--- description: TIME Magazine’s special issue on the American South focuses on the stories, lives and history behind the country’s most culturally complex region. title: TIME Magazine: The American South image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafaae05ec75dfa2d/69893665fb4eacdae9897375/the-south-issue.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # TIME Magazine: The American South Jul 26, 2018 5:10 PM CUT  by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 26, 2018 5:10 PM CUT ## Profile  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](http://time.com/5349541/stacey-abrams-georgia/ "undefined") _By_ [_Molly Ball_](http://time.com/author/molly-ball/ "undefined") _| Photographs by_ [_Akasha Rabut_](http://www.akasharabut.com/ "undefined") _for TIME_ ## Editor’s Letter  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Why TIME Created a Special Issue on the American South](http://time.com/5349501/american-south-issue/ "undefined") _By_ [_Edward Felsenthal_](http://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/ "undefined")  Photographs from Thibodeaux’s first monograph, In That Land of Perfect Day Brandon Thibodeaux ## [My True South: Why I Decided to Return Home](http://time.com/5349517/jesmyn-ward-my-true-south/ "undefined") _By_ [_Jesmyn Ward_](http://time.com/author/jesmyn-ward/ "undefined")  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](http://time.com/5349518/southern-food-culture/ "undefined") _By_ [_Gustavo Arellano_](http://time.com/author/gustavo-arellano/ "undefined") _| Photographs by_ [_Mike Belleme_](http://www.mikebelleme.com/ "undefined") _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 ## [What Democrats Don’t Get About the South](http://time.com/5349531/democrats-dont-get-the-south/ "undefined") _By_ [_David French_](http://time.com/author/david-french/ "undefined")  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](http://time.com/5349511/the-many-souths/ "undefined") _By_ [_Jon Meacham_](http://time.com/author/jon-meacham/ "undefined")  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](http://time.com/5349527/mississippi-river-the-south/ "undefined") _By_ [_Walter Isaacson_](http://time.com/author/walter-isaacson/ "undefined") ## Dispatches  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Waters of the Bayou](http://time.com/5349539/nathaniel-rich-bayou/ "undefined") _By_ [_Nathaniel Rich_](http://time.com/author/nathaniel-rich/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Growing Up in a ‘Sundown Town’](http://time.com/5349524/silas-house-essay/ "undefined") _By_ [_Silas House_](http://time.com/author/silas-house/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Jogging Through Paynes Prairie](http://time.com/5349516/lauren-groff-prairie-escape/ "undefined") _By_ [_Lauren Groff_](http://time.com/author/lauren-groff/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Doe’s Eat Place](http://time.com/5349544/julia-reed-does-eat-place/ "undefined") _By_ [_Julia Reed_](http://time.com/author/julia-reed/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [In Elvis We Trust](http://time.com/5349509/ace-atkins-elvis/ "undefined") _By_ [_Ace Atkins_](http://time.com/author/ace-atkins/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [The Church of SEC Football](http://time.com/5349530/paul-finebaum-football/ "undefined") _By_ [_Paul Finebaum_](http://time.com/author/paul-finebaum/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Fried Chicken on Race Day](http://time.com/5349504/stephanie-powell-watts-race-day/ "undefined") _By_ [_Stephanie Powell Watts_](http://time.com/author/stephanie-powell-watts/ "undefined")  Natalie Nelson for TIME ## [Hunting Camp](http://time.com/5349472/david-joy-hunting-camp/ "undefined") _By_ [_David Joy_](http://time.com/author/david-joy/ "undefined") ## 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 ## [‘Duty’ a Poem by Natasha Trethewey](http://time.com/5349506/natasha-trethewey-duty/ "undefined")  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](http://time.com/5349540/jericho-brown-poem/ "undefined")  Apple orchard at sunrise. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. Jim McKinley—Getty Images ## [‘An Orchard at the Bottom of a Hill’ by Maurice Manning](http://time.com/5349535/an-orchard-at-the-bottom-of-a-hill/ "undefined") ## 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 ## [Meet the 31 People Who Are Changing the South](http://time.com/5349036/people-changing-the-south/ "undefined") _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 ## [How Georgia Became the Hollywood of the South: TIME Goes Behind the Scenes](http://time.com/longform/hollywood-in-georgia/ "undefined") _By_ [_Eliana Dockterman_](http://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/ "undefined") _| Photographs by_ [_RaMell Ross_](https://www.ramellross.com/ "undefined") _for TIME_ ## Favorite Places  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](http://time.com/5349149/southern-celebrities-favorite-spots/ "undefined") _By TIME Staff_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5350009/american-south/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5350009/american-south/"},"headline":"TIME Magazine: The American South","datePublished":"2018-07-26T17:10:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:57:39.553Z","description":"TIME Magazine’s special issue on the American South focuses on the stories, lives and history behind the country’s most culturally complex region.","url":"https://time.com/5350009/american-south/","keywords":["longform"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5350009/american-south/","name":"TIME Magazine: The American South"}}]}] ```