September 26, 2025
In Memphis, Lead Poisoning Often Goes Unnoticed and Untreated
By Nic Wong
As Trump deploys the National Guard to “make Memphis safe and restore public order,” the health risks from the city’s aging infrastructure, plumbing, and paint continue to be ignored.
Violet Newborn had just moved into a new house, a rental on the edge of midtown and Frasier, when her son Logan’s developmental milestones started “moving backwards.” Logan was six months old and suddenly lethargic, always constipated, and refusing to eat or drink. He became joyless and fatigued. He’d sit silently at daycare, or hang his head when Newborn pushed him on the swings.
The doctors took Logan’s bloodwork and found his blood lead levels were 16 micrograms per deciliter—12.5 above the reference value for lead exposure. He was suffering developmental delays, including behavioral problems and a loss of communication skills. “He would act out violently—biting me, hitting me, just banging his head on the floor,” said Newborn.
The lead compounds in the paint of their new rental house tasted sweet, so Logan had been peeling it off the walls and eating it. It was 2020, Newborn was a new mom in the middle of a pandemic, and she couldn’t afford to move. “It was horrible, absolutely horrible,” she said. “I felt alone, and it was just a very dark time.”
