There’s no secret, my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, is hurting. We’re heartbroken, scared, and downright exhausted. Many of us have been personally affected by the violent crimes that have plagued this beautiful City for years. Yet, for many, Memphis is home, we might be tired, angry, or scared, but we refuse to back down. We refuse to give up our City to those who seek to destroy it.

On Saturday, following their 37-13 win over Navy, Memphis Tigers Head Coach Ryan Silverfield, in his postgame interview, delivered raw emotion that many Memphians felt in their core. Coach Silverfield with tears in his eyes, stated, ” Hopefully, we can be shining light during this hard week we’ve been through, but we’re a great city.”

Like many of you, I have poured my heart and soul into the City of Memphis. I love Memphis. Memphis is where I’m from, Memphis is where my grandparents met, and Memphis is where I met my soon-to-be wife. In those short but powerful words from Ryan Silverfield on Saturday afternoon, I felt my heartbreak for the City in a lump in my throat.

For generations, as trivial as it may sound, Memphians have rallied with an unbreakable unity to support our Tigers, Grizzlies, and our City. Like Coach, Silverfield said on Saturday, ” I hope we can be a light during these tough times.” Coach has a point; we as a City of Memphis might be brokenhearted right now, and you might be exhausted, but why can’t we rally together as one team with the common goal of taking back our City? It’s going to take every single one of us holding each other accountable to take back the City of Memphis from the evils that have plagued us for so long. From everyday folks like myself to our City leaders, the taking back of our City is going to be hard, but Memphis is used to hard.

I know from several conversations I have had with people from all parts of Memphis this past week; that many of us still believe in the 901. Many of us, like Coach Silverfield and others, want to be the light for Memphis and reach across barriers to build a better future for generations to follow.

Memphis is a beautiful city. Memphis is Home. Memphis can and will be the beacon of light for generations to come.

Like my Mom always said, ” Find the positives, and work to solve the negatives.” It’s going to take a village to fix the issues, but there’s nowhere on the face of the planet I would rather fight for than my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis will bounce back from the struggles we face because, in the end, Memphis is our home. When storms are brewing on the home front, you strap yourself up by the bootstraps and go to war to solve those issues.

Memphis has, and will always be, a family. It doesn’t matter to us what hood you’re from, how much money you have, or what type of background you have; Memphians are Family. It’s time we fight for our Family against the wolves that have surrounded us.

Be the light, and let’s take back our hometown.