Background

The United States has a long history of race-based and economic inequity, particularly in the South. Although some progress has been made toward a more equitable society, the recent pandemic and protests against police brutality and extreme economic distress have revealed the depth of systemic racism and falsehoods in history.

Despite the persistent economic and social challenges in the South, the region remains influential in civil rights and broader American culture. However, more region-specific information is needed to understand how economic and social challenges manifest in areas like education, employment, health and wealth. 

While there is robust quantitative data available about race-based inequality, less is known about the lived experience of those in the South — information that is needed to understand the current and historical context of quantitative data. It is important to include voices from all over the geographic, social and power map in order to gain different understandings of the depth and consequences of racism and inequity in the South, both throughout history and in the present. This includes data from conventional sources like surveys and institutional documents, but also from the lived experience of those in the South, including art and personal narrative.

Incorporating the voices of a diverse audience including academic, policy, practitioner and community perspectives will help policymakers and community actors understand and address systemic racism and inequity.

Project Description

This project will help identify and address the bases of systemic racism and social and economic inequity in the American South with an eye toward making it a place where all people belong and can live the life they imagine for themselves. 

Team members will develop a critical understanding of the current social state of the South, with a focus on present-day inequities and opportunities for advancement; develop and implement research processes that incorporate the voices and experiential realities of those who live in the South; and disseminate learning on the current state of the South to policy and community audiences.

The team will partner with MDC, a Durham-based, South-focused nonprofit organization that equips leaders, institutions and communities with tools and strategies to advance equity and economic mobility. In particular, team members will collaborate on MDC’s “State of the South” initiative, which includes a series of community convenings held in locations across the South to identify community-based learning and opportunities for action. 

Team members will conduct four key tasks:

1. Conceptual Foundation: Examine and synthesize existing literature, with a focus on participatory research processes, as well as thematic areas addressed in the planned community convenings.
2. Quantitative “Snapshots on the South”: Draw from publicly available data to develop quantitative data profiles. These snapshots will provide an overview of key issues of interest across the South. Issues will be determined in collaboration with MDC and convening-site partners (e.g., “Wealth and Power” or “Support for Children and Families.”) 
3. Data Walk and Community Interpretation: Develop and implement two data walks to be used in two planned community convenings, where participants will share how their experience does, and doesn’t, resonate with what these data show. 
4. Qualitative Analysis of Community Interpretation and Response: Use the convening discussion as additional qualitative data, then analyze the data to examine emergent themes.

Finally, in partnership with MDC, the team will develop dissemination processes and products to share learnings with community stakeholders and policymakers across the South, including, for example, written reports, podcasts and performances based on team members skills and partner interests.

Anticipated Outputs

Literature syntheses; quantitative data collection; data visualizations; qualitative data collection and analysis; policy- and community-focused publication addressing social issues, assets and needs across the South; academic manuscript

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this project team will include 4 graduate students and 4 undergraduate students from the social sciences and other relevant disciplines such as law, public health, environmental studies and more. Students should be interested in a comprehensive view of research on the American South and students whose individual research explores these subjects are encouraged to apply. Students with skills or experience using data in large datasets, analyzing qualitative data or creating policy-oriented or creative information dissemination strategies are also particularly encouraged to apply.

All team members will be engaged in the exploration and synthesis of existing literature on the state of the South, including synthesis for a nonacademic audience. Students on the team will explore data sources, including Census data; develop and implement data collection processes; collects and analyze quantitative and qualitative data; and write for public-facing dissemination. They will gain critical skills in collaborative processes and teamwork, including working in a responsive research/practice partnership. The team’s graduate student(s) will have the opportunity to take on a leadership role in these efforts and will play a core role in mentorship of undergraduate students.

In Fall 2023, the team will meet on Thursdays from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Timing

Fall 2023 – Summer 2024

• Fall 2023: Create annotated bibliographies on topics related to the project; determine quantitative data points based on thematic topics for MDC convenings; conduct quantitative analysis of data and development of data visualizations for convenings; present work at MDC convening #1
• Spring 2024: Present work at MDC convening #2; analyze qualitative data; disseminate data to policymakers and community members; prepare poster presentation
• Summer 2024 (optional): Process results into academic publication

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available

Image: The State of the South graphic and MDC logo, by MDC