Our On the Ground series embeds local journalists and photojournalists in a Memphis neighborhood for three to six months.

In each community, our photojournalists capture an incredible visual history, as well as the spirit and resilience of the people and places that make each one unique.

Our 13 OTG neighborhoods share one commonality. They're news deserts.

News deserts are areas that are rarely covered by local new outlets unless that coverage is centered on problems like crime, failing schools, or poverty. High Ground's mission is to work with residents to build their community's missing narratives.

Our current OTG neighborhoods are: Binghampton, The Edge, Frayser, The Heights, Hickory Hill, Klondike-Smokey City, Madison Heights, North Memphis, Orange Mound, Soulsville, South City, Uptown & The Pinch, The University District, and Whitehaven.

With the ever-present pandemic, our team hasn't been able to get out and visit our favorite folks and locales in our OTG communities. We figured our readers weren't getting out as much either so we've put together this visual "tour" of our last four OTG neighborhoods. 

Find the previous two tours here:
"In Photos: Memphis Neighborhoods Revisited"
"In Photos: More Memphis neighborhoods revisited"
 

Soulsville:

Students at Cummins School, 2016. (Ziggy Mack)Memphis Slim Collaboratory Art Gallery showcasing photographer Darius Williams' exhibit "Remote," 2016. (Ziggy Mack)
Roller skaters showcasing skills outside of the Stax Museum during the first annual Soulsville Music Festival, 2015. (Ziggy Mack)LeMoyne-Owen College's women's basketball team plays at homecoming, 2016. (Ziggy Mack)

University District

2016 Summer Pole Vaulting Olympiad Pauls Pujats practices at the University of Memphis' South Campus track & field area, 2019. (Ziggy Mack)
The trains of Southern Avenue brought the first University of Memphis students to the area in 1912. It is still a dominant feature of the district today, 2019. (Ziggy Mack)The Highland Strip features a bold sign to brand the area. Traffic cones mark street improvements, 2019. (Ziggy Mack)
Two young men hang out in a parking lot of at the end of the Highland Strip, 2019. (Ziggy Mack)

Uptown & The Pinch

Uptown neighbors listen to Memphis-based Geist at the first Uptown porch concert series. The house is typical of the style and bright colors of many Uptown homes, 2019. (Cole Bradley)
A sign displaying the operating hours of Roxie's Deli in Uptown. (Brandon Dahlberg)Seniors do a variety of excercises to music Monday morning inside the Bickford Community Center. (Brandon Dahlberg)
A fiber optic laser makes precision cuts on a steel plate at Southern Steel. (Brandon Dahlberg)

Whitehaven 

Wendell and Adrena Jackson show the progress of renovations to their restaurant Eggxactly Breakfast and Deli in Whitehaven, 2018. (Brandon Dill)
Residents and other stakeholders hear the results of the three-day design charrette to reimagine Whitehaven Plaza. In the foreground, the model of Whitehaven Plaza, 2019. (Cole Bradley)Betty Jones has her blood glucose levels checked at Methodist South's Whitehaven Healthy Community Day, 2018. (Brandon Dahlberg)Dwayne Chaffen and Rick Askew co-own Grindhouse Coffee. They hope to open a brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Whitehaven, 2019. (Ziggy Mack)