Mississippi children's book project aims to close racial and gender literacy gaps

A couple of longtime friends in Mississippi got to talking about the books their kids love — and immediately realized there was a dearth of Black characters. So they organized the project behind the popular "Big Monty" book series that features smart Black kids whose adventures in middle school include easy-to-follow science experiments. (7/5/2022)

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Mobilizing young Southern voters for the midterms

Youth turnout set records in the 2020 presidential election, and organizers across the South are now building on that momentum to get young people to the polls this midterm election year. Polls show the Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights is a motivating factor. (7/5/2022)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Southern Tenant Farmers' Union

The Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union, one of the earliest integrated unions and a pioneer of sharecropping unions in the Deep South, was founded on July 11, 1934. Forty years later, Southern Exposure magazine interviewed several people involved with the union and published an oral history. For the 88th anniversary of its founding, we revisit those histories. (7/8/2022)

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Supreme Court could give legislatures unprecedented control over elections

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider a fringe legal theory that would give state lawmakers even more leeway to gerrymander, suppress voters, and possibly overturn presidential election results. Four conservative justices agree with the theory, and the appeal out of North Carolina will reveal if the court's majority does. A proposed constitutional amendment could provide a fix.

Investors are pushing affordable housing out of reach

A U.S. House subcommittee recently held a hearing on how institutional investors' fast-expanding ownership of single-family rental homes is making affordable housing less accessible for renters and first-time homebuyers. Black neighborhoods and Southern metros are among those with the greatest share of investor ownership of single-family rentals.