Malcolm Gladwell famously wrote about the tipping point, that moment when change happens quickly. It's the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. Memphis appears to be at the tipping point when it comes to early childhood development.
The past few weeks have reminded me yet again how special Memphis is -- the accessibility of our public leadership, the willingness by city government to reach out to the public for help, and the creation of a civic agenda that we can all embrace and support. There has been one important thread running through the fabric of these recent events -- early childhood development -- and it's being woven by the smart thinkers at The Urban Child Institute.
As many musicians in Memphis know, becoming an overnight success usually takes years of hard work. It's the same with early childhood brain development. The Urban Child Institute has been working for a decade with partners and community leaders to spread the word about how crucial this issue is to the future of Memphis and the region. Today it is clearer than ever that this message is finding a wide audience.
It's the time of year when we look back at the past year and make resolutions for the new one. It's no different at The Urban Child Institute, as we step back to consider what has been done for children's brain development in 2011 and what our plans will be for 2012.
There are frequent conversations in Memphis about what our city brand should be. Some people suggest that it should be about transportation, other say logistics, and some say our river heritage. Those are important assets of Memphis, but they are things. They don't really speak directly to our community values and who we are as a people.
Several recent headlines sent shock waves throughout Memphis and Shelby County, but it was years earlier when the seeds were likely planted in the form of domestic violence that thwarted optimal brain development and put children at risk. We cannot effectively deal with youth violence until we deal decisively with domestic violence, because they are often links on the same chain.
