A couple of pastors in town say Memphians would be less likely to commit crimes if they had deeper pockets.
Reverend Kevin Brooks, a local pastor at Providence AME Church, told a local reporter, “Violence is only a byproduct of some unmet need. The basic need in any community is food, clothing, and shelter.”Earle Fisher, the pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church agreed, telling local ABC affiliate Local 24, “It is easier to get access to guns and drugs in most of our Black communities than it is to get access to a livable wage, job or make a career or to access to an equitable, especially a cultural competent, education.”
Memphis workers had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.71 in May 2021, about 15 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
KWAM host Todd Starnes called the pastor’s hypothesis an insult to poor people.“Poor people are not out there committing all of these crimes,” Starnes said. “As a matter of fact, when you look at these kids when they are running from the police, they’ve got like $150 shoes on.”
