By the summer of 2024, the South City Museum & Cultural Center will celebrate the people and landmarks of the Historic South Memphis area.

Democratic county mayoral contender Ken Moody opened the first of what will be several headquarters opened by various campaigns in Whitehaven, underscoring the importance of the area’s Black middle class in the city’s political mix.

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“We want it to be inviting,” Jack Dawson of LPI Memphis said of the former home of Bari Ristorante e Enoteca. “This is the entrance to the space. It needs to be worthy of that sort of greeting.”

“The history of this institution is pivotal to the Black history of Memphis,” Michaela Thomas, a graduating senior who serves as the current Miss LeMoyne-Owen College, said of Memphis’ only HBCU.

If there’s anything we can take away from this last week, it’s that the Cooper-Young neighborhood, although it has its stable businesses and celebrations, is constantly evolving while maintaining its unique character.

The porch festival returns, offering an unconventional way to enjoy a wide range of music, including metal, bluegrass, Americana and country. 

“This business depends on the walking traffic,” said owner Rida AbuZaineh. “It’s like walking on the beach, where there is ice cream.”

Nikodem Niziolek, a Christian Brothers University student from Poland, and his family helped the Ukrainian relatives of Memphis realtor Oksana Piven escape Russian attacks. 

“This clinic is a way to offer people opportunities to get them back on the right track,” Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn said.

A new eatery in Cooper-Young offers, or will soon, a very Texas combination of brisket and baked goods. 

Last month, Frayser saw the addition of the new Legacy Impact Community Resource Center.

The center in Frayser will bring multiple benefits to the community for everyone from youths to veterans to seniors.

New York-based developer Tom Intrator has also secured funding for his separate, $1.1 billion project in the Pinch District. 

Over the past several years, Britney Thornton has emerged as a leader through her work with the homeless and the underserved.

Left in a house without power, Orange Mound residents Jake and Vennie McIntosh — ages 92 and 91 — died together in the recent ice storm.

Planners hope the transformation of the old Northside High School building into a mixed-use development will rekindle a sense of community in the Klondike section of North Memphis. 

In something of a “surprise,” even to himself, Steve Lockwood is the new interim executive director of BAM. 

Adrian Granderson, Joe Johnson and Robert Higgins, all originally from Memphis, opened WKND Hang Suite in the South Main Historic District in 2018. 

Steve Lockwood, who led the Frayser Community Development Corp. until his retirement in 2020, will serve as interim director.

Whitehaven is much more than Graceland, FedEx and the airport, with its rich history, independently owned businesses and a deep sense of pride – or “neighborhoodism” as one leader calls it.

The nonprofit groups have received grants totaling $600,000 as part of a multi-year pledge by Nike Inc.

Klondike-Smokey City project will use an incentive first applied for the Binghampton Gateway Center. 

“I built those houses,” said Henry Turley. “There’s nothing wrong with those houses that should cause the residents to have to move out.”

The former vocational high school at 1212 Vollintine Ave. will become a multi-use space for vocational skills training, workforce development, multifamily housing, health care services, performing arts and more. 

Children will be able to play with 26 interactive spray toys, some shaped like leaves and sprouts and others shaped like garden bugs and snails, while learning about motor skills, water safety, socialization and cause and effect.