is the ideal place to live and raise a family. 

My reasons for being committed to Memphis are fewer now. We sold the family business the year after Mom died. That was last year. I’m no longer paid to promote Memphis, and my parents are no longer around to require me to love Memphis. 

So maybe my recent civic discouragement and hesitation to defend Memphis are mostly personal. But I’m afraid that many long-time Memphis boosters are feeling disillusioned right now. I feel like our city’s morale is very low. Have we lost hope?  

No. My family is staying here. This is our home. This is our community. After a lot of deliberation, including about the future of Memphis, my wife, Mary, and I recently put a contract on a historic home in Midtown, with plenty of room for our two kids and our dog. We are choosing, again, to raise our family in Memphis. This time, with far fewer ties to Memphis, we could more easily have moved anywhere. But we choose Memphis. 

I don’t think, however, that I’m going to follow my parents’ example and tell my kids they have to live in Memphis when they grow up. I’ll encourage them to look around for the best place to live and raise their families. I hope that will be Memphis. 

For Memphis to earn my kids’ citizenship in the future, we have work to do. We Memphians need to stop whining, show more grit, and recommit to our city. My parents were raising me to love Memphis back in the 1970s and 80s. It’s not like those were the good ole’ days in Memphis. Memphis is so much better now than it was then. That’s not by accident. It’s because my parents and many Memphians like them worked hard to make Memphis better. And they did so optimistically, without the hand wringing that seems endemic today in Memphis.  

There is a lot to love about Memphis today—I still believe all the positive bullet points I’ve got memorized. If I turn off the news and social media, and ignore the haters, I reflect on how good my and my family’s day-to-day life is here. Of course many Memphians are struggling in poverty, but the loudest complainers and fretters seem to be well-to-do Memphians.  

I don’t advocate blind boosterism. Let’s stay clear-eyed about our many challenges—challenges that we share with most other cities. But my resolution is to recommit emotionally to Memphis. To recommit to defend Memphis against the haters. To highlight our positives and do my part to raise our morale. And, most importantly, to recommit to make Memphis better. 

Also, to exercise more. Happy New Year, Memphis!