The Moral Case for the "Criminal" Label

In Tennessee, if a parent refuses to feed their child or keep them safe, we call the authorities. If a parent keeps a child in a basement and never teaches them to read, we call it educational neglect and file criminal charges.

Yet, when the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) system takes billions in tax dollars and returns a "proficiency" rate where nearly 80% of third graders cannot read on grade level, we call it a "challenge." We call it "needing more time."

It is time to call it what it is: Institutional Child Abuse.

Abuse is defined as an act, or a failure to act, that results in serious harm or the risk of harm to a child. Look at the real-world harm being inflicted on the youth of Memphis:

• Generational Poverty by Design: A child who cannot read by third grade is four times more likely to drop out of high school. In Memphis, this is a life sentence to the margins of society.

• The Pipeline to Prison: There is a direct, documented correlation between literacy and incarceration. By failing to teach reading, the system isn't just failing to educate—it is effectively pre-processing our youth for the criminal justice system.

• Psychological Warfare: Forcing a child to sit in a classroom for 12 years where they are "taught to the test" but never actually taught to think or excel creates a cycle of shame and hopelessness.

If a parent treated a child’s development with this much "deliberate indifference," they would lose custody. Why does our School Board keep their jobs?

The Faces of Failure: A Call for Accountability

This damage didn't happen in a vacuum. It happened under the watch of individuals who have sat in the seats of power for years, nodding along to failing strategies while the children of Memphis paid the price.

Joyce Dorse-Coleman and Michelle Robinson McKissack have been at the helm while these statistics stagnated. They have seen the data. They have heard the cries from the community. And yet, the needle hasn't moved. To seek re-election after presiding over such a catastrophic loss of human potential isn't just bold—it’s an insult to every family in this city.

Furthermore, Amber Huett-Garcia, who is now seeking a seat on the Shelby County Commission (District 13), is attempting to move up the political ladder after her tenure on a board that left the majority of its students behind. We cannot allow the architects of a failing school system to become the leaders of our county’s budget.

The Verdict

The "Common Good" is a noble idea, but there is nothing "good" about a system that acts as a bottleneck for Black and Brown excellence. To the board members who are not running: Resign now. Your legacy is written in the literacy rates of our children, and the ink is dry.

To the incumbents seeking new or old offices: Memphis is no longer accepting "progress in 2030" as an answer for the kids who are failing today. If the school system is the "parent" of our community's future, it’s time for a change in custody.