Demographics

February 12, 2021 - How could such an extremist end up in Congress? Consider Georgia's congressional district map, which like all state congressional and legislative maps is set to be redrawn later this year. A new report out this week finds that Georgia and a handful of other Southern states remain at risk for more extreme partisan gerrymandering.

January 27, 2021 - Black women played a lead role in helping Joe Biden win the White House and Democrats win the Senate. One way to repay them would be by canceling the student debt that disproportionately burdens them.

December 3, 2020 - Partly in response to the acclaim for Nikole Hannah-Jones's The 1619 Project on slavery's legacy in the U.S., President Trump recently signed an executive order that seeks to stifle federal agencies, contractors, and grant recipients from talking about systemic racism and sexism. Refusing to be silenced, the African American Policy Forum has launched an effort to overturn it.

December 3, 2020 - First-time voters including young people, former felons, and newly naturalized citizens proved to be a crucial voting bloc in many races nationwide including in Georgia, which a Democratic presidential candidate hadn't won in 28 years. Experts predict that these first-time voters will continue to play an important role in shaping Southern and national politics.

October 28, 2020 - As Election Day approaches, frontline workers and anti-poverty activists are encouraging eligible low-wage voters in the nation's poorest region to take part in this year's election in hopes of electing leaders who will support a living wage and respond to the needs of low-wealth communities.

October 8, 2020 - Following protests against police brutality, growing anxiety over COVID-19, and now a concerted effort by Republican leaders to strengthen the Supreme Court's conservative majority, polls are showing that young voters plan to turn out in record numbers this election cycle. We look at youth voter organizing underway in a key Southern swing state.

September 10, 2020 - More Black women are running for Congress than ever before, including in several key races across the South. Many of these women are already trailblazers, and now they're building new paths into politics.

August 20, 2020 - Emails obtained by Facing South reveal that as workers and community advocates begged for the closure of poultry plants with outbreaks, government and company officials worked closely to present a united front — and keep them open.

August 13, 2020 - As cases of the coronavirus surge nationwide, states across the South have begun to loosen absentee ballot restrictions ahead of a presidential election that's expected to see unprecedented levels of mail-in voting.