Children at play in Tom Lee Park. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> DJs with K97-FM spin records at the Hi-Tone Cafe. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> A sunny view of neighborhood bar Newby's located in the University District. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Swing dance lessons at the Rumba Room in Downtown Memphis. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> A construction worker crosses the railroad tracks at the University of Memphis with the pending pedestrian under construction in the far background. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Kids participate in an afterschool program at Emmanuel Center. (Andrea Morales) <span class='image-credits'></span> A family overlooks the Mississippi River in Downtown Memphis. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Knights joust at the 2018 Mid-South Renaissance Faire, held at the USA Baseball Stadium and Park in Millington, Tennessee. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Attendees of the "Great Heights: National Street and Beyond" photo exhibit hosted by High Ground News and Heights CDC. (Markus Mueller) <span class='image-credits'></span> Residents cross in front of the U.S. Post Office on National Street. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Family plays at Tom Lee Park near the Mississippi River. <span class='image-credits'>Ziggy Mack</span> As part of the Brooks Outing project, artist Julien de Casabianca pasted "characters" from earlier artworks in suprising places across Memphis. This snippet of "Au pied de la falaise" can be seen on Crump Boulevard. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span>
Hey from High Ground News!
We believe that Memphis deserves sidewalk-level journalism that covers neighborhoods with nuance and centers the experience of residents. We seek to rebalance the news so that Memphians are exposed to stories that help them wrap around the city's challenges and better understand that there are people in every neighborhood across the city innovating for solutions.

Features

Feature Storycreatives in research Arts and Culture

Join High Ground News' coverage as a Creative in Residence

Madeline FaberThursday, March 14, 2019
Applications are open for the Creatives in Residence program, which will embed artists and researchers in the Madison Heights neighborhood alongside High Ground News journalists. 
Feature StoryFive of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center's six current staff members. L to R: Justin Davis, Paul Garner, Tamara Hendrix, Faith Pollan and Brad Watkins. (Submitted) Community Development

Seeking justice: A nonprofit’s fight for housing, buses, criminal justice reform and more

Cole BradleyThursday, March 14, 2019
Since 1982, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center has worked for social and economic justice in Memphis. Now it’s helping senior residents in HUD-subsidized apartments fight to keep their homes.
Feature StoryAster Demekech, 27, is the director of Juice Almighty, a juice bar and café inside of the Memphis Rox climbing facility in South Memphis. (Kim Coleman) Healthy Communities

Pay-what-you-can juice bar fuels South Memphis

Kim and Jim ColemanThursday, March 14, 2019
All items on the menu at this juice bar are $5, but no one is turned away from a healthy meal because of their inability to pay. 
Feature StoryMia Madison is launching the Chelsea Avenue Farmer's Market on April 20, 2019. She hopes the vacant lot where she is standing, at the intersection of Chelsea Avenue and Springdale Street, will be revived with at least 20 vendors. (Dawn Neuses) Healthy Communities

Chelsea Avenue Farmer's Market will showcase fresh foods and community pride

Dawn NeusesWednesday, March 13, 2019

A new farmer’s market in Hollywood-Hyde Park will provide retail opportunities to residents, community farmers, growers and vendors in North Memphis.

Feature StoryMixed-use building The Marshall is located at 676 Marshall near Sun Studios. (Submitted) Community Development

Young developer wants to improve neighborhoods with small scale projects

Brandi HunterWednesday, March 13, 2019
“The Edge could be the next Overton Square. That’s the way we like to think of it."
Feature Story"If it isn't the best turkey and cheese that you've ever eaten in your entire life, it's free," said Sam's Deli owner, Brad Wilbanks. (Baris Gursakal) Entrepreneurship

Sam's Deli fuses all-American deli with classic Indian dishes in the University District

Baris GursakalThursday, March 14, 2019
Looking for an unassuming deli with some of the best (and perhaps only) Indian-Korean-Creole-American fusing food in town? Look no further than Sam's Deli and husband and wife team Brad and Shamira Wilbanks
Feature Storylogo1 Kids and Education

On the Ground Podcast: How improv theater is helping kids find shared humanity

Cole BradleyTuesday, March 12, 2019
In S1E11 of the On the Ground Podcast, Professional actors Ann Wallace and Leslie Jones of Playback Memphis share how live improv theater can help kids improve social-emotional learning and build healthy relationships.
Feature StoryPhase one of South City's housing is 60 percent complete. Move in is expected to begin this summer. (Cole Bradley) Community Development

As Downtown grows, South City invests in low-income residents

Cole BradleyThursday, March 07, 2019
FedEx, Wiseacre and Union Row are all heading to Downtown. But what do these new developments mean for affordability and the low-income residents of South City?
Feature StoryJoel Katz, senior manager, Youth Sports Partnership with the Memphis Grizzlies Foundation, leads a group of Play Where You Stay students in soccer drills at the Gaston Community Center. (Submitted) Community Development

Play Where You Stay activates neighborhood parks, breaks down barriers for inner-city soccer players

Aisling MakiThursday, March 07, 2019

Nonprofit Play Where You Stay identifies unused spaces in neighborhoods that can be improved with some sweat equity and turned into soccer fields. The program recruits neighborhood children interested in playing the sport and pays its college-age coaches a living wage.

Feature StoryHighland Row is one of the many new mixed-use, high density developments to be built on or near the Highland Strip in the last few years. (Ziggy Mack) Community Development

High-rises on Highland are a test for Memphis 3.0

Cole BradleyWednesday, February 27, 2019
The city's new Memphis 3.0 plan hopes to increase density. Residents in the University District say with the influx new high-rise developments near the Highland Strip, density isn't just a plan; it's their present.
Feature StoryRiley Grace meets with speech pathologist John Sandidge to help craft a voice that is in line with her gender identity. They work on pitch, resonance, inflection and more. (Cole Bradley) Diversity

Memphis Speech and Hearing Center helps transgender Memphians find their voice

Cole BradleyWednesday, March 06, 2019
At the University of Memphis’ South Campus, transgender clients work with speech pathologists to navigate the nuances of sound and craft a signature sound that reflects their true self.   
Feature StoryHigh Ground News Podcast Logo Community Development

On The Ground Podcast: The power of community policing in Memphis neighborhoods

Tuesday, March 05, 2019
In S1E10 of the On The Ground Podcast, we explore to what extent youth engagement can be a crime prevention technique. In the North Memphis area of Hollywood-Hyde Park, community leaders have used city funds from the Memphis Police Department to sponsor free meals and activities for neighborhood children. 
Feature StoryJames Mock (center) and other movement leaders meet with members of the press outside the Memphis State administration building in April 1969. (University of Memphis Special Collections) Diversity

Beyond the Memphis State Eight: The civil rights fight for equality at the University of Memphis

Cole BradleyThursday, February 28, 2019
The University of Memphis desegregated in 1959, but it would take more than 10 years of organizing and actions by dedicated students, both Black and white, to achieve true integration. 
Feature StoryNannette Bean, founder and CEO of Leasing Angels. Entrepreneurship

Making a move? Locally-owned property firm connects renters with residences across Memphis

Ashlei WilliamsThursday, February 28, 2019
“I think we’re all part of the urban renaissance ... Prices are up. Rents are up. Demand for our product is up.”
Feature StoryThe Exercise Coach program calls for two twenty-minute workouts per week. Each machine that a customer uses has a computer that tracks each session. The sessions are led by a personal trainer. (Submitted) Entrepreneurship

Tech-first gym promises a "smarter" workout

Kim and Jim ColemanThursday, February 28, 2019
A new gym in Germantown keeps its clientele base small and personal. The gym only sees two to three clients at a time, and their workouts are tuned in to a personalized software program.
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