The leaders are a product of and thrive in that culture.
But the culture selects them, they are a product of the culture.
Folks who say otherwise are wishful thinking and simply saying broken cultures are not capable anything....like they are malleable mush to be exploited and can only be effected from the outside....that to me is no less bigoted than white supremacy talk.
I don’t know much about Memphis, but your assessment of “leadership as a product of the culture” seems fitting.