The Heights is a collection of neighborhoods — Highland Heights, Mitchell Heights, Graham Heights, and others — located roughly between Tillman and Graham Streets to the east and west and Jackson and Summer Avenues to the north and south. It’s predominantly working class with modest homes, young families, and many senior residents. The area was first developed in the early 1900s and boomed as Summer Avenue grew into a major Memphis thoroughfare. Today it’s one of the most ethnically diverse areas the city, with business owners and families from more than 30 different countries. Join us for our in-depth coverage of The Heights from September to December 2018.
Memphis' immigrants are often essential workers with concerns for safety and financial stability. For those who aren't U.S. citizens, the troubled waters get deeper.
We asked Mid-South teens about their lives during COVID-19 and their thoughts on what happens next.
Coach Andy Martin keeps the kids of Grahamwood Elementary active with running, yoga, and skate clubs. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is honoring Martin for his devotion to student health. He'll also join the fun with the yoga club.
With their kids approaching kindergarten and no ideal education options, three local women founded the Sycamore School. The hub for homeschoolers combines licensed teachers with present parents and emphasizes exploration, community, and self-directed learning alongside reading and arithmetic.
Newsrooms rarely reflect the communities they cover. We think they should. Meet our Community Correspondents—average Memphians trained as neighborhood-based reporters.
As congregations shrink and age, historic churches are at risk for demolition. In The Heights, Highland Heights Baptist Church has teamed up with The Collegiate School of Memphis and The Avenue Community Church to save their building.
A few years ago, Gaisman Park was seedy and neglected. Now there are hundreds of kids and families there each week. Friends of Gaisman and Heights CDC discuss the power of passionate people.
Well-loved treat shop La Michoacana has six locations across the Mid-South. The family-owned business is now planning for new stores in Olive Branch and Little Rock.
High Ground's new Community Contributors program takes passionate Memphians and gives them the skills to find and report stories that acknowledge their neighborhoods' struggles but focus on their resilience.
Justin Merrick and Lenell Burton from Center for Transforming Communities discuss CTC's expansion into new neighborhoods, artists in as neighborhood connectors, and the power of storytelling as communities change.
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