Justice

January 24, 2023 - The poverty rate for people with disabilities is more than double that of our nondisabled counterparts, and the disparity is being driven by state policy choices that force us into institutions unnecessarily and allow employers to pay us subminimum wages. Some Southern states have already embraced reforms, and others should act now.

January 13, 2023 - The Food and Drug Administration is now allowing pharmacies to stock the abortion medication mifepristone. But most Southern states have near-total abortion bans while the rest restrict abortion pill access, so the decision does not make it easier for most residents seeking to terminate pregnancies.

January 13, 2023 - Formerly a reporter for the Chatham News + Record and editor of UNC's The Daily Tar Heel, Devarajan is the latest recipient of a fellowship created to support a new generation of social change journalists. The program honors Julian Bond, the civil rights veteran and journalist who cofounded the Institute for Southern Studies, the nonprofit publisher of Facing South.

January 11, 2023 - The U.S. dollar store industry is booming, but its workers struggle with low pay and dangerous working conditions. In New Orleans, they're organizing with help from Step Up Louisiana, a community-based organization that builds power to win economic justice.

December 16, 2022 - Two electrical substations in Moore County, North Carolina, were recently vandalized with gunfire during a contested drag show, leaving tens of thousands of residents in the cold and dark for days. Though authorities have not released a motive for the attacks, they occurred amid rising threats and violence directed at LGBTQ gatherings in the South. 

December 14, 2022 - While observers are still grappling to understand the full impact of restrictive voting policies on the 2022 midterm election, voting rights advocates are fiercely challenging the notion that high turnout means there was no voter suppression — and continuing their calls for new federal voting rights legislation.

December 14, 2022 - Workers who handle customer service for Medicare and the Affordable Care Act marketplace are fighting to improve their lot at a call center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, operated by Maximus, a Virginia-based government services contractor. Documentarian Jason Kerzinski recently visited with the workers to collect some of their stories.