Institute for Southern Studies

Who's making big money off Border Patrol and ICE contracts? In the wake of high-profile immigration operations in Louisiana and North Carolina, a Facing South/Institute analysis looks at more than 50 businesses in both states receiving money from U.S. Border P...

Read our previous report on Border Patrol and ICE contracts in Louisiana and North Carolina here: www.facingsouth.org/2025/12/whos... @chriskromm.bsky.social

Georgia companies poised to bring in $10 billion from ICE and Border Patrol contracts As public outrage mounts over federal immigration operations, new analysis shows a key Southern state is home to companies that could bring in more than $10 billion to assist Border Patrol and ICE.

Who is making big money on ICE and Border Patrol contracts? In the 2nd installment in our series at Facing South, @chriskromm.bsky.social details 58 companies in Georgia that stand to receive $10 billion from 2025-2026 fiscal year contracts alone. www.facingsouth.org/2026/01/geor...

WATCH: What does Duke owe Durham? At a recent Institute forum, urbanist and historian Prof. Davarian Baldwin looked at the role of universities in their communities, and why institutions like Duke University should do more to invest i...

NEW VIDEO: What does Duke owe Durham? Historian and urbanist @davarianbaldwin.bsky.social breaks down the role of universities like Duke and why they should invest more to support workers and communities. www.facingsouth.org/2025/10/watc...

Southern states are being disproportionately hard-hit by the government shutdown. Analysis finds 8 of 20 states most affected are in the South, based on indicators including share of federal jobs and contract dollars per capita. More:
wallethub.com/edu/governme...

🗳️Democracy is strongest when everyone has a voice.

Last month we released the Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy — a bold plan to defend and expand democracy in NC.

40+ bipartisan policies to protect voting rights & ensure every voice counts.

Learn more: www.southernstudies.org/2025Blueprint

Durham Rising confronts Duke’s troubled labor history A campaign launched this spring is calling on Duke University to raise wages and invest in the city of Durham. Over its history, the elite Southern school has earned a reputation for its hostility to ...

This Founders’ Day, @durhamrising.bsky.social urges Duke to honor the workers — past & present — who keep the university running. The campaign demands higher wages & investment in Durham, challenging Duke’s history of resisting worker activism.

www.facingsouth.org/2025/09/durh...

NC advocates release 'Blueprint' to strengthen democracy A group of 20 state and national advocates has released a report outlining a pro-democracy agenda for North Carolina. Issues range from voting access to combating corruption, protecting court independ...

🚨 Democracy in NC and nationwide is under threat. Our new Blueprint for a Stronger Democracy outlines 40+ reforms to protect and strengthen our institutions. NC has a proud history of democratic innovation with proven, bipartisan solutions,w e can lead again.

👉 www.facingsouth.org/2025/09/nc-a...

So thrilled to be back in Durham to help strategize and build people power, so that our wealthiest local institutions truly lean into community responsibility beyond symbolic gestures...let's go ✊🏿!!!

What Does Duke Owe Durham? Join us Friday 9/26 at 2pm for a forum featuring @davarianbaldwin.bsky.social about how Duke University can support workers and the community. Visit here for more info and to RSVP: www.southernstudies.org/davarianbald... @durhamrising.bsky.social

DSU Student Found Hanging in Tree, No Foul Play Suspected Delta State University staff found the body of 21-year-old student Demartravion “Trey” Reed hanging from a tree in the middle of campus on Monday.

“At approximately 7:05 am, University Police was notified of what appeared to be the body of a Black male hanging from a tree (at) central campus near the DSU pickleball course,” Delta State University Chief of Police Michael Peeler said on Monday.

'The stakes are incredibly high': An interview with Devin Franklin on RICO charges against 'Cop City' activists In late August, Georgia’s attorney general issued indictments under the state’s RICO statute targeting protesters against a planned new police and fire training center. An attorney with the Southern C...

A Georgia judge said this week he will toss racketeering charges against 61 "Cop City" protesters. For Facing South
I interviewed attorney Devin Franklin at @thesoutherncenter.bsky.social about the flimsy state RICO charges when they were first brought two years ago @southernstudies.bsky.social

Institute Index: The assault on consumer protection As the Trump administration escalates its efforts to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an Institute analysis finds that half of the complaints filed by consumers asking for the Bureau's he...

Southern states will feel brunt of attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: 49% of complaints filed with CFPB since 2011 have come from 13 states in the South @ddayen.bsky.social @warren.senate.gov @southernstudies.bsky.social @crlonline.bsky.social

www.facingsouth.org/2025/08/inst...

Institute Index: The assault on consumer protection As the Trump administration escalates its efforts to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an Institute analysis finds that half of the complaints filed by consumers asking for the Bureau's he...

As the Trump administration escalates its efforts to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an Institute analysis finds that half of the complaints filed by consumers asking for the Bureau's help have come from Southern states.

www.facingsouth.org/2025/08/inst...

EEOC: Mandate for Labor

This #LaborDay, we remember John Stewart, a Black sawmill worker in Arkansas who won a promotion, back pay, and legal costs with his union’s support—part of a wave of Black workers reclaiming wages, showing fairness at work is won through solidarity.

www.facingsouth.org/eeoc-mandate...

What do universities owe communities? An interview with Davarian Baldwin At a critical moment for higher education, a leading urban scholar argues universities need to be doing more — not less — to support and invest in the communities where they are based.

@durhamrising.bsky.social is urging Duke to invest in its city & raise employee wages to $25/hr. Historian Davarian Baldwin says universities often worsen gentrification & inequality, and advocates PILOT programs to support schools, housing & public services.

www.facingsouth.org/2025/08/what...

Revisiting the March on Washington On the sixtieth anniversary of the March for Jobs and Freedom, photojournalist Earl Dotter writes about reconnecting with Raymona Middleton, a third-generation Black Washingtonian whom he first met on...

On the 62nd anniversary of the March on Washington, we look back at a 2023 Facing South story, where photographer Earl Dotter reconnected with Raymona Middleton — first photographed there as a teenager— to reflect on the march’s enduring meaning.

www.facingsouth.org/2023/08/marc...

I Am Joan

📅 On this day in 1975, Joan Little became the 1st woman in U.S. history acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault—killing a white guard in self-defense.

In 1978, Southern Exposure revisited how her case reshaped racial & gender justice in the South.

www.facingsouth.org/i-am-joan

Today: North Carolinians protested at the legislature in Raleigh, speaking out against a number of bad bills that hurt immigrant and LGBTQ communities, attack diversity, and more. They called on lawmakers to uphold Governor Stein's vetoes of these harmful bills.

Medicaid expansion could be a lifeline for rural hospitals in the South Rural hospitals were able to survive 2021 with special pandemic assistance, but some aid is set to expire by the end of this year. Advocates say state Medicaid expansion could help rural hospitals con...

From the Archives: Medicaid expansion is the lifeline rural hospitals need.

Back in 2022, we examined how Southern hospitals were on the brink and how expanding Medicaid could save them. The stakes are still high.

www.facingsouth.org/2022/01/medi...

From the Archives: In 1980, Anne Braden wrote:

“It is only on the basis of racism that a mass fascist movement can be built in America.”

📚 Her essay on the Greensboro Massacre is essential reading in the fight against fascism.
www.facingsouth.org/1980/08/less...

GOP escalates campaign to weaken donor transparency in NC A North Carolina bill is the latest effort by GOP donors and advocates to hide Big Money political spending from public view. As they try to overturn the governor's veto, they're lobbying Democrats to...

🚨 NC Republicans are pushing SB416—a bill backed by ALEC & dark money groups like DonorsTrust—that would block public access to political donor info.

Gov. Stein vetoed it. Now the GOP aims to override.

Critics warn: transparency is at stake.

🔗 www.facingsouth.org/2025/07/gop-...

Institute Index: Big bill's blow to Southern health care Date in July on which President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: 4th

On July 4, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The results?

💸 $183.5B cut from Southern Medicaid
🏥 354K could lose coverage
🚨 289 rural hospitals at risk (37%)
⚠️ 77% of Southern Senators voted yes

📊 More via Facing South: www.facingsouth.org/2025/07/inst...

A Southern Exposure/Facing South reading list for Gaza organizers A collection of Facing South and Southern Exposure’s past coverage of militarism and state repression of protest in the South, created for the students, community organizers, faculty, and staff protes...

📚 A reading list tracing connections between Southern U.S. movements and global struggles for liberation, including Gaza. From civil rights sit-ins to Southern ties to U.S. militarism, these readings explore protest, policing, and solidarity across decades.

www.facingsouth.org/2024/05/sout...

Democrats Mobilize to Stop Texas GOP’s Redistricting Power Grab Read more here.

NEW: Top Democrats are fighting back as Texas Republicans push a Trump-backed redistricting plan to lock in 5 new congressional seats.

They call the plan “egregious” and a direct threat to democracy.

From: @yuniorarivas.bsky.social

A federal judge ruled Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be released before trial in Tennessee. But his attorneys requested a delay, citing concerns he may face deportation.

Read more: bit.ly/46k0F8m

South poised to be hit hard by Trump federal job cuts The Trump administration has unleashed massive cuts to federal jobs and programs since taking office. With close to a third of federal employees based in Southern states, the region could be uniquely ...

🚨 A new analysis warns that Southern states—home to nearly a third of all federal civilian jobs—are likely to bear the brunt of Trump’s sweeping 275k+ federal workforce reductions, including deep cuts to NIH support for Appalachia & other vital regional programs.

www.facingsouth.org/2025/02/sout...

Top U.N. Court Says Countries Must Act on Climate Change The International Court of Justice called global warming an “urgent and existential threat” at a closely watched case in The Hague.

Breaking News: The UN’s top court called climate change an “existential threat” and said nations had legal obligations to act. It was the first time that the court has weighed in on climate change.

Op-Ed: Duke Cannot Turn Its Back on the Working People of Durham’ A Duke University housekeeper and Durham native calls on the institution to do more to support employees and the community.

"Workers, public educators, students, & clergy are uniting together in a new coalition, Durham Rising, to hold Duke accountable to its responsibility as the largest employer in the region * show nat'l leadership in this moment of crisis for higher ed." - Nashoun Blount
📰 @indyweek.bsky.social

Dive into four decades of Southern history and resistance. Explore our digital archives — a rich collection of articles on economic, racial, and social justice in the region. Start your journey here. 🌍📚

Check out the link below:

www.facingsouth.org/southern-exp...

What to the Immigrant Is the Fourth of July? - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly Independence Day has historically come with complicated feelings, particularly for marginalized people.

Grateful to @npquarterly.bsky.social for republishing this powerful and timely piece by @rebekahbarber.bsky.social originally written for @facingsouth.bsky.social in 2016.

nonprofitquarterly.org/what-to-the-...