HuffPost, High Ground News & MLK50 to discuss economic inequality in Memphis
Why is it so hard for black and brown businesses to get their share of the green? Join the discussion here.
South Memphis
Founded as an agricultural community, South Memphis was stable and close-knit until the 1950s when businesses and families began relocating to the suburbs. Ill-conceived “revitalization” in the 1980s leveled many early buildings and accelerated the decline. Today, it is one of the city’s most economically challenged but culturally rich neighborhoods. The Soulsville area attracts thousands of tourists each year while resident-led revitalization has steered recent investments towards an area farmers market as well as a childcare and family center. South Memphis is also home to numerous community gardens, LeMoyne Owen College, and the famous Four Way Grill.
New public speaker series to address importance of urban planning
A series of events focusing on the creation of the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan and featuring national planning and development experts is coming to Memphis thanks to a partnership from the Urban Land Institute and the University of Memphis Design Collaborative.
Dormant South Memphis convenience store to reopen as Soulsville Market
A convenience store serving hot food will be returning to the area near to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music later this month as the Soulsville Market.
South City: Housing a neighborhood in transition
What benefit is a mixed-income housing project to an impoverished community?
How to create jobs and help neighborhoods prosper? Support local entrepreneurs
Neighborhood entrepreneurs do not share the glamour nor glean even a fraction of the funding their better-known cousins in technology do. Yet leaders of organizations that support neighborhood entrepreneurs can attest to their ability to deliver an oversized impact to form the foundation for turning around troubled neighborhoods.
New 9-1-1 initiatives seek to alleviate demands of nonemergency calls
The misuse of EMS costs Memphis $20 million in budget shortfall. New programs help to put people to call 9-1-1 but don't need emergency care receive to appropriate resources.
In photos: Emmanuel Center is an anchor in a low-income neighborhood in transition
The Emmanuel Center has stood in the middle of its South Memphis neighborhood since 1989. That includes during 2010, when hundreds of residents were relocated during the Hope VI renovation of public housing complex Cleaborn Homes. Demolition took place around the church. That challenge resurfaces as Foote Homes, located across the street, prepares for its transition to mixed-income housing.
Reflections from four months on the ground in South City
Since April 2017, High Ground News has been writing about South City, a city-backed rebranding of 880 acres of Downtown and South Memphis. Through our On The Ground program, we’ve embedded journalists in this community to document the area’s struggles and strengths and stakeholders’ hopes for the massive revitalization.
LITE Memphis connects budding entrepreneurs to network through internships
LITE Memphis is using its system of local businesses to connect young people to the right network through a new internship program called City of Tomorrow. The nonprofit is placing students in intern positions that will help them garner skills, knowledge and social connections.
Sound & Color: MLGW hoax, 1968 sanitation workers speak out
Audio coverage brings Memphis events and neighborhoods to life. For more multimedia content, subscribe the High Ground News Sound & Color newsletter.
