Southern Exposure was an award-winning print journal published by the Institute for Southern Studies, publisher of Facing South, from 1973 until 2011. Southern Exposure earned a national reputation for its writing on a broad range of political and cultural issues in the South, with a special emphasis on investigative journalism and oral history.

On the 50th anniversary of Southern Exposure’s birth, Facing South and the Institute will be publishing a full digital archive of the journal over the course of the year. The initial installment of the archives available in March 2023 includes issues from the magazine’s launch in 1973 through 1981.

Vol. 17 No. 4 - Winter 1989
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Magazine cover with child facing the camera, reading "Facing the '90s"

Facing the '90s

  • Dateline: The South

    2

  • Southern News Roundup

    4

  • Small Town, Big Screen

    In the midst of the Depression, a Southern filmmaker created a democratic style of hometown movies. By Tom Whiteside.

    8

  • Bottom of the Class

    Timber taxes are kept low in Alabama—and students are the ones who suffer. By Emily Bentley, Allan Freedman, and Janet Jimmerson.

    14

  • Pay Dirt

    Coal companies, campaign contributions, and officials who look the other way. By Paul J. Nyden.

    20

  • Our Coast

    Awash in a sea of change, a valuable heritage is slowly seeping away. By Frank Tursi and Jon Healey.

    25

  • Care and Punishment

    Medicine behind bars can turn life in prison into an early death sentence. By Olive Talley.

    30

  • The Face of Poverty

    For most of the poor in Spartanburg County, public aid provides plenty of nothing. By Diana Sugg, Linda Conley, and Allison Bruce.

    36

  • Fiction: Beaner's Story

    By Stephen E. Smith

    42

  • Southern Voices: Killing Us Softly

    By Eleanor Smith

    48

  • Drawing the Line

    How election districts are drawn in the South this year will shape state and national politics for the rest of the decade. By Eric Bates.

    51

  • Power in the Delta

    Arkansas voters have put plantation-era politics on trial. The charge: rigging elections to keep blacks out of office. By Faith Gay.

    56

  • The Color of Ballots

    When Chattanooga citizens fought for fair elections, the political and social history of the city unfolded in federal court. By Wade Rawlins and Dick Kopper.

    60

  • The Last Word

    By Bob Hall

    64
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