Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Opinion - Guest Columnists

Opinion: Every year is a new beginning when you open your heart

rabbig@timemphis.org (Micah Greenstein) — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 12:26:28 -0500

Every day is a new beginning, and every year is a fresh start. That’s the larger message of the Jewish high holy days, which started this past week with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and continue for 10 days through Yom Kippur.

Opinion: For live theater, magic can be found in the pit

jmiles@thebesttimes.com (Joyce K. Miles) — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 08:51:18 -0500

“Little is ever mentioned of what goes on in countless orchestra pits within the confines of our many theater companies.”

Opinion: Driving Tennessee’s prosperity in divided times

editor@dailymemphian.com (Erin Hafkenschiel) — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 04:00:07 -0500

“Our goal is simple: to create a space where partisanship fades and common sense takes the lead. We may not agree on everything, but we can agree on this: We all want our families and communities to thrive.”

Opinion: Why Shelby County is investing in neighborhood-level preventive care

editor@dailymemphian.com (Lee Harris) — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 04:00:04 -0500

“By focusing on preventive care, ShelbyCares helps residents avoid costly medical interventions, contributing to long-term savings in healthcare costs and improving overall community health.”

Opinion: An open letter to Memphis and a farewell

futrisa@churchhealth.org (Joshua Henry Narcisse) — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 04:00:14 -0500

“For my final column, I wanted to write a letter to Memphis, to the city I love and that has made so much of my story possible,” Narcisse said.

Opinion: School vouchers expand opportunities for families

editor@dailymemphian.com (Chris Fay) — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:00:11 -0500

“Suggesting that school choice programs drain public schools is misleading and distracts from the real conversation we should be having — how do we give every child in Tennessee access to a high-quality education, regardless of ZIP code, income or circumstance?”

Opinion: There is no ‘model jail’ for Memphis

editor@dailymemphian.com (Emmett Sanders) — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:00:11 -0500

“By failing to address the underlying problems that put so many people to jail in the first place, Shelby County will be doomed to revisit these problems again and again.”

Opinion: A jail at Shelby Farms Park would be a destructive mistake

laurawolffmorris@gmail.com (Laura Wolff Morris) — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 04:00:14 -0500

“A high-security jail inside Shelby Farms Park would destroy the very qualities that make it so valuable. ... There are more appropriate sites for a jail. But there is only one Shelby Farms Park.”

Echols: 'We need the wisdom of trees'

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 7 Sep 2025 04:00:05 -0500

“We need the wisdom that shows us how to turn our faces toward the light and bend without breaking.”

Opinion: Use the Mason prison for juvenile intervention, not an ICE detention center

jcvergos@yahoo.com (John Vergos) — Wed, 3 Sep 2025 05:47:26 -0500

“There is no doubt in my mind this facility can go a long way in helping Memphis reduce crime and help some of these children. It is desperately needed. Cost and bureaucracy should not be a problem.”

Opinion: MATA is fixable — and other lessons I learned on the MATA board

editor@dailymemphian.com (Anna McQuiston) — Wed, 3 Sep 2025 08:35:49 -0500

“If we want our city to thrive, we need a strong transit system. It effects all of us who want our packages delivered, our children to learn, our construction projects completed, our coffee to be made, and so much more.”

Echols: Staying quiet — despite the good things we've found

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Mon, 1 Sep 2025 10:34:39 -0500

“Let me say, ain’t nobody going to like this comparison – not the shot people, not the Christian people, and not the other people, either — but it’s real. There are things about Tirzepatide that remind me of the Holy Spirit.”

Opinion: The reach of Memphis Rox keeps climbing

morriss@churchhealth.org (G. Scott Morris) — Sun, 31 Aug 2025 15:54:27 -0500

“Memphis Rox isn’t just about climbing walls. ... It is about a Memphis that refuses to stay on the ground, a Memphis that believes no mountain is too high.”

Echols: Words that aren't the uninhabited talk of AI

candaceecholswrites@gmail.com (Candace Echols) — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 04:00:04 -0500

“While AI can talk about God, it cannot speak about experiencing him. It can offer no first-person perspective on what God is like in the euphoria of love or in the depths of grief.”

Opinion: Upholding Memphis' reputation as a generous city

rabbig@timemphis.org (Micah Greenstein) — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 04:00:04 -0500

“My philanthropic heroes, whether congregants on fixed incomes or billionaires like Warren Buffett, embody a rare attribute. Sacrificial giving means contributing beyond one’s self, not merely after one’s self-pursuits or leisure.”

Opinion: Plant a canopy tree, invest in the future

kalki@escapelandscapesmemphis.com (S. Kalki Winter ) — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 04:00:04 -0500

“The giant trees that we now enjoy were planted in a much younger town than the one we are in now. They have literally grown with Memphis, shaping the landscape for generations.”

Opinion: MEMArts' vision for repurposing the Humes school building

editor@dailymemphian.com (Katie Smythe) — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 04:00:12 -0500

“The investment this facility requires will only be possible if it is held free and clear by a private entity that can operate with autonomy, flexibility and speed.”

Opinion: Life-saving medical support should not be a privilege

editor@dailymemphian.com (Leighanne Soden) — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 04:00:12 -0500

“Cancer doesn’t care where you live. But in this city, where you live can still determine whether you live.”

Opinion: Greater Memphis Chamber award signals new era for city

editors@dailymemphian.com (Duncan Williams) — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:00:10 -0500

For too long, our city has been defined by others. This national recognition tells a different story — one of a city that’s leveraging its unique assets to compete on the global stage.

Opinion: A Venezuelan immigrant's experience with ICE in Memphis

Bryce@donatilaw.com (Bryce W. Ashby) — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:00:10 -0500

Alfredo Caminata saw the United States as a safe place free from the authoritarianism and persecution he suffered in his home country. Until he was stopped by ICE agents.