Memphis Fashion Week models do each other's makeup before a runway show at Memphis College of Art. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Iori Araya enjoys the cherry blossom trees outside of the Memphis Botanic Garden. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Residents and business owners of the University District speak at a panel hosted by High Ground News as part of its On The Ground neighborhood coverage. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> Members of Memphis' homeless population attend the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Memphis Ozanam Food Mission. The service provides free daily meals from its site at 1306 Monroe Street. (Ziggy Mack) <span class='image-credits'></span> 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>
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 StoryHigh Ground

High Ground News is hiring

Madeline FaberThursday, April 25, 2019
High Ground News is investing in community coverage by hiring a full-time reporter to cover Memphis issues through a neighborhood lens.
Feature StoryThe University of Memphis is launching Access Memphis in the fall to make it easier for students to afford courses and stay on track to graduate without a mountain of debt. (University of Memphis) Kids and Education

University of Memphis plans to cover tuition and fees for families who make under $50k

Kim and Jim ColemanWednesday, April 24, 2019
The University of Memphis is launching the Access Memphis initiative to make secondary education more affordable to students from households that earn under $50,000 per year.
Feature StoryHigh Ground publisher and community engagement manager, Emily Trenholm (L), and managing editor, Cole Bradley (R), pose in matching shirts on an Accidental Uniform Day. (Belltower Artisans)

Who is High Ground: A letter from the editor and publisher

Cole BradleyWednesday, April 24, 2019

High Ground News is celebrating its fifth year and making some big changes. We’d like to take a moment to catch you up and answer some questions about who we are and how we tell stories that move Memphis forward.

Feature StoryJimi Myers stands at the counter of Launch Process Coffee at 584 Tillman Street, founded in May 2018. (Cole Bradley) Entrepreneurship

Launch Process creates space for Memphis makers and local coffee

Cole BradleyWednesday, April 24, 2019
In their first year of business, Launch Process Coffee has become more than just a coffee shop. It hosts local makers and goods, a monthly international food experience and a great cup of house-roasted brew.
Feature Storypodcast Healthy Communities

On The Ground Podcast: The Mariposas Collective meets immigrants with compassion

Monday, April 22, 2019
In S2E1 of the On The Ground podcast, Federico Gomez and Brigitte Billeaudeaux speak about the Mariposas Collective, a grassroots group of Memphians who provide supplies and support to asylum seekers who are traveling across the U.S. in Greyhound buses. 
Feature StoryA packed house listens to a panel discussion after the screening of ‘How Did We Get Here.’ (Cole Bradley) Community Development

Film series documenting Memphis' housing challenges premiers to packed house

Cole BradleyThursday, April 18, 2019
Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. partners with two local filmmakers to tell the story of Memphis’ biggest housing challenges and the people and solutions addressing them. It premiered to a packed house April 15 at The CMPLX in Orange Mound. 
Feature StoryA shopper at Viet Hoa Food Market on Cleveland Street in the Madison Heights neighborhood. (Averell Mondie) Arts and Culture

Memphis Medical District Collaborative hires artists as researchers to guide development

Cole BradleyThursday, April 18, 2019
What is next for the Madison Heights neighborhood? With the help of journalists and artists, this nonprofit developer wants to illustrate the identity of this emerging community.
Feature Storypodcast Arts and Culture

On The Ground Podcast: The power of neighborhood stories

Cole BradleyFriday, April 12, 2019
In S1E15 of the On The Ground podcast, High Ground News hosts Josh Campbell from Spillit Memphis for a discussion about storytelling and its power to build community and elevate resident voices in Memphis neighborhoods.  
Feature StoryA young girl plays hide and seek in front of shuttered apartment buildings on Tate Street. The area was once part of the epicenter of Memphis' Black society until 90 years of housing policies gutted investment. (Andrea Morales)

Seeing Red I: Mapping 90 years of redlining in Memphis

Cole BradleySunday, March 31, 2019
This two part series explores how race built Memphis. From a newly discovered 1930s redlining map to recent lawsuits, discriminatory housing policies have kept Black families from home ownership and Black neighborhoods from thriving. 
Feature StoryRoshun Austin, president and CEO of The Works, Inc. holds a redlining map created in the 1930s. (Ziggy Mack) Eonomic Development

Seeing Red II: South Memphis CDC brings investment back to Memphis' formerly redlined communities

Kim and Jim ColemanWednesday, April 10, 2019
The Works, Inc., with partner Pinnacle Financial Partners, is issuing loans from a $2 million mortgage pool. The twist? These loans are issued to folks who may be considered a credit risk by traditional banks and are used to purchase homes in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Feature Storylogo1 Community Development

On The Ground Podcast: Is the University District too crowded?

Wednesday, April 10, 2019
In S1E14 of the On The Ground podcast, the editorial team reflects on our four months of embedded research and reporting in the University District. Neighborhood leader Cody Fletcher shares his thoughts about how the neighborhoods that surround the University of Memphis can adapt to meet a growing student population.
Feature StoryRichie Jarvis, owner of Trilogy Tattoos and Piercing, speaks about the small business community in the University District. (Ziggy Mack) Community Development

Graduation day: What we learned from four months of reporting in the University District

Cole BradleyWednesday, April 10, 2019
High Ground’s On the Ground team looks back on four months of embedded journalism as we wrap up our coverage in the University District. 
Feature StoryBilly Vaughan, center, speaks at the sancutuary of the Commons on Merton, a nonprofit support hub in Binghampton. (Bill Piacesi) Arts and Culture

Spillit Memphis brings storytelling event to Binghampton

Cole BradleyWednesday, April 10, 2019

Spillit Memphis is best known for its live storytelling events in Crosstown. On April 12, the arts organization will partner with High Ground News and the Center for Transforming Communities for its first-ever Binghampton storytelling event.

Feature StoryShamika Williams poses with her four children outside of their home in Raleigh. In fall 2018, Williams fled an abusive relationship and stayed with her kids at the YWCA’s domestic violence shelter. (Cole Bradley) Community Development

YWCA celebrates 100 of empowering women and communities

Cole BradleyThursday, April 04, 2019

The YWCA is celebrating its centennial and is growing its tutoring services and job training to assist people who are escaping domestic violence.

Feature StoryBelltower Artisans is located at 549 S Highland St. in the University District. (Cole Bradley) Entrepreneurship

Coffee culture: Four great coffee spots in the University District

Cole BradleyThursday, April 04, 2019
For three months our team has met weekly at a University District coffee shop. As we prepare to move to our next neighborhood, we pay homage to the district’s coffee culture with a roundup of the best local places to get great brew.
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On the Ground:
University District

Join our 16-week community reporting series on the University District area of Memphis. If you're a resident or a stakeholder, help shape the series at a weekly community newsroom. Get caught up on our coverage here. 
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