MRPP marks 96th anniversary of Mid-South hero at Tom Lee Park Tom Lee Park (Source: WMC) By WMC Action News 5 Staff | May 9, 2021 at 8:12 AM CDT - Updated May 9 at 8:15 AM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Saturday marked the 96th anniversary of a Mid-South hero. We remember Tom Lee., selflessly saving 32 people from a riverboat disaster in the Mississippi River.
The Memphis River Parks Partnership marked the occasion with a small, socially distant gathering. Descendants of Lee and descendants of the survivors came together at Hero’s Plaza in Tom Lee Park.
“He was a worthy man, just like the workers had to say “I am a man.” It took a long time. But Memphis has come a long way and we should be honoring Tom Lee as a worthy human being and a great hero. It’s good that we recognize him here,” said Congressman Steve Cohen.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said Tom Lee Day was an opportunity to reflect on where Memphis was and where it is now, in terms of race relations. When the initial monument to Lee was erected, it referred to him as “a worthy Negro” rather than simply a worthy man, Cohen said. Now, almost a century later, statues of Confederate generals in Memphis have been removed from public parks while the memorial to Lee is being enhanced.
“Nathan Bedford Forrest is gone, Jefferson Davis is gone and Tom Lee will be remembered as a hero,” he said. “And that’s the way it should be.”
Opinion | Sign or no sign, Memphis still has a whole lot of soul | Otis Sanford
Local 24 News political analyst and commentator Otis Sanford shares his point of view on the debate over a sign in downtown Memphis. Author: Otis Sanford (Local 24) Published: 1:50 PM CDT May 6, 2021 Updated: 5:30 PM CDT May 6, 2021
MEMPHIS, Tenn. If you haven’t been to downtown Memphis lately, you’d be pleasantly surprised by all the new construction that has broken out all over. From South Main to the Pinch District, new development and renovations to existing structures have remade the look of the Bluff City’s front door. Where there was once vacant land or blighted buildings, new hotels now stand on Beale Street and Union Avenue.