Opinion: Blackburn’s video was silly. The reaction was even sillier.
“Blackburn’s critics turned a campaign joke into a racial indictment — and treated their outrage as evidence.”
John Covington
John Covington is a lifelong Shelby County resident. He spent nearly two decades teaching history at both the high school and college levels before entering law enforcement, where he has served in the Memphis Police Department for more than a decade. He is vice president of the Memphis Police Association, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Memphis, and is active in local Republican politics.
There are 16 articles by John Covington :
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October 2026
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Opinion -
Guest Columnists Opinion: Covington on protests and ‘the politics of spectacle’
“A public meeting belongs to the whole community. Being loud does not make you right, being angry does not make you righteous, and neither gives you the right to silence everyone else.”
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Guest Columnists Opinion: What’s to become of old-school moderate Democrats?
“The obvious rift between Steve Cohen and Justin Pearson reflects a larger national divide between an older Democratic tradition and a rising — and increasingly radicalized — progressive movement.”
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Guest Columnists Opinion: 1 year ago, they told Memphis to be afraid
A year after warnings of occupation, authoritarianism and terror, Memphis is safer — and the hyperbolic rhetoric deserves a reckoning.
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September 2026
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Guest Columnists Opinion: Memphis is moving forward. Why are some so angry about it?
“Crime is falling. Investment is surging. The tax base is expanding. Memphis has spent years demanding progress. Now that it’s finally happening, results should matter more than partisan grievance.”
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Opinion Opinion: Calling partisanship racism doesn’t make it so
John Covington says, “Beyond the incendiary rhetoric, the facts are straightforward: Tennessee Republicans wanted another Republican seat – and said so plainly.”
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August 2026
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Guest Columnists Opinion: Transparency shouldn’t stop at the DA’s door
“If a serious charge generated through the Memphis Safe Task Force is not prosecuted, citizens have a legitimate interest in knowing what happened. That is not an attack on prosecutors. It is accountability.”
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July 2026
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Opinion Opinion: District Attorney Steve Mulroy makes ‘Force Science’ a straw man
“Police officers routinely face circumstances few citizens will ever experience. They must distinguish victims from suspects, assess deadly threats, and make irreversible decisions in fractions of a second.”
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June 2026
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Opinion Opinion: Politics aside? When it comes to Otis Sanford — not quite
Opinion: “Otis Sanford begins his recent column with a reasonable premise: Politics should be set aside when discussing the federal indictment of suspended General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer. Unfortunately, that’s not what follows.”
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Guest Columnists Opinion: Call it what it is — a tax increase
“If county government chooses to collect millions of dollars more than the state-certified revenue-neutral rate allows, taxpayers deserve the honesty of calling it exactly what it is: a tax increase.”
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May 2026
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Guest Columnists Opinion: Beyond redistricting rhetoric are reality and results
“To hear many Tennessee Democrats tell it, partisan redistricting is some unprecedented assault on democracy itself — a historic political crisis unlike anything the state has ever experienced.”
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April 2026
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Opinion Opinion: In the face of unprecedented danger, Memphis police officers answer the call
“May we never forget those we’ve lost. May we never take for granted those who still stand watch. And may we always remember that every day, in a city where danger is always present, Memphis police officers continue to answer the call.”
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April 2025
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Guest Columnists Opinion: Increased pay for MPD is ‘essential’ to lowering crime
Memphis Police Association Vice President John Covington writes , “There is an undeniable need for more officers, especially given the growing workload and escalating dangers that complicate our recruitment efforts.”
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October 2022
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City of Memphis Opinion: Hiring more police in Memphis is now possible
One of the leaders of the Memphis police union argues that at a time when the national competition for police officers is fierce, Memphis has laid the groundwork for long-term sustained success in hiring police and fighting crime.
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January 2022
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Premium
Guest ColumnistsGuest column: Police officers, like elected officials, also need raises
“Memphis desperately needs more police officers. The pandemic and societal upheaval have only exacerbated an issue Memphis has been struggling with since 2014 when police pensions and healthcare benefits were slashed.”
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September 2019
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Guest Columnists Memphis police, fire associations seek ‘For’ vote on sales-tax referendum
'Until we get serious about rebuilding our police and fire departments and fixing our retention problem, we will never be able to proactively attack the issue of crime.'
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