Memphis may be the largest majority-Black city in the U.S., so where do we go from here? (2024)

With the current population count sitting at 621,056, Memphis' census population estimates for 2022 show that the Bluff City could be overtaking Detroit as the nation's largest predominately-Black city, by a razor-thin margin of 680 people.

Detroit has held the title as the largest majority-Black city in the U.S. for roughly 40 years, with Memphis trailing at various rankings over the years.

The title of "largest" relates to both demographic percentages and population size. Often referred to as the "Blackest city in America," Jackson, Mississippi is 80% Black, but significantly smaller in population than Memphis, which is 63% Black.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan blasted the census bureau's 2022 estimate of 620,376 residents on Twitter, calling the federal department a "clown show."

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And both Duggan and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland challenged the results of the 2020 decennial census results, resulting in a bump of 1,478 residents for Detroit and a decrease of three residents for Memphis, bringing the totals to 639,111 and 633,101, respectively.

In spite of those counts, both Detroit and Memphis are showing population loss according to the yearly census estimates released since 2020.

Accurate population counts matter greatly, as federal funding is tied to a city's population. And a population difference of 680 is slight. But, for local leaders and thinkers, the distinction matters greatly.

Memphis' past and present, for better and for worse, are shaped by the health and vitality of Black communities, or lack thereof. Memphis, as Shelby County historian Jimmy Rout III noted, "has never been the white community that we sometimes think we are."

Has Memphis ever fully embraced who we are?

Since the Civil War, oppression and resilience are two interwoven threads that have defined what it means to live and die as a Black person in Memphis.

Oppression manifested as slave trades, lynchings, and the Memphis Massacre. It was deplorable working conditions for sanitation workers, the redlining of predominately Black neighborhoods, and the ever-present biases found in city institutions like police and the justice system.

The resilience of Black Memphians has sturdy roots, too, found in strong abolitionist sentiments found throughout the city prior to the Civil War. Resilience powered Ida B. Wells and Robert Church. It dwelled in the sanctuary of the Clayborn Temple as Memphis sanitation strike supporters handed out plain posters that read, "I Am a Man."

In the 1990s, the percentage of Black Memphians began to crawl past the 50% mark. The nationwide phenomenon of white flight, and the flight of middle-class incomes, depleted tax bases as the city's Black population continued to increase.

Rout points out that, given the majority Black population, a steadily increasing Hispanic population, and Asian populations rooted in the Chinese Labor Convention of the mid-19th century and the Vietnamese population rooted in exodus spurred by the Vietnam War, "Memphis has always been a melting pot."

The lingering question, he said, is "have we ever embraced that?"

A duty to carry conversations forward, especially the tough ones

When Russ Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum, learned Memphis is within striking distance of being the largest majority-Black city in the U.S., his first thoughts, understandably, centered on Martin Luther King Jr.

2023 marked the 55th anniversary of his assassination.

"(I'm) thinking about what he espoused and hoped for, and wished for, not just our city, but for our country, through the context of judging people by the content of their character, and thinking less about their race or any other points of distinction that we opt for in our society," Wigginton said.

There's a historical inequity in Memphis, Wigginton said, "that in many ways ties us all together."

Wigginton wonders what would happen if Memphians began to think of pervasive inequities as a catalyst, a motivation to do better and be better?

"And what better place to execute on that, than Memphis...the most significant majority-minority city in the country today, and the place where Dr. King sacrificed his life for the greater good of our entire country?" Wigginton asked.

Part of the work of the NCRM is preserving the spirit of change by nourishing it, steadily. In the summer of 2020, the museum plaza served as a gathering point for protestors in near-nightly marches in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

And as the shock of the police killing of Tyre Nichols is fading, the museum continues to make space for the continued push for reform with a four-part panel conversation. The second part of which, called The Resolve, will take place June 7.

It is the museum's duty and legacy, Wigginton said, to keep tough conversations going. Memphis is emblematic of struggles felt around the country.

"Part of our job is to keep these issues present and (at the) forefront in the minds of people who we know care. And, frankly, for those who might not think they care," Wigginton said.

What if we embraced this?

The Rev. Andre Johnson is a professor in the Department of Communications and Film at the University of Memphis.

But when he talks about the potential Memphis holds as a majority-Black city, the transition from Professor Johnson to Rev. Johnson is swift.

Memphis is climbing to the top as the largest majority-Black city while, "Blackness itself is under attack," Johnson said, using Florida as an example. Under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Johnson wouldn't even be able to speak as a professor in the Sunshine State of Memphis' historical context without a thorough whitewashing.

So what if, Johnson asks, Memphis went all-in in supporting the demographic that has produced the majority of cultural exports — from food, to Blues, to sports?

"You would think that in our mayoral election our candidates — and none of them have — that people would talk about the primary group of people who will live in this city and what their needs are," Johnson said.

Yes, Johnson said, crime needs to be discussed. Memphis is still grappling with a elevated homicide rate and violent crimes. But there's room to talk about the long-game solutions to crime, be it an increase in capital among Black residents or more robust investments in schools.

"But we're not talking about that. We're still talking and governing as if Memphis is a majority-white city," he said.

Johnson sees effort. He mentions the recent efforts by the Memphis City Council to at least try and take the reins on gun control by shifting decision-making power to Memphians.

Embracing Memphis' Blackness, Johnson said, could be a significant turning point for the future of Memphis and the leaders charged with ushering in that future. And that's not to say it's only Black residents who should have their needs prioritized.

"If there was such a thing as the "Black agenda," he said, "the Black agenda would be to rise to help all people. Blackness in and of itself has always been inclusive."

Memphis could, in Johnson's mind, be an urban oasis, a refuge for increasingly criminalized demographics that have been targeted through state legislation.

"For this moment, we will be the urban oasis, we will be the oasis in the state of Tennessee, where you can come and be who you are, and love who you want to love. And we're just going to just have a good time," Johnson said. "Blackness is always associated with crime, but what if we associated Blackness with all the good in this city?"

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering issues tied to education, access, and equity. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.