Demographic Change

February 10, 2023 - Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States, and a recent report from University of North Carolina researchers shows their population is diverse and growing rapidly in the Southeast — and in North Carolina in particular. 

December 10, 2021 - In its first lawsuit to come out of the latest round of redistricting, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken aim at Texas, arguing that the GOP legislature's new election district maps violate the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against voters by race or color. We look at some of the numbers cited in the lawsuit, which faces an uphill fight in the new legal landscape created by the Supreme Court's 2013 decision gutting the landmark civil rights-era law.

August 19, 2021 - The latest census data shows the U.S. has grown less white over the past decade, driven in part by an increase in the Latino population in Southern states including Georgia and Texas. But it's unclear if population growth in communities of color will translate to political clout in the upcoming state redistricting process.

April 22, 2021 - Delayed census results, GOP control of Southern legislatures, and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act could lead to unfair new legislative and congressional election maps across the region, according to a new report from the nonprofit RepresentUs. Voting rights advocates say the solution lies in Congress passing the For the People Act.

February 12, 2021 - How could such an extremist end up in Congress? Consider Georgia's congressional district map, which like all state congressional and legislative maps is set to be redrawn later this year. A new report out this week finds that Georgia and a handful of other Southern states remain at risk for more extreme partisan gerrymandering.

July 31, 2020 - The South's five most populous metropolitan areas are rich in racial and ethnic diversity, yet segregation persists at the neighborhood level. A recent Trump administration decision to scrap a rule designed to prevent racial discrimination in housing is unlikely to help.

November 17, 2017 - Democrats, liberal-leaning independents and a growing number of progressives lead two-thirds of the South's 30 largest cities, but their agenda is under attack from the region's conservative legislatures through preemption and other efforts to limit local control.