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. 29
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Magazine cover, photos of assembly lines and trees against green background. Text reads "Good Jobs & Green Communities: Can we have both a healthy environment and a strong economy?"

Good Jobs & Green Communities

  • Gold & Green: Together Again

    Southerners take great pride in the splendor of their natural heritage. But political and business leaders are saying that we must sacrifice environmental protection to bring "jobs." The Institute investigates the "jobs vs. the environment" myth.

    3

  • Living on the White Side: The Diary of a New Orleans Fair Housing Tester

    What happens when two people with the exact same economic profile—but one black, one white—try to rent or buy a home? A report from the streets of the Big Easy. By Sabrina Manganella Simmons

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  • Southern Journalism Awards

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  • Neighborhood Schools—Or Resegregation?

    Thirty years after Charlotte, North Carolina's schools were convulsed by segregation orders, the threat to racial and economic equity has returned. By Debbie Cenziper and Ted Mellnik

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  • Abuse Behind Bars

    Like elsewhere in the country, Florida's prison population skyrocketed in the 1990s. With this explosion came abuse, cruel and unusual punishment, and vigilante justice. By Jo Becker

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  • Dying Behind Bars

    Chatham County, Georgia's experiment with private prisons wreaked havco on programs to ensure decent health care for prisoners. By Leonora LaPeter

    22

  • Disabling the Disabled

    TennCare was supposed to be Tennessee's innovative answer to gaps in health care coverage. But insurance companies have turned it into a public health nightmare. By Eileen Loh-Harrist

    28

  • Still the South: Shag Dancing!

    By Mary Lee Kerr

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