Support the Institute for Southern Studies and Facing South

Executive Director Chris Kromm hasn't donned a Santa outfit and stood outside your local Wal-Mart ringing a bell (yet) because he is down in New Orleans getting the latest first-hand reports on the recovery effort. But it's that time of year to show your support for the great work the Institute for Southern Studies is doing as a Voice for the Progressive South.

In August of 2005, Chris was going on vacation for a well deserved break and invited me to guest blog for a week. I was happy to help out, but little did I know I would be blogging about the worst natural disaster in modern U.S. history.

Since then, The Institute for Southern Studies has been a major voice for the forgotten victims of Katrina, a singular event which exposed the problems of poverty, inequality, economic injustice, and government incompetence and corruption -- not just in the South but all across America -- for all the world to see. But the Institute for Southern Studies had been working for change on these issues since long before Katrina, and with your help continues that work today.

Chris later asked me to become a regular contributor here at the Facing South blog, and again I was happy to help out. It isn't much in the bigger scheme of things, but the hours spent each week researching and writing posts on topics that are (hopefully) of interest to progressive Southerners seem like the least I can do. (And it's all on a volunteer basis, in case you were wondering.) In the process, I have learned a lot and gained a great deal of respect for the folks here and the work they do.

Those are just some of the many reasons I am supporting the Institute for Southern Studies during their year-end fundraising drive, and encourage you to do the same.