Our Health Department director sacrificed a tremendous amount personally in a difficult crisis to serve us along with the two mayors and COVID task force, and has had a major contribution in keeping us safe.

“Shelby County does not need help from the federal government or Chick-fil-A or FedEx. They just need to ask our neighbors in Mississippi!”

“Privilege ‘is not something we deserve, or are worthy of, and it is certainly not an excuse to turn a blind eye to the vastly different circumstances that one in five Memphians live under,” letter writers Jude Downing and Sophia Overstreet say. 

A letter from a pastor laments the chasm between ‘haves and have nots’ in the Memphis area. Another missive, from two high school students, says free childcare and better public transportation would go a long way toward helping poor families.

‘Those whose careers and income streams remained intact see the pandemic very differently than those who have lost their vocations and their income, and fear losing their homes,’” writes Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells.

One letter writer praised the Shelby County Health Department’s management of vaccine distribution at Lindenwood Christian Church.

‘David Kustoff does not deserve to serve in the Congress for one more day,’ writes Louis R Pounders.

‘Many thanks to Dr. Alisa Haushalter and her team for upholding these values in the midst of a health care crisis,’ Barbara Holden Nixon writes.

“Many of us have already been living paycheck to paycheck, doing everything we can to make ends meet before the pandemic hit. Now, our hours are being cut due to the pandemic and we were already struggling to make rent and put food on the table.”