Politics
April 26, 2023 -
In the last couple of months, several Southern state legislators have jumped from the Democratic to the Republican Party, in some cases handing veto-proof supermajorities to the GOP. While the switchers may gain more clout in the short term, they often face electoral consequences.
April 21, 2023 -
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Moral Monday Movement's launch, and to mark the occasion Facing South democracy reporter Benjamin Barber spoke with Rev. Barber, his father, about the movement's historic roots and accomplishments, and what keeps him hopeful about progressive change today.
April 14, 2023 -
After a shooter recently killed six people at an elementary school in Tennessee's capital city, mass protests demanded tougher gun laws, which are supported by most Americans. But the state's Republican-controlled legislature instead took action to lift restrictions on guns while refusing to debate new ones — and it's not alone in the region.
April 12, 2023 -
The expulsion of two Black lawmakers from the Tennessee House for participating in a nonviolent protest recalls an earlier expulsion of dozens of Black lawmakers from Georgia's General Assembly because of their race. Here's the defiant speech delivered in response by one of those expelled lawmakers, the Rev. Henry McNeal Turner.
April 7, 2023 -
This week the Republican-controlled Tennessee House voted to expel two young, Black Democrats who from the chamber's floor had joined a vocal protest calling for stricter gun laws following a deadly mass shooting at a Nashville school. We share the powerful Easter-themed statement Rep. Justin Pearson delivered to the chamber before his expulsion.
March 30, 2023 -
The nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center was formed and is led by a bipartisan group of state election officials to help member states maintain accurate voter rolls. Seven states have quit ERIC in the past year as the far right has spread disinformation about it, but Republican election officials in a number of Southern states have reaffirmed their commitment to the group.
March 30, 2023 -
A coalition of advocacy groups recently released a report offering ideas on ways to protect and promote democracy in the state. Some of these proposals have since been incorporated into legislation that’s been introduced at the General Assembly.