The Progressive South

That created the Jim Crow system, which lasted most of a hundred years and oppressed millions of people for generations.

The centrist impulse to offer up the LGBTQ community as a sacrifice in order to achieve "peace" in the wokeness wars is exactly the sentiment that led to the industrial north giving up enforcement of racial equality in exchange for getting the country back humming again after the Civil War.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn is a cheerleader for ICE and the mass detention and deportation of immigrants. But she has made sure ICE won't put a detention camp of 16,000 prisoners in white, affluent, Republican Wilson County.

Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 42: The "Ministry of Truth" Brings Back Coal SYNOPSIS: On back to back days earlier this month, the Tennessee Valley Authority reversed course on plans to close two massive coal-fired power plants, and the Trump administration abandoned federal ...

On back to back days, the Tennessee Valley Authority reversed course on plans to close two massive coal-fired power plants, and the Trump administration abandoned federal regulation of greenhouse gases. We talked about it with Steve Smith of @cleanenergy.org.

Florida Hands Down Sociology Curriculum to State Colleges The sociology curriculum is likely just the state’s first foray into course development; the Florida Department of Education is already working on a similar framework for American history classes.

“They’re very intentionally staffing the Department of Education office with these ultraconservative ideologues.”

www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

How ICE, THP targeted Nashville immigrants, inflated safety claims - Nashville Banner Analysis shows Tennessee state troopers and ICE agents profiled and disparaged immigrants during Nashville enforcement operation in May 2025.

Terrific reporting from @nashvillebanner.bsky.social.

"Footage also captured a pattern of demeaning conduct from law enforcement, who used a mix of pejoratives to describe the targets ... as teams of law enforcement apparently competed to detain the most people."

The great @jimhightower.com recalls his work with Jesse Jackson. When we talked to Hightower last fall, he said that Jackson in 1988 ran "the only intentionally racially inclusive populist campaign in recent American history."

Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 41: Trump's EPA in the South SYNOPSIS: When it comes to environmental protections, the Trump administration has been on a deregulatory spree. On the front lines of fights to protect air, water and ecosystems across the South is t...

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This week: How the @selc.bsky.social is fighting for environmental protections in the South. We talk to Program Director Geoff Gisler about the first year of Trump 2.0, and what's ahead. Also: more on the FBI's seizure of Georgia ballots, and a look at Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas."

Alabama Power produces some of the dirtiest and most expensive electricity in the country. This week, we talk to @insideclimatenews.org reporter @dennispillion.bsky.social about why that is. Also: What does Taylor Rehmet’s win in a red district mean for Texas? sites.libsyn.com/576820/ep-40...

The erasure of Black history by this administration continues.

Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 39: New Orleans Vs. ICE SYNOPSIS: While outrage continues to mount about violent immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, ICE and the Border Patrol are active at smaller scale in cities across the South. A hearing last week i...

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This week: New Orleans vs. ICE. NOLA Mayor Helena Moreno and other leaders testified last week about the fear and disruption spread by Operation Catahoula Crunch. Also: Trump's FBI seizes Georgia ballots, and the ongoing impact of winter weather across the South. sites.libsyn.com/576820/ep-39...

Inside the FBI raid taking archived 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Ga. County Commissioner Mo Ivory, who's also a law professor, says local officials are looking for legal avenues to protect the ballots from seizure by Trump's Justice Department.

www.instagram.com/reel/DUEZYDN...

ICE and DHS blasted over enforcement tactics in New Orleans Rep. Troy Carter hosted a congressional field hearing Monday.

NOLA City Council President JP Morrell: "If Minneapolis is the tip of the spear, New Orleans is the hand — a blue city in a red state being used as a test case. So goes New Orleans, so goes the South."

www.axios.com/local/new-or...

Metro Council debates downtown safety grant and proposals - Nashville Banner The Metro Council's decisions on how to use a $15 million downtown safety grant included one rejection while proposed changes to the Metro charter were abandoned.

Nashville Metro Council votes down enhanced surveillance cameras. Councilmember Zulfat Suara: “I do not trust our state government. I do not trust our federal government. By being paranoid, that’s the only way we make sure people don’t get hurt.”

Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 37: Listening to MLK SYNOPSIS: Martin King Luther Jr. Day arrives this year in the midst of an ongoing assault on his legacy and the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement at both the national and — in the South — s...

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King's work and words went so far beyond "I have a dream." This week, we listen to selections from speeches across his career, from the age of 25 to his death at 39, as he argued forcefully for political equality and economic justice, in the name of love and brotherhood. (link below)

Among the many clips selected for today's episode!

theprogressivesouth.org/headlights-e...

ICE Prosecutor Who Runs Racist X Account Returns to Dallas Immigration Court James Rodden, identified by the Observer last year as the operator of an account that routinely posted hateful statements, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.

Last year @texasobserver.org outed an ICE prosecutor as a vehement white supremacist. After an unspecified internal review, he's back on the job with no official acknowledgement of his online activities.

House passes anti-drag bill as legislature convenes for 2026 • Tennessee Lookout The Tennessee House of Representatives opened the 2026 session passing an bill targeting businesses that hold one drag show in a year.

The Tennessee House opens its session by classifying any venue that hosts even one drag show a year as an "adult cabaret," subjecting them to zoning restrictions. This is just a warm-up for a promised raft of anti-immigrant bills.

This week: Talking with Marques Thompson, organizing director for @democracync.bsky.social about the fight for democracy in the Tar Heel State. Also: How Texas A&M's crazy DEI purge led to Texas' largest public university censoring Plato. theprogressivesouth.org/headlights-e...

Of course, the flipside of "Don't Tread on Me" has always been, "I'll Stomp on You."

Context if needed is that Wesley Hunt is running for Senate, and is trying to squeeze through a Republican primary between John Cornyn and wildman Attorney General Ken Paxton. He appears to be vying for the "enthusiasm for state violence" caucus. thehill.com/homenews/hou...

Gov. Bill Lee declines to secure millions in federal funds to feed Tennessee kids during summer  • Tennessee Lookout Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declined to secure millions of dollars in federal funding to provide food to low-income kids by the Jan. 1 deadline.

Republican county mayors, pastors and child advocates across Tennessee asked Gov. Bill Lee to apply for federal funds for summer food aid. For the second year in a row, Lee said no.

Lots of interesting races across the South this year. This week we talk about Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. What campaigns or candidates are on your radar? sites.libsyn.com/576820/ep-35...

Significant news for the 2026 congressional elections: Louisiana will continue to use its challenged district map for this cycle, drawn with two majority-Black districts. But a Supreme Court ruling still to come in the case could affect future elections.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry selected by Trump to be special envoy to Greenland • Louisiana Illuminator President Donald Trump announced Sunday night that Gov. Jeff Landry would serve as his special envoy to Greenland.

We have some suggestions for other governors who might merit extended overseas deployments ...

Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 34: A Year in the Progressive South SYNOPSIS: 2025 has been a tumultuous and difficult year across the United States, and certainly here in the South. In a year-end episode, Jesse looks back at some of the major issues we’ve covered on ...

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