Stories

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Video: This anti-graffiti team paints a better future for the University District

When graffiti pops up in the University District, this group of young volunteers work to clean it up. They call themselves the UDistrict Graffiti Ninjas and they've been working for four years to reduce graffiti and blight in the residential neighborhoods that surround the University of Memphis.

Feature Story Ron Scott and Chris Clark prepare to install a door at the front of the workshop, as Tyler Parker and and Jared Myers load up a rickety work table that is no longer safe to use. All four are participants in the ad-hoc advisory board. (Scarlet Ponder)

Heights CDC to convert vacant cabinet shop into community woodshop

After purchasing an old cabinetry workshop, Heights CDC is exploring how the space could be used to teach a marketable skill like woodworking to local residents.

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Podcast: Memphis' modern-day redlining

On S1E13 of the On the Ground Podcast, Roshun Austin of The Works, Inc. and Austin Harrison of Neighborhood Preservation Inc. examine a redlining map from the 1930s, its implications for modern-day Memphis and local strategies to breakdown housing inequality 85 years after redlining was introduced and 50 years since it was outlawed.  

Feature Story . Kareem Dasilva, right, took home first place honors at the Smarty City: Transportation & Mobility Hackathon on March 15-17 with MemPatch, technology that helps the city streamline identification of potholes. (Submitted)

Smart City initiative seeks to improve public problems with technology

A new startup has entered the scene with an aim to add technology to MATA buses that locates potholes and shares that information with the city to facilitate speedier repairs. 

Feature Story  City of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland addressed the crowd of media, sponsors and other stakeholders at the March 21 press conference help at Crosstown Concourse. (Cole Bradley)

Mayors announce year of celebration for Memphis, Shelby County bicentennials

The City of Memphis and Shelby County are celebrating their bicentennial years with events from March through November. 

Feature Story Amy and Hayes McPherson stand ready for the grand opening of Comeback Coffee in the Pinch, at 358 North Main Street, on Saturday, March 29. (Kim Coleman)

Comeback Coffee shop reinvigorates small business in the Pinch District

Built in 1895, this Pinch District building was once a private residence. A young couple has turned the space into a combination apartment-coffee shop.

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Podcast: Crosstown beyond the Concourse

On S1E12 of the On The Ground Podcast, Justin Gillis of the Crosstown CDC and Porsche Stevens of Crosstown CDC and Crosstown Arts reveal more about the greater Crosstown neighborhood from its long history to its diverse mix of small businesses.

Feature Story A construction worker walks across the Southern Avenue tracks near the University of Memphis campus at the heart of the University District. (Ziggy Mack)

Drinks and Development: A casual discussion on growth in the University District

High Ground News is wrapping up three months of reporting in the University District with a conversation on how to ensure the district's fast growth is also sustainable and equitable. Join us for drinks, apps and a discussion at The Bluff.

Feature Story Five 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)

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

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 Story Aster 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)

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

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 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)

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

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

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Join High Ground News' coverage as a Creative in Research

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 Story Mia 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)

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

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


Feature Story Mixed-use building The Marshall is located at 676 Marshall near Sun Studios. (Submitted)

Young developer wants to improve neighborhoods with small scale projects

“The Edge could be the next Overton Square. That’s the way we like to think of it."

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

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 Story Joel 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)

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

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 Story Phase one of South City's housing is 60 percent complete. Move in is expected to begin this summer. (Cole Bradley)

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

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 Story Riley 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)

Memphis Speech and Hearing Center helps transgender Memphians find their voice

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.   

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

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 Story James 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)

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

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.