TIME Magazine: The American South

TIME Magazine’s special issue on the American South focuses on the stories, lives and history behind the country’s most culturally complex region

Profile

Abrams campaigns at a barbecue restaurant in Atlanta on July 2 (Akasha Rabut for TIME)
Abrams campaigns at a barbecue restaurant in Atlanta on July 2
Akasha Rabut for TIME

Stacey Abrams Could Become America’s First Black Female Governor—If She Can Turn Georgia Blue

By Molly Ball | Photographs by Akasha Rabut for TIME

Editor’s Letter

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Why TIME Created a Special Issue on the American South

By Edward Felsenthal

 

Photographs from Thibodeaux’s first monograph, In That Land of Perfect Day (Brandon Thibodeaux)
Photographs from Thibodeaux’s first monograph, In That Land of Perfect Day
Brandon Thibodeaux

My True South: Why I Decided to Return Home

By Jesmyn Ward

 

Oscar Diaz of the Cortez in Raleigh, N.C., which has become an exemplar of new Southern cuisine (Mike Belleme for TIME)
Oscar Diaz of the Cortez in Raleigh, N.C., which has become an exemplar of new Southern cuisine
Mike Belleme for TIME

How Southern Food Has Finally Embraced Its Multicultural Soul

By Gustavo Arellano | Photographs by Mike Belleme for TIME

 

The line outside a Trump rally in Nashville in the spring. Trump’s 2016 victory continued the GOP’s dominance of Southern politics (Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The line outside a Trump rally in Nashville in the spring. Trump’s 2016 victory continued the GOP’s dominance of Southern politics
Luke Sharrett—Bloomberg/Getty Images

What Democrats Don’t Get About the South

By David French

 

A young woman skates in front of an LGBT Pride booth at a music festival in Berea, KY (Meg Wilson)
A young woman skates in front of an LGBT Pride booth at a music festival in Berea, KY
Meg Wilson

The South Could Mend America’s Divide—If It Reckons With Its Past

By Jon Meacham

 

The Mississippi River, seen here north of New Orleans, feeds into the Port of South Louisiana, the largest port in the U.S. Port workers here have higher average starting salaries than workers in the tourism sector (Stacy Kranitz)
The Mississippi River, seen here north of New Orleans, feeds into the Port of South Louisiana, the largest port in the U.S. Port workers here have higher average starting salaries than workers in the tourism sector
Stacy Kranitz

Why the Mississippi Remains the South’s Most Vital Artery

By Walter Isaacson

 

Dispatches

 

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Waters of the Bayou

By Nathaniel Rich

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Growing Up in a ‘Sundown Town’

By Silas House

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Jogging Through Paynes Prairie

By Lauren Groff

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Doe’s Eat Place

By Julia Reed

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

In Elvis We Trust

By Ace Atkins

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

The Church of SEC Football

By Paul Finebaum

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Fried Chicken on Race Day

By Stephanie Powell Watts

 

Natalie Nelson for TIME

Hunting Camp

By David Joy

 

New Poetry

 

Waterfront area of Mobile is covered by water caused by high tides from hurricane Camille. Mobile did not suffer any substantial wind damage. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
Waterfront area of Mobile is covered by water caused by high tides from hurricane Camille. Mobile did not suffer any substantial wind damage.
Bettmann/Getty Images

‘Duty’ a Poem by Natasha Trethewey

 

Side facade of cottage on Pulaski Street, Tybee Island, Georgia. Homes on this street were formerly barracks for enlisted men when Fort Screven was an active military installation. (Joseph Shields—Getty Images)
Side facade of cottage on Pulaski Street, Tybee Island, Georgia. Homes on this street were formerly barracks for enlisted men when Fort Screven was an active military installation.
Joseph Shields—Getty Images

‘Foreday in the Morning’ a Poem by Jericho Brown

 

Apple orchard at sunrise. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. (Jim McKinley—Getty Images)
Apple orchard at sunrise. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina.
Jim McKinley—Getty Images

‘An Orchard at the Bottom of a Hill’ by Maurice Manning

 

Change Agents

 

Before launching a criminal-justice reform initiative in 1989, attorney and advocate Bryan Stevenson represented prisoners on the South’s death rows (Nick Frontiero)
Before launching a criminal-justice reform initiative in 1989, attorney and advocate Bryan Stevenson represented prisoners on the South’s death rows
Nick Frontiero

Meet the 31 People Who Are Changing the South

By TIME Staff

 

Photo Essay

 

Dayo Okeniyi, left, and Brad Carter on the set of Emperor, an upcoming historical drama produced by Freedom Run Films. Other historical films like Glory and Remember the Titans have also taken advantage of Georgia’s timeless landscapes. (RaMell Ross for TIME)
Dayo Okeniyi, left, and Brad Carter on the set of Emperor, an upcoming historical drama produced by Freedom Run Films. Other historical films like Glory and Remember the Titans have also taken advantage of Georgia’s timeless landscapes.
RaMell Ross for TIME

 

How Georgia Became the Hollywood of the South: TIME Goes Behind the Scenes

By Eliana Dockterman | Photographs by RaMell Ross for TIME

 

Favorite Places

 

Miranda Lambert; Brittany Howard; Tim McGraw; Faith Hill (Getty Images (4))
Miranda Lambert; Brittany Howard; Tim McGraw; Faith Hill
Getty Images (4)

Miranda Lambert, Faith Hill and Other Celebrities Share Their Favorite Spots in the South

By TIME Staff

 

More Must-Reads from TIME

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