Soulsville

Soulsville is one piece of the greater South Memphis area and is arguably one of greatest neighborhoods for fostering music talent. Aretha Franklin, Maurice White, David Porter, Memphis Slim, and Memphis Minnie called Soulsville home while dozens of others made their mark on music history at the Stax and Royal recording studios. While the original Stax studio was demolished, its legacy lives on in the Stax Museum of American Soul and Stax Music Academy. Soulsville is also home to LeMoyne Owen College, Memphis’ only historically Black college.

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Community Service Officer Steven Solomon speaks to teens at the South Branch Library about career opportunities with the Canadian National Railway during the Nov. 19, 2021 Grown-ish teen workshop. (submitted)

Kids and Education

Grown-ish workshop series at South Library prepares teens for adulthood

Jim ColemanThursday, March 17, 2022

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Transit Equity Day events are scheduled for Feb 1-4, 2022 in Memphis.

Transportation

Public invited to Transit Equity Day events, online and in-person Feb 1-4

Sarah RushakoffFriday, January 28, 2022

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Mural from Second Congregational Church by Reginald Morris displayed outside the church for the first time. (submitted)

Arts and Culture

Dixon celebrates legacy of Black artists throughout the 20th century

Chris JonesThursday, December 16, 2021

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PRIZM Ensemble executive director Gavin Wigginson (submitted)

Kids and Education

PRIZM Ensemble’s new leader helps kids explore social issues through music

Chris JonesThursday, November 11, 2021

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TSU hosted an Apple Community Education Initiative event in 2019. (Apple)

Technology and Innovation

LeMoyne-Owen College encourages cybersecurity training through partnership with Apple and TSU

Chris JonesThursday, October 21, 2021

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Donald Jenkins, an Advance Memphis client and former staffer poses on a forklift. The nonprofit offers a forklift safety certification that helps its clients get higher-paying jobs. (Advance Memphis)

Eonomic Development

Labor shortage means higher wages for some South Memphis workers

Cole BradleyThursday, June 24, 2021

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A Mustard Seed volunteer hands a Thanksgiving care package to a South Memphis resident. (Mustard Seed)

Community Development

Faith in Action: Mustard Seed believes a small start can bring big change in South Memphis

Mary K. LevieWednesday, June 16, 2021

Feature Story

A young party goer and the mascot of the Paint It Clean bath kit dance to the music of the Jazz Brothers at the first Green Leaf Learning Farm Earth Day tour and tasting event, held on April 22, 2021. (Cole Bradley)

Healthy Communities

In Photos: Take a tour and have a taste of Green Leaf, the only certified organic farm in Memphis

Cole BradleyMonday, May 3, 2021

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Kids and Education

Kindred Place picks up where the ACE Awareness Foundation left off as organization shutters

Erica HortonWednesday, March 31, 2021

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Chicken dish from Chef Tam's Underground Cafe. Chef Tam's is one of 21 businesses participating in the 2021 Memphis Black Restaurant Week running March 7-14. (Submitted)

Entrepreneurship

Are you ready to dig in to Memphis Black Restaurant Week?

Sarah RushakoffTuesday, March 2, 2021

Feature Story

A parent and child make music in a drum circle at the Knowledge Question Universal Parenting Place in South Memphis. (Submitted)

Healthy Communities

In a traumatizing year, this South Memphis trauma support program is in jeopardy

Erica HortonMonday, February 1, 2021

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Christine Jones and her mother Irma (behind) walk down the hall toward an exam room while being seen at the Guthrie Primary Care Clinic in Smokey City, North Memphis. (Andrea Morales, 2017).

Healthy Communities

Healthcare has never been equitable and the pandemic is proof

Chris Jones & Cole BradleyThursday, November 12, 2020

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Community Development

Here's why Memphis nonprofits care about the U.S. census and you should too.

Cole BradleyThursday, September 24, 2020

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Memphis jooker Ryan Haskett dances for onlookers

Arts and Culture

In Photos: The Last of Our Neighborhoods Revisited

Cole BradleyFriday, September 4, 2020

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Arts and Culture

Walking in Memphis: Put on your tennis shoes and discover South Memphis history

Ramona SpringfieldThursday, August 20, 2020

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Sustainability

Mass evictions are coming. This South Memphis nonprofit is part of the solution.

Baris GursakalThursday, July 16, 2020

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Arts and Culture

Who gets paid for our world-renowned sound? Discussion explores equity, economics of Memphis music

Cole BradleyWednesday, June 3, 2020

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Dr. Carol Johnson-Dean, interim president of LeMoyne-Owen College, which is Memphis' only historically black college or university. (Submitted)

Kids and Education

Q & A: LeMoyne-Owen's Dr. Carol Johnson-Dean on leadership and the school's response to COVID-19

Andrea ValenzuelaThursday, April 23, 2020

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Community Development

Black Neighborhoods Matter event to tackle gentrification and protecting Memphis' black communities

Cole BradleyWednesday, February 26, 2020

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Community Development

Banks have to invest in the low-income communities surrounding their branches. What if they didn't?

Jeff Hulett and Cole BradleyThursday, February 13, 2020

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Soulsville Highlights

Mapping the decline and revival of Soulsville USA Read Article

As a coda to its On the Ground program, the High Ground News team examines the area known as Soulsville USA from its turn-of-the-century designation as a residential hub, the 1960 opening of groundbreaking Stax Records, decades of decline and recently -- revival.

Four Way serves the soul of Soulsville USA Read Article

A Soulsville USA tradition, the Four Way Restaurant has served some of the city’s best soul food for decades.

Photo: Patrice Bates Thompson manages Four Way, owned by her father, Willie Earl Bates Lauren Turner

Soulsville Beauty Shop Andrew Breig

TV network could save Aretha Franklin's crumbling Memphis home Read Article

More than four years after being declared a public nuisance, the South Memphis home where iconic songstress Aretha Franklin was born continues to display the effects of dilapidation and despair, but brighter days may be ahead.

Photo: Aretha Franklin's birth home at 406 Lucy Avenue. Wikimedia Commons

Soulsville Home Andrew Breig

Soulsville USA plan looks at what's next Read Article

Soulsville USA residents and stakeholders move ahead with a neighborhood plan thanks to an 18-month process that examined the needs and wants of the community.

Lauren Turner

Stax Museum of American Soul Music Andrew Breig

Art galleries in unexpected spaces portray fresh perspectives of Memphis Read Article

“All of these galleries are truly reflective of their community,” said Whitney Hardy, founder and executive director of Young Arts Patrons. “They’re not just there because they found cheaper rent and moved in. They’re tied to the community, and they invest in their ...

Photo: "Burning Bridges as I Light the Way Forward" a piece by Tobacco Brown and Leni Stoeva on display at Memphis Slim House. Submitted

Radio Tower Andrew Breig

Stax helps bring diversity to museum careers Read Article

This summer, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music added some of their youngest staff to date. Area teens worked as interns, getting exposure to arts administration and museum careers.

Looney Ricks Kiss

Soulsville citizens advocate for improvements to Chandler Park Read Article

The Chandler Park walking trail in Soulsville is getting a makeover through the efforts of a cross-sector collaboration intended to inspire more citizen advocacy for public parks.