Today is the 45 th Earth Day, an annual reminder of our solemn responsibility to protect the environment and an opportunity to examine the ways in which we interact with the planet. Rapid changes, however, are threatening the lives of millions of Americans who rely on the land for their livelihoods, and the South is bearing the brunt. The region experiences more intense hurricanes, drought,...
The voting booth is a powerful place. Just look at how much effort has gone into keeping people away from it – and not just in the distant past. A cursory scan of recent headlines reveals various incarnations of modern-day struggles over suffrage.
Take the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the ink on which will be 50 years dry this August. It’s been lauded as the most effective piece of civil...
Shirley and Charles Sherrod founded the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education in 1961 to educate, engage and empower through advocacy and community organizing. SWGAP has successfully addressed school segregation, welfare rights, voter rights and education, housing, land loss, economic development and unfair policies affecting school children and families.
After decades of...
All over the American South, civic-minded people are working to improve communities by building coalitions and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The recent commemorations on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, honored the sacrifices of those who marched 50 years ago and the gains they brought to bear on our society. Many of those brave...
Ralph Paige has served the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund for 30 years, 15 as Executive Director. The Federation improves the quality of rural life through housing, community credit unions, cooperatives and training programs. It helps small farmers access the full range of USDA programs and keeps thousands of landowners informed of their rights and...
