President Donald Trump has officially labeled Memphis as the next stop for the National Guard. He says it’s about “crime concerns.” But Mayor Paul Young is trying to flip the script. Instead of focusing only on policing, he wants to see the Guard help with things like blight cleanup, homelessness services, and community beautification. He points to Washington, D.C., where troops cleared more than a thousand bags of trash, spread mulch, hauled away plant waste, and even painted fences. Young says Memphis can benefit the same way — joining forces with neighborhood initiatives like “Own Your Block,” where residents, leaders, and over 60 churches have already been working together to restore pride in their blocks. He reminded the city that Memphis once won the “City Beautiful” award multiple years in a row back in the 1940s. The goal now is to bring that energy back. Some in the Black community still see the Guard’s presence as government overreach. But others see an opportunity — if th...