The Progressive South
@progsouth.bsky.social
Progressive news and views from across the Southern U.S.
I live in rural America, and the socialist ideas that conservatives like to bring up all the time, the ones that are going to "ruin our country," those are the same ideas that built the TVA — building lakes, dams, bridges, and all the power we needed in our region.
In this morning's hearing on the Trump administration's mail-in voting restrictions, Texas attorneys told Judge Indira Talwani she should let the state implement the rules as a test case. Talwani: “We’re not talking about an intellectual puzzle game. We’re talking about people’s right to vote.”
Mail voting live updates: Judge weighs fate of Trump’s anti-voting executive order
This morning's hearing may be the most consequential moment yet in the months-long legal fight over Trump's attempt to restrict mail voting before the midterms.
democracydocket.com
On this week's Headlights: The South's war on academic freedom. We talk to Teresa Klein of @texasaaup.bsky.social about crackdowns in the Lone Star State, plus Tennessee's erosion of tenure — and Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" getting smacked down once again. Link in comments!
Rest in peace to the great Wendell Berry. kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/31/k...
Kentucky writer, farmer and advocate Wendell Berry dies at 92 • Kentucky Lantern
A lover of forests, the farmer, author and former English professor died on Thursday, according to his family and the New York Times. He was 92.
kentuckylantern.com
A Muslim woman named as a municipal judge in the small town of Benoit, Mississippi, is facing a campaign of online harassment and disinformation. "As a person born and raised in the U.S., why am I disqualified?" Assma Ali asked the Mississippi Free Press. "Just because I’m Muslim?”
Muslim Woman Becomes Municipal Judge in Mississippi Delta Town Amid a Flurry of Bigotry
Assma Ali, a Muslim and immigration attorney, is now municipal judge in Benoit, Mississippi, but is also facing misinformation and threats.
mississippifreepress.org
#OTD in 1862, Ida B. Wells was born. A fearless journalist, she risked her life to expose lynching and racial terror. Born into slavery, she later helped found the NAACP. #TheMarchContinues
Will Trump's penchant for vacating corruption charges extend to Black Mississippi Democrats? We're going to guess no.
Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · 2mo agoAn FBI sting that began in October 2023 & ended in May 2024 ensnared multiple Jackson politicians, including former Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba & former Hinds County DA Jody Owens, in a bribery scandal over a proposal to construct a hotel in downtown Jackson adjacent to the capital’s convention complex.
The gains of the Civil Rights Movement are being wrenched backward in the South. But outside our region, who's fighting back?
Politico@politico.com · 2mo agoBlack leaders across the South have expressed a visceral shock in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision gutting the Voting Rights Act. But as the surprise wears off, a sense of isolation has begun to set in among some. 🔗 politi.co/4vSW46T
Two federal judges shredded DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE” law as a massive First Amendment violation.
Eleventh Circuit crushes Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ at state universities • Florida Phoenix
Instead of the state determining what will be taught in university classrooms, students must be free to hear and consider even officially disfavored ideas presented to them by professors, a federal ap...
floridaphoenix.com
We're so sorry to hear of the passing of @unionwoman.bsky.social Vonda McDaniel, a major voice for labor in Tennesse — and one of the first interviews we did for our Headlights podcast. (link below) She dedicated her life to the working people of Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Vonda McDaniel, Tennessee Labor leader, mourned after Tuesday death • Tennessee Lookout
Vonda McDaniel, a longtime leader of Tennessee’s organized labor movement who pushed to build working class power, died Tuesday at 60.
tennesseelookout.com
Mississippi's Black-majority districts remain very much in Gov. Tate Reeves' sights. The state with the largest percentage of Black citizens in the country is likely to lose minority representation.
Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · 2mo ago“I think it’s pretty clear and evident to any and everyone that those seats in the (Mississippi) Senate, in the Hattiesburg area, as well as in DeSoto County, were drawn under principles that are not constitutional,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
"The breakup of the Delta District can only be due to race and the desire to dilute the Black vote."
Opinion | In Mississippi, Redistricting Is Still About Race
Chris Danielson writes about how redistricting efforts in Mississippi are based far more in race than they are in partisan politics.
mississippifreepress.org
No surprise: The DOJ was apparently sicced on @splcenter.org by right-wing organizations including Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA, who were mad about being called hate groups.
Letter From Conservatives Prompted Inquiry of Civil Rights Group, Lawyers Say
nytimes.com
Longtime Kentucky environmental journalist James Bruggers dies @liamniemeyer.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/06/18/l...
Longtime Kentucky environmental journalist James Bruggers dies • Kentucky Lantern
James Bruggers, a longtime, groundbreaking Kentucky environmental and energy journalist, died Tuesday.
kentuckylantern.com
After vetoing a bill to establish a retail cannabis framework last month, Virginia Gov. @abigailspanberger.com has negotiated a compromise with legislators. Retail sales will start on July 1, 2027. Virginia will become the first Southern state with a full legal cannabis marketplace.
Spanberger, legislators roll out retail weed plan, set to launch in July 2027 • Virginia Mercury
State sales tax on retail weed will be 6% to start and rise to 8% in 2029, while retail locations to be capped at 350 statewide
virginiamercury.com
@queerkentucky.bsky.social provides valuable journalism covering LGBTQ issues across the Bluegrass State. This week, we talk to Executive Director Missy Spears about what they do and the difference they make. sites.libsyn.com/576820/ep-57...
On this week's episode of "Headlights," we talk about Central Arkansas Pride and their plans for this year. For some more historical grounding, @oxfordamerican.bsky.social has great photos by Jon Bryant Crawford of the politically charged Conway Pride Parade in 2005.
Back Home
oxfordamerican.org
Bentley Hudgins would be the second out transgender state legislator in the South, after Virginia's Danica Roem. @pwcdanica.bsky.social
Georgia Recorder@georgiarecorder.com · 3mo agoIn January, the Georgia Legislature is likely to welcome its first openly transgender, nonbinary and Japanese-American lawmaker, and all these firsts could be courtesy of one person. Story by @journalistross.bsky.social #gapol
This week: We talk with Dolores Wilk of Central Arkansas Pride about their advocacy for LGBTQ folks across the state — including a Pride Festival right outside the state Capitol. sites.libsyn.com/576820/ep-56...
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South: Ep. 56: Pride in Arkansas
SYNOPSIS: It’s another fraught Pride Month in the South, where LGBTQ rights remain under attack from conservative lawmakers. This week we talk to Dolores Wilk of Central Arkansas Pride about their adv...
sites.libsyn.com
We talked about William Wolfe and the Center for Baptist Leadership a few months ago (link in comment). Phil Williams is now digging into him as part of his invaluable "Hate Comes to Main Street" project, focusing on the rise of white Christian nationalism.
The Southern Baptist Convention - and Its 'Horrific, Un-Christian' Race Problem
ANALYSIS: For SBC influencer William Wolfe, “racism” is denouncing racism and white supremacy.
hatecomestomainstreet.com
This week: We talk with LaTricea Adams of @younggiftedgreen.bsky.social in Memphis about environmental justice and facing off against Elon Musk's data center. theprogressivesouth.org/headlights-e...
This week, a great conversation with @davidgriscom.bsky.social about "The Myth of Red Texas." Come for the cowboy strikes, stay for the People's Party. Also: the latest on redistricting, and the Tennessee school system that banned Alex Haley's "Roots." theprogressivesouth.org/headlights-e...
Here‘s a long take on what the chopping up of Memphis represents, in the context of Tennessee’s long hostility to its largest majority-Black city.
Memphis has always been on the front lines of attempts to build Black political power — and to knock it down. This week we look at the carving up of the city among majority-white congressional districts in the context of 160 years of often ugly history. theprogressivesouth.org/headlights-e...
Knox County Schools in Knoxville, Tenn., has banned Alex Haley's 1976 classic "Roots" from school libraries, saying it allegedly violates the state's Age Appropriate Materials Act — because it includes scenes of "sadomasochistic abuse" (i.e. the beating of enslaved people).
Knox County Schools adds Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Roots' to list of banned books
Knox County Schools recently took Alex Haley's influential novel, "Roots," off library shelves under the Age-Appropriate Materials Act.
wbir.com
South Carolina expands its Heritage Act to protect Confederate monuments from not only removal but also "the use of digital codes or informational plaques placed near some monuments in recent years offering broader context on the bad parts of history."
SC’s 2026 legislative session closes with Heritage Act expansion, other compromises remain • SC Daily Gazette
COLUMBIA — An expansion of a law originally passed to keep Confederate monuments in place marked the final hours of South Carolina’s 2026 legislative session. Still, legislators will return for a spec...
scdailygazette.com
Southern conservatives are getting pretty cavalier about threatening to remove elected Democrats from office. New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno responds to threats from Louisiana AG Liz Murrill. www.facebook.com/share/v/1B6w...
facebook.com
Props and noisemakers! Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton has removed Democrats from committee assignments because of their indecorous behavior during the special session to carve up Memphis among Republicans.
South Carolina redistricting push fails in the state Senate by two votes.
Push for South Carolina to join congressional redistricting battle fails as Republicans question map
The Republican push for South Carolina to join the national redistricting battle by redrawing its U.S. House map fizzled Tuesday as an initial vote in the state Senate fell short.
wspa.com
