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. 22 No. 1 - Spring 1994
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Magazine cover with photo of woman pointing to union logo on shirt, text reads "Proud Threads: Twenty years after beating JP Stevens, what have textile workers won?"

Proud Threads

  • From the Editor

    2

  • Southern News Roundup

    3

  • Followup

    9

  • White Gold

    Middle Georgia produces $1 billion worth of kaolin, a chalky white clay. So why are people in kaolin-rich counties so poor? By Charles Seabrook

    10

  • "A New Day in Dixie"

    Twenty years after beating J.P. Stevens, mill workers in Roanoke Rapids have reshaped their community. By William M. Adler

    16

  • Taking Stock

    Workers thought the days of paternalism at Cone Mills were long past—until the company offered to make them part-owners. By Barry Yeoman

    28

  • Losing Our Shirts

    Here's how your tax dollars have helped eliminate nearly 500,000 textile and apparel jobs since 1980. By Eric Bates

    32

  • Diary of an Organizer

    When it comes to voting for a union, the majority doesn't always rule. By Lane Windham

    36

  • Sewing History

    Filmmakers documenting the textile uprising of 1934 discover a complex and surprising relationship between past and present. By Judith Helfand

    42

  • Fiction: Plowing

    By Erich Thomas

    45

  • Voices: Beyond Stereotypes

    By Jereann King

    50

  • Junebug: Preacher in the Cornfield

    By Junebug Jabbo Jones

    52

  • Lulu's Story

    In the sugar cane country of south Louisiana, a grandmother recalls a lifetime on the plantation. By Patsy Sims

    54

  • Blueprint: Accessing the Media

    By Valerie Menard

    59

  • Reviews: Picturing the Past

    By George C. Stoney

    61

  • Resources

    63

  • Still the South: The Burn Belt

    By Mary Lee Kerr

    64
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