Southern Exposure was an award-winning print journal published by the Institute for Southern Studies, publisher of Facing South, from 1973 until 2011. Southern Exposure earned a national reputation for its writing on a broad range of political and cultural issues in the South, with a special emphasis on investigative journalism and oral history.

On the 50th anniversary of Southern Exposure’s birth, Facing South and the Institute will be publishing a full digital archive of the journal over the course of the year. The initial installment of the archives available in March 2023 includes issues from the magazine’s launch in 1973 through 1981.

Vol. 21 No. 4 - Winter 1993
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Magazine cover with photo of young Black boy at a protest holding a hand-lettered sign that reads "Clean should be more than a dream"

Clean Dreams

  • From the Editor

    2

  • Roundup

    3

  • Clean Dream Section Introduction

    By Isaiah Madison and Mary Lee Kerr

    7

  • From Conquistadors to Coalitions

    After centuries of environmental racism, people of color are forging a new movement for environmental justice. By Mary Lee Kerr and Charles Lee

    8

  • Crossing the Line

    Even before NAFTA, corporations have been exporting dangerous jobs and toxic waste to Mexico. By Rick Held

    20

  • Toxic Struggles

    State-by-state reports on community battles for environmental justice. An Institute Report

    22

  • Tenants and Toxics

    A vision for the environmental justice movement from one of its earliest leaders. By Pat Bryant

    27

  • "To Forge a Movement"

    How can we build a broad movement for environmental justice? Seventeen grassroots organizers share their ideas and experiences. Interview by Isaiah Madison

    30

  • Voices: Big Bear John

    As told to Barbara Wickersham

    35

  • Junebug: Looking for Mudbone

    By Junebug Jabbo Jones

    36

  • Fiction: Diseases of Mystics

    By Sharon Claybough

    38

  • Race and Risk

    How private dealing over public housing condemned a West Dallas neighborhood to segregation and lead poisoning. By Craig Flournooy and Randy Lee Loftis

    44

  • Death of a Nursery

    Thousands of Florida farmeres watched their crops wither and die. Was a Du Pont fungicide to blame? By William R. Levesque

    47

  • The Changing Lowcountry

    Private resorts erode the South Carolina coast—while public dollars pay the insurance. By Frank Heflin

    49

  • No Answers for Newtown

    Environmental racism is killing black residents and dividing a Georgia community. By Rick Lavender

    51

  • Separate Justice

    The war on drugs has rolled back the clock in Virginia courts, reversing decades of progress toward racial equality. By Bob Gibson

    54

  • The Burden of Waste

    Students in New Orleans public schools suffer as board members put politics above learning. By Chris Adams

    57

  • Reviews: Organizing Memphis

    By Elizabeth Sharpe

    62
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