The Institute for Southern Studies is a non-profit media and research center based in Durham, North Carolina, advocating for progressive political and social causes in the Southern United States. Publishes include: Southern Exposure (1973 to 2011) and Facing South (current)
History and background
The institute was founded in 1970 by veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, including Julian Bond, leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Howard Romaine and Sue Thrasher, veterans of the Southern Student Organizing Committee, and aimed to continue the momentum of 1960s movements for equality and justice, expanding to labor rights, environmental protection and democratic reform.
In 1973, the Institute began publishing Southern Exposure, known for its investigative reporting into Southern power-brokers and its oral histories of Southerners.
Facing South (2000) highlights important news stories in the South, including a piece of progressive political analysis and statistics on particular issues.
In 2005, the Institute launched Facing South, which is now an online magazine. Current staff include:
Chris Kromm, Executive Director
Sue Sturgis, Editorial Director
Benjamin Barber, Research Associate
Olivia Paschal, Investigative Reporter
Rebekah Barber, Editorial Fellow
Elisha Brown, Julian Bond Fellow
Research and education programs
Focusing on a broad range of issues: economic justice, civil rights, environmental protection and democratic reform. Including: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, a project tracking the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; the Peace and Security Program, which has examined the South's disproportionate ties to the military and the Iraq War; and, the Environment and Energy Reporting Project, launched in 2008, which examines the political and economic influence of the energy industry in the South.
Between 2000 and 2011, The Institute's Voting Rights Watch project has publicized such issues as the cost of voter ID laws, barriers to student voting and voter registration "purges" that have prevented citizens from voting.
Current programs include: Census and Redistricting Project, the Energy and Environment Reporting Project, and the Freedom Journalism School.
Southern Exposure
In 1973, the Institute began publishing Southern Exposure, a journal covering a broad range of political and cultural issues, with a special emphasis on investigative journalism and oral history.
Southern Exposure has been recognized with numerous major journalism awards, including two George Polk Awards (Magazine Reporting and Regional Reporting), a National Magazine Award (Public Interest Reporting), the John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business and Financial Journalism, and awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors, the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the White House Correspondents' Association.
Notable authors who have contributed to Southern Exposure include Julian Bond, Anne Braden, Denise Giardina, Jim Hightower, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Stetson Kennedy, Mab Segrest, Lee Smith, Studs Terkel and Alice Walker. Southern Exposure published quarterly from 1973–2000 and 2002–2005.
In 2003/2004, Southern Exposure published "Banking on Misery," an award-winning investigative series that was one of the first in-depth reports on the growing predatory lending crisis, especially the leading role of Citigroup in predatory banking practices. The Columbia Journalism Review later credited Southern Exposure with breaking the story about Citigroup's dependence on subprime lending (three out of four loans originating from Citigroup in 2000 were from its subprime unit, Southern Exposure reported) and foreshadowing the 2007/2008 home credit crisis.
After a two-year hiatus, Southern Exposure resumed publication in 2011 with an issue about the health crisis facing Gulf Coast communities in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The most recent issue was published in 2012.