Education

October 11, 2018 - After the Civil War, new state constitutions drafted with the help of freedmen required former Confederate states to establish their first public school systems. But 150 years later, education advocates are still fighting to ensure that Southern states live up to their mandate to offer every student a decent education.

September 6, 2018 - Students across the South are working to more easily exercise their right to vote, starting with raising awareness about the inequity in voter ID laws across the region.

May 10, 2018 - On May 16, thousands of North Carolina teachers are expected to rally at the state legislature to advocate for more resources for their students and better pay. Durham teacher Ellen Holmes talks about why she's joining the convergence. 

May 2, 2018 - Despite years of protests by students, the "Silent Sam" Confederate memorial still stands in a prominent place on the campus of UNC's flagship school. This week UNC history grad student Maya Little doused the statue with her own blood in an act she said was aimed at providing needed context. This is Little's statement about her protest.      

September 21, 2017 - "An Outrage," a new documentary by Virginia-based filmmakers Hannah Ayers and Lance Warren, is being used to educate K-12 students about the brutality of lynching across the South.

May 19, 2017 - The Supreme Court ruled 63 years ago this week in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Today, integration gains are being eroded by voucher programs that use public money to support private schools — and the Trump administration wants to expand those programs dramatically.

March 16, 2017 - A high-profile incident involving a 15-year-old Black student in North Carolina who lashed out against a verbal bully has focused attention on the rise of racist harassment in schools following Trump's election. While some might think words don't actually hurt anyone, studies show otherwise.

January 14, 2016 - Right-wing industrialist Charles Koch's efforts to reshape higher education in the South were the topic of a Georgia Public Broadcasting talk show this week. Guests included Institute for Southern Studies money in politics researcher Alex Kotch and Inside Higher Ed editor Scott Jaschik.

December 18, 2015 - Non-tenure-track instructors at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, are organizing a union. Organizing committee member MJ Sharp explains why.