My family spent a day in Memphis and had a great time... Did the Graceland tour, took a riverboat ride, and got a guided “tour” of Sun Studio, where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many other famous artists from the ‘50s recorded some of their greatest hits.
I've had people tell me that the area around Graceland is nice. I supposed the city makes sure of that since it's a tourist attraction. All of the tourist traps are probably well covered and protected. I will never know since I will never set foot in that city again.
A friend of mine in another forum lives there but she lives in the suburbs outside of Memphis. She says the upper/middle class communities are fairly safe but she never goes to the city. These aren't snobby rich people either. They are just regular people trying to stay alive. As soon as her husband retires she says they are out of there.