Southern Politics
Over the course of history, the South has played an integral part in forming the political landscape of the country. From the Civil War to civil rights, the South has changed the face of politics in America.
How not to respond to peaceful protesters: Lessons from North Carolina politicians
|
June 12, 2013
In their sixth week now, the Moral Monday protests against the North Carolina General Assembly's far-right agenda show no signs of stopping any time soon -- and in fact, the...
VOICES: From 'Mississippi Goddam' to 'Jackson Hell Yes'
|
June 7, 2013
By Bob Wing
Chokwe Lumumba -- a founder and leader of the Republic of New Afrika, the New Afrikan People's Organization and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, defense attorney for...
The end of the Solid South?
|
June 6, 2013
Is it possible for a state to grow both more conservative and more progressive at the same time? That, as I and my colleague Sue Sturgis at the Institute for Southern Studies...
Newcomers change face of Southern politics
|
May 23, 2013
It's no secret that the South is both growing and its demographics changing -- two trends that make this an exciting and volatile moment for the region's politics.
As many...
More questions in NC redistricting case
|
May 9, 2013
By Sharon McCloskey, NC Policy Watch
After two full days of hearings in February, and a request in early April for additional argument from counsel regarding evidence, the three-...
The South, still ruled by 'the handful'
|
April 22, 2013
By Joe Atkins, Labor South
Fannie Lou Hamer, a folk philosopher of the civil rights movement in the Mississippi Delta, knew what she was up against in a state and region where an...
The strange politics of TVA privatization
|
April 16, 2013
In his latest budget plan released last week, President Obama pitched the idea of selling off the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the federally owned and self-financing...
VOICES: The danger of McCrory's Bobby Jindal imitation
|
April 10, 2013
By Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch
Governor Pat McCrory appears to be on a privatization spree that could have serious implications for jobs and health care in North Carolina....
Will hog farmers save renewable energy in North Carolina?
|
April 4, 2013
The North Carolina legislature is considering a controversial bill to kill the state's renewable energy law, and a big crowd turned out yesterday for its first hearing in a...
Southernomics as a model?
|
April 1, 2013
By Joe Atkins, Labor South
A recent cover story for the Austin, Texas-based Progressive Populist, headlined "Southern Poverty Pimps," describes in detail...
Can gay marriage win in the South?
|
March 28, 2013
When he was running for the Illinois state senate in 1998, Barack Obama said that he was "undecided" on the issue of gay marriage. But last year, now-President Obama...
INSTITUTE INDEX: The South's long resistance to marriage equality (updated)
|
March 27, 2013
(Editor's note: Shortly after this index was published, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) announced that she had changed her position and no longer opposed civil marriage for same-sex...
Will North Carolina strike illegal voter literacy test from its constitution?
|
March 26, 2013
With the rise of white-supremacist power in the late 19th century South came efforts by the region's legislatures to block the African-American vote, and one of the most...
Will Southern Democrats derail immigration reform?
|
February 21, 2013
Ever since President Obama announced his intention to fight -- again -- for broad-ranging immigration reform in his Feb. 13 State of the Union address, media coverage has been...
The Southern exception
|
February 15, 2013
By Jordan Green, YES! Weekly
The cover of Southern Exposure magazine in the fall of 1996 depicted Bill Clinton grasping a Confederate battle flag beside a bayonet-wielding Newt...
Is the 4th Circuit veering back to the center?
|
February 14, 2013
By Sharon McCloskey, NC Policy Watch
It's been nearly a decade since the New York Times profiled the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond -- the court of last resort...
The South and "the Great Gerrymander of 2012"
|
February 8, 2013
In a recent New York Times analysis, Sam Wang looked at an issue which has been grabbing headlines -- at least on political blogs -- since the 2012 elections: how Democrats,...
NC DHHS appointee behind discredited pro-abstinence, anti-gay website (UPDATE)
|
February 7, 2013
Only two days after her appointment, the woman picked to lead North Carolina's early education programs has found herself caught up in a storm of controvery.
First came the...
Bulk of Pope Foundation money channeled into conservative advocacy
|
January 30, 2013
In December 2012, the John William Pope Foundation -- the family foundation chaired and run by North Carolina Republican mega-donor Art Pope, now the state budget director --...
In North Carolina, full speed in reverse
|
January 30, 2013
By Rob Schofield, NC Policy Watch
The 2013 session of the North Carolina General Assembly gets underway in earnest today and if the statements and signals from Governor McCrory,...
VOICES: As Obama lays out progressive agenda, white South slips into political irrelevancy
|
January 24, 2013
By Joe Atkins, Labor South
On the Bibles of two men once reviled in the South, President Obama took the oath of office for his second term Monday, a day that also honored one of...
From the Southern Exposure Archives: With the People
|
January 18, 2013
Interview with James Orange by Bob Hall
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Southern Exposure, the print magazine published by the Institute for Southern Studies, the...
Map Mischief: How gerrymandering has undercut Southern Democrats in Congress
|
January 17, 2013
In North Carolina, more than half (51 percent) of the state voted in 2012 for a Democrat to represent them in Congress. But this month, less than a third (31 percent) of the U.S....
An action-packed 2013 in store for Southern labor
|
January 11, 2013
By Joe Atkins, Labor South
The year 2013 promises to be an action-packed one for labor in the South as well as across the country. Republicans lost major ground in the national...
Cabinet of Controversy: N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory’s 5 most dubious appointments
|
January 11, 2013
Pat McCrory was sworn in as North Carolina's new governor in a private ceremony on Jan. 5, becoming the first Republican in 20 years to hold the state's top office. He...
