Led by journalism instructor Phillip Greer, who worked more than 24 years at the Chicago Tribune, The Cairo Project is combining five previous semesters of student photojournalism on Cairo with student news reporting in print and online formats.

With each subsequent class, students will continue telling the town's story with words and pictures. Several faculty are assisting with the project, which aims to showcase the best student work while raising awareness of Cairo's struggles and exploring possible solutions.

Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, Cairo was a bustling riverboat stop and vibrant trade center in the late 1800s. Decades later, however, the community was torn by racial strife during the civil rights era. Blacks boycotted white-owned businesses, and many whites moved away.

Over the years the city's condition deteriorated. A once-thriving downtown gave way to boarded-up buildings, and the city's remaining residents are largely low-income.

Greer says the project is an opportunity for the University to support the region. "[Cairo] has been very receptive to our students and many people really opened up their lives to us," he says. "In turn, our students really care about Cairo."

The School of Journalism is working with SIUC's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute to possibly coordinate other endeavors, such as meetings with the public and lawmakers, aimed at raising Cairo's profile and looking for ways to help the community.

—by Tim Crosby, Univ. Communications