Institute for Southern Studies
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| Motto | A New Vision for a Changing South |
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| Formation | 1970 |
| Type | Non-profit research, education and media center |
| Headquarters | Durham, North Carolina, USA |
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Official language
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English |
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Executive Director
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Chris Kromm |
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Key people
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Eric Bates, Julian Bond, Michael De Los Santos, Ajamu Dillahunt, Bob Hall, Fiona Morgan, on Nixon, Howard Romaine, Pam Spaulding, Sue Sturgis, Kerry Taylor, Sue Thrasher, Timothy Tyson |
| Website | http://www.southernstudies.org |
The Institute for Southern Studies is a non-profit media and research center based in Durham, North Carolina that advocates for progressive political and social causes in the Southern United States. The Institute also publishes the award-winning journal, Southern Exposure, and noted blog and magazine, Facing South.
The Institute was founded in 1970 by veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, including Julian Bond, a leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Howard Romaine and Sue Thrasher, veterans of the Southern Student Organizing Committee. The founders believed a research and education institute was needed to help continue the momentum of 1960s movements for equality and justice, while moving into new areas such as labor rights, environmental protection and democratic reform.
In 1973, the Institute began publishing Southern Exposure, a journal that became known for its investigative reporting into Southern power-brokers and its oral histories of Southerners involved in social change movements.
In 2000, the Institute began publishing an email newsletter named Facing South. The newsletter highlights important news stories in the South and typically also includes a piece of progressive political analysis, as well as "The Institute Index," statistics on a particular issue or theme.
In 2005, the Institute launched an online blog, also called Facing South, which now averages more than 50,000 visitors a month.
Since 2000, the Institute's executive director has been Chris Kromm, who has worked in the South as a journalist and public interest advocate since 1992. Current staff also include Sue Sturgis, Editorial Director; and Jerimee Richir, New Media Organizer.
The Institute's research and outreach programs have focused on a broad range of issues, including economic justice, civil rights, environmental protection and democratic reform. Recent Institute initiatives have included
Between 2000 and 2011, the Institute has also focused on the subject of voting rights in the South, especially the political participation of African-Americans and other historically disenfranchised groups. The Institute's Voting Rights Watch project has publicized such issues as the cost of voter ID laws, barriers to student voting and voter registration "purges" that have prevented citizens from voting.
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