My Representative
Joe Towns Jr.
District 84 - Part of Shelby County 
Biography
Education
Graduated from Carver High School, Memphis, TN
BA in Political Science from LeMoyne-Owen College, Memphis, TN
MS in Operational Management from University of Arkansas at Fayette
Religion
Raised in Open Door Baptist Church
Member of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church
Organizational Affiliation
Member of the Evergreen Optimist Club,
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
and American Management Association
Career Background
Former Federal Express – Operations Manager; Part-time instructor – Shelby Community College; Former assistant director of Methodist Hospital; former convenient storeowner. Former owner of Mae Mae’s Bar-B-Q, and Towns Hunt and Towns BBQ, Memphis; Current entrepreneur and promoter of professional boxing; Elected in 1994 to present as District 84 state representative. Current owner of an entertainment and management consultant companies.
Joe Towns, Jr. grew up as the oldest of 10 children of Joe and Lee Birtha Towns, living in a close-knit South Memphis community. Early in life, his parents, Joe Towns, Sr. and mother, Lee, instilled in him the value of education. Both returned to school and subsequently worked to complete their requirements for college degrees. So, Towns always knew that he had to get a college education, and after that pursue a professional career. He thought his career path might lead him into the field of law. And, if not law, he planned a life of excitement in the world of film. A glimpse of his character is reflected is his creative abilities. Towns has written poetry since he was a young child. Ironically, he will soon be publishing the first of several books of poetry as soon as he settles on the right publisher. And his creativity doesn’t end there. Towns has continued a love affair with the theater having performed in numerous local plays and at least two movies.
But most people know Towns as serious and tough. He grew up in Memphis during the peak of the civil rights struggle and was keenly aware of the injustices faced by blacks. As destiny would have it, Towns was spending the summer with his grandmother, just a half block from the Lorraine Motel, when shots rang out that murdered Dr. Martin Luther King. At that young age, he wanted to know what happened. What was the noise that seemed to trouble his grandmother? He would later learn from her that he had heard the sniper shot that assassinated down Dr. King.
As he grew up, Towns became more concerned about the struggle that blacks faced to achieve equality, which buoyed his determination to get an education. But, his plans were almost thwarted when tragedy struck his own family. Towns’ mother died suddenly when he was still in his early 20’s. This meant that he had to change his own plans and step in as role model and mentor to encourage and support his siblings, the youngest of who was just eight years old. His mother had died within months of participating in her own graduation exercises at LeMoyne-Owen College.
“I would have to say that it was a life-molding experience. It was something that tests you to the core of your humanity,” he said. “You make the decision that you will endure and overcome it, or you know that you will perish.” Dreams of law school and acting had to be put aside as Towns stepped into his new role, and helped his father raise his other nine siblings.
He describes many occasions of working from midnight to eight in the morning, getting off work and going on to college. He’s proud of the fact that all of his siblings attended college and are now working in various fields, from healthcare, to transportation and customer service. “I think that some students today don’t have the right kind of discipline,” Towns said. “They don’t know that the determination to succeed starts inside your mind. If you think you are a weak vessel, you’ll be weak. If you think you are strong, you’ll be able to reach higher heights. Life is not always kind to you. You have to learn to deal with tragedy and triumph.”
While a student at LeMoyne-Owen, Towns served as president of his freshman and sophomore class. He was later elected President of the Student Body, Who’s Who’s Among Outstanding College Students in America, member of the Presidential Advisory Council, and president of the Panhellinic Council.
He developed an interest in local politics long before he graduated in 1978. As a student, he managed the re-election campaign of former State Rep. Teddy Withers. He managed and co-managed many other campaigns including those of Councilman Joe Brown, Rickey Peete, State Rep. Larry Miller, State Rep. Ulysses Jones and others. “I knew that I would eventually run for elective office,” Towns said. “I just had a gut feeling.”
Towns’ first attempt came in 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully for city council. He made a second unsuccessful attempt in 1991. The third time was a charm when he found himself running in two races: for county commissioner and state representative. He decided that he could make the greatest contribution in the role of state representative, so he refocused his energies and won election to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Today, Rep. Towns has represented District 84 for the past 16 years, and serves as vice chair of the National Conference of State Legislator’s Standing Committee on Financial Services; and former chairman of the Shelby County Legislative Delegation; chair K-12 House Subcommittee on Education; and secretary of the standing House Education Committee.
Career Highlights
To date, Representative Towns was responsible for bringing the Mike Tyson/Lennox Lewis heavyweight championship fight to Memphis. This event brought international acclaim to the city and created a serious professional boxing industry in Memphis as a result Memphis has become known as a professional boxing city. He has also recruited Serv Holdings, a major minority business group that has purchased all of the Captain D’s Restaurants in Memphis and the surrounding area. He has also ensured that many young people have had an opportunity to attend college. Representative Towns was one of the co-founders of the African American People’s Convention. This organization was solely responsible for electing the first African American mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. He is also a cofounder of an anti crime organization, C.U.T.E.C. (Citizens United to End Crime).
Towns has continued a loving affair with the theatre having performed in numerous local plays, and has done work on the Big Screen as well. Two of the more noted films are Sumerville and most recently The Kingdom starring Jamie Foxx.
The motto that Rep. Towns lives by is that “if you take something out of the community, you must put something back in. And we all take something, therefore, we are required to continue the fight for justice, equality, education, economic parity and spiritual enlightenment.”
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District Address
4528 St. Honore
Memphis, TN 38116
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Nashville Address
36 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone - (615) 741-2189
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