Higher Heights of America PAC was proud to endorse Tami Sawyer, who won the May 2018 general election for the Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 7 with 80.5 percent of the vote.
Tami has been unwavering in her commitment to make Memphis a better place to live, work and raise a family. Since joining the commission, she’s used her voice to challenge educational inequity, transportation insecurity, and the lack of investment in minority- and women-owned businesses, and she’s delivered reform of juvenile court and detention. She is currently the chair of the Board of Commission’s Education committee, vice chair of the Core City, Neighborhoods and Housing Committee, and vice chair of the Community Enhancement Grants Committee.
Representing people so that they are fully heard, valued and included best describes Tami’s work and passion. As a coalition builder across various communities, she has been unafraid to challenge systems as she works to strengthen bonds among neighbors.
In 2019, Tami was selected as the first Speaker in Residence of Clayborn Temple, the meeting site of the sanitation workers who organized the historic strike and “I Am A Man” march of 1968. Tami also serves as the Education Co-Chair of the NAACP Memphis Branch, and as a board member of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. She is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. and The Links, Inc. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis and attended the Howard University School of Law.
Tami believes that investing in job training programs and youth development programs to retool the Memphis workforce include senior care, robotics, coding, and management. During her campaign, she pledged to increase the city’s MWBE spend to a minimum of 30 percent, and advocate for a living wage as a requirement for all jobs – particularly for employers and companies seeking tax abatements.
History shows that when Black women gain political power, we champion policies that benefit multiple communities. The time is now to elect more Black women to be at decision-making tables to represent us.