Frayser, Memphis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frayser is a neighborhood in north Memphis, Tennessee. Frayser developed in the mid twentieth century as an industrial, working class suburb due to its proximity to the industrial area of Memphis, including a large International Harvester plant. As the factories in the area began to close, the population of Frayser began to markedly dwindle in the 1970s and 80s, and it stands at just under 50,000 today. With a large minority of its residents earning incomes below the poverty line, only 6% holding college degrees, and a continued lack of business and industrial investment, the neighborhood is now one of the most economically depressed & highest crime-rated areas of Memphis. Additionally, the neighborhood faces environmental problems because of industrial waste runoff and contamination at or near the sites of now abandoned factories, which has made some land in Frayser vitually uninhabitable without cleanup.

The community is also the home of multi-award winning songwriter Gary Harrison. Among his many hit songs is "the Wrong Side of Memphis", a number one record for Trisha Yearwood. It is an autobiographical song about leaving Frayser for Nashville.

Hip-hop artist, Frayser Boy, also hails from the Frayser community.