immigrants

September 1, 2022 - When North Carolina tobacco companies began manufacturing cigarettes in the 1880s, they needed skilled rollers, so they turned to Jewish immigrants on strike at cigarette factories in New York City. The bosses thought the workers wouldn't dare organize in the union-hostile South, but they were proven wrong.

December 17, 2021 - Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are among the states with the lowest vaccination rates. Grassroots organizations there are partnering with public health officials to battle misinformation and distrust in rural, Latino, and Black communities — but elected officials in those states aren't making their jobs any easier.

December 3, 2020 - First-time voters including young people, former felons, and newly naturalized citizens proved to be a crucial voting bloc in many races nationwide including in Georgia, which a Democratic presidential candidate hadn't won in 28 years. Experts predict that these first-time voters will continue to play an important role in shaping Southern and national politics.

February 12, 2020 - In November, the Latino electorate is projected to make U.S. history as the largest racial or ethnic minority in a presidential election. In the South, the children of many Latino migrants will be making history of their own by casting their family's first U.S. vote.  

September 28, 2018 - Agricultural workers — many of whom are undocumented or in the country on work visas — are among the most vulnerable workers. We recently spoke with Justin Flores of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee about how these workers are building power despite the numerous attacks on their right to organize.

September 12, 2018 - Cooperatives have a deep history in the South, and especially in African-American communities. A growing number of co-ops in North Carolina are drawing on that rich history to fill gaps created by economic inequality.

June 2, 2017 - Immigrant rights advocates are working to block the harshest sanctuary city ban in the nation before it goes into effect on Sept. 1.