rural economy

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.

March 11, 2021 - The FCC recently approved a benefit program to lower the cost of internet bills for Americans in need, and states in the South including Texas and North Carolina are also taking steps to address accessibility problems.

March 27, 2020 - With the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic forcing Americans to work and study from home, access to high-speed internet is critical — but in the South far fewer people have access than providers report, and many states have erected barriers to community networks.

June 16, 2017 - Rural areas draw the ire of Trump opponents on the left and right who charge that residents voted against their own interests. But in the South, which has the country's biggest rural Black population and growing numbers of rural Hispanics, many of the rural communities most threatened by Trump's policies did not vote for him.  

November 25, 2015 - Rural America is long on opportunity and short on people. If the rest of America doesn't want an influx of courageous and determined new residents, send them our way.

August 7, 2015 - The paucity of public and private investment in the rural South has caused outsized harm to African-American women and girls, but organizing efforts are underway to help them become leaders in building a more prosperous and just future for their communities.

July 23, 2015 - Child poverty rates are higher in rural areas, especially in the South, where the manufacturing decline has wiped out jobs and tax revenue. Yet these communities tend to receive less philanthropic support. Advocates across the region speak out about the problem in the latest installment of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation's Southern Voices oral history project.