Bringing lifesaving doula care to low-income communities in the South

To address the region's shockingly high rate of pregnancy-related deaths, a growing number of Southern states are expanding their Medicaid programs or launching Medicaid pilot initiatives to cover the services of doulas — nonclinical professionals who provide holistic support during all stages of pregnancy. (4/7/2022)

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N.C. chief justice removes court officials and judges who anger the GOP

Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican elected by a razor-thin margin in 2020, is reshaping North Carolina's judiciary to fit his intensely partisan vision. (4/7/2022)

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Democratizing Mississippi's electric cooperatives

Facing South talked with three organizers in the nation’s poorest state who are part of a movement to bring greater democracy to rural electric cooperatives. Founded during the New Deal to power communities the big private utilities refused to serve, co-ops today stand accused of a lack of inclusivity and transparency, which organizers are working to change. (4/8/2022)

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Southern states create election police forces

Republican lawmakers in Florida and Georgia passed legislation this year to establish "election police" to fight voter fraud, despite no evidence any widespread fraud has occurred. Voting rights advocates say the measures serve only to intimidate communities of color and further damage Americans' confidence in elections.

Will Congress fairly tax the ultra-rich?

The U.S. is home to over 730 billionaires, with over 140 living in Southern states. The new budget proposal from President Biden calls on Congress to pass what's being called a "Billionaire Minimum Income Tax" that would levy annual gains in stocks and other assets held by the richest .01% — assets that are not taxed at all now unless they're sold.