As the South goes...

"As the South goes, so goes the nation."

The great scholar W.E.B. DuBois wrote that during the Jim Crow era, a watershed moment for the South and our country.

As someone who cares about change in the South, you know those words are just as true today.

Poverty. Voting rights. Racial equality. Protecting our air, land and water. On issue after issue, what happens in the South sets the tone for the rest of the country.

When you support the Institute for Southern Studies and our work for a better South, you invest in a vision of a more just, democratic and healthy future that can send ripples of change far beyond our region.

Our award-winning journalism and research shines a powerful light on injustice. Every week, our investigative media exposes Big Money power brokers and a narrow agenda that puts private gain above public good.

And for thousands of people, the Institute is a beacon of light and hope for progress -- a community of Southerners and allies who have a different vision of what the South can be.

Today, I hope you'll keep the light of change shining bright in the South by making a year-end gift of $25 or more.

To donate, visit http://bit.ly/SouthernStudies2014.

Your tax-deductible gift will help us continue to expose injustice in the region and equip thousands of people with the information and tools to fight for a better South.

Thank you -- every dollar makes a big difference!

(P.S. -- Want to double your gift? Donate by Friday, Dec. 19 and a generous Institute friend has offered to match the first $5,000 we receive. Make your gift today. Prefer to donate by mail? Please send your check to the Institute for Southern Studies at P.O. Box 531, Durham, NC 27702. Thank you!)