History
May 25, 2023 -
To mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're republishing a story from Southern Exposure's 2005 "East Meets South" issue about Vietnamese American shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico who, decades after facing down the Klan, faced an increasingly globalized industry.
May 11, 2023 -
Ben Barber interviewed UNC law professor and anti-poverty scholar Gene Nichol about his new book, “Lessons from North Carolina: Race, Religion, Tribe, and the Future of America,” which offers insights from North Carolina politics aimed at countering the nationwide assault on democratic norms and values.
April 21, 2023 -
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Moral Monday Movement's launch, and to mark the occasion Facing South democracy reporter Benjamin Barber spoke with Rev. Barber, his father, about the movement's historic roots and accomplishments, and what keeps him hopeful about progressive change today.
April 14, 2023 -
The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act established a process for returning burial remains to tribes across the country, but the law applies only to those with federal recognition. The Southeast’s legacy of forced displacement and contentious battles over tribal recognition has created challenges for descendants seeking ancestors’ remains, thousands of which are still in the possession of museums and research institutions across the country.
April 12, 2023 -
The expulsion of two Black lawmakers from the Tennessee House for participating in a nonviolent protest recalls an earlier expulsion of dozens of Black lawmakers from Georgia's General Assembly because of their race. Here's the defiant speech delivered in response by one of those expelled lawmakers, the Rev. Henry McNeal Turner.
March 31, 2023 -
Michael Simmons has been a longtime Black organizer working across regions and movements, from…
March 31, 2023 -
Dan Berger, a scholar of the Black Power movement, has written a remarkable intergenerational story about the Simmons family's long involvement in the Black freedom struggle, from Zoharah's and Michael's SNCC organizing and human rights work to Aishah's anti-rape activism. The title comes from lyrics to a civil rights anthem that for them has been more than a slogan — it's been a guide to a life of service to the people.
