Whitehaven is the largest neighborhood in South Memphis. It’s a majority African-American, middle class neighborhood with high homeownership and community involvement. Whitehaven is home to Graceland, the second most visited attraction in the U.S., and the city’s first enclosed mall, Southland Mall. A $40 million improvement to Elvis Presley Boulevard along with new business investment is the next step for the community. While smaller business are common, the neighborhood is hoping to attract more upscale and large-scale retailers and restaurants to support its growing culture and economy.
Super Bowl LIII may have been lackluster, but at the Whitehaven Library, the Super Sunday at The Haven party was fired up with food, fun and a contest to crown the best hot wings in Whitehaven.
Memphis 3.0 will be adopted this year, but work is already underway. High Ground breaks down what you need to know about the new plan and the recent public design workshop to reimage the Whitehaven Plaza.
“Integration was definitely about access — not just schools and communities, it was also access with our dollars,” said Pearl Walker of I Love Whitehaven on MLK’s legacy of economic justice. Whitehaven Black Restaurant Week runs January 19-26.
Wendell Jackson's father was a staple to the Whitehaven area as a deli and grocery owner. The younger Jackson is taking on that charge by opening his own shop, Eggxactly Breakfast and Deli, at a former barber shop in Whitehaven.
Agape, a Memphis nonprofit, works with students at Whitney Achievement Elementary and 15 other schools to help students with attendance and behavior.
The Memphis Dawah Association's Muslim community center is working to improve health, education, and political awareness by providing a safe space, educational events, and its own Whitehaven-based radio station.
While many community members and organizations often have great ideas for community development projects, the reality is there is not enough money available to fund everyone's vision. Last year, Community LIFT’s Empowerment Fund paved the way for improvement and beautification projects across the city, but a new study shows that much more funding is needed to keep momentum from those projects moving forward.
Propel, a business accelerator for existing minority-owned businesses, is launching its next cohort in the midst of several new city-backed initiatives intended to boost the wealth and diversity of the Memphis economy.
A small community garden and a commercial kitchen have launched a new Whitehaven homesteading movement that hopes to earn residents cash and plant the seeds for grassroots community revitalization.
Community cohesion is the focus for Community Lift as it begins the application process for this year’s round of micro-grants for its Empowerment Fund, now in its second year.
Our Partners
