There’s a divide in Fresno. The north part of the city – the area above Shaw Avenue -- has more parks, better schools. And the meat rendering plant? It’s in Southwest Fresno. The project has been in partnership with Arizona State University’s News Co/Lab to improve transparency in journalism, and Spaceship Media, a San Francisco Bay Area journalism organization that aims to build trust between media and communities. The Fresno Bee has been getting people from all parts of the city to talk about their concerns regarding this divide. On Saturday, the effort culminated in a forum at Fresno City College. We spoke with attendees Rodney Murphy, Lori Clanton, and Eric Payne after the event to hear their thoughts on the divide, and the Bee’s effort to start a conversation about it.
Listen above to also hear from Fresno Bee reporter Brianna Calix who wrote the Fresno Divide stories. She dove into historical reasons for the divide, and how it persists today.
This story has been updated.