Institute For Southern Studies - Research and Education Programs

Research and Education Programs

The Institute's research and outreach programs have focused on a broad range of issues, including economic justice, civil rights, environmental protection and democratic reform. Recent Institute initiatives have included (1) Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, a project tracking the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; (2) the Peace and Security Program, which has examined the South's disproportionate ties to the military and the Iraq war; and, (3) the Environment and Energy Reporting Project, launched in 2008, which examines the political and economic influence of the energy industry in the South.

Between 2000 and 2011, the Institute has also focused on the subject of voting rights in the South, especially the political participation of African-Americans and other historically disenfranchised groups. The Institute's Voting Rights Watch project has publicized such issues as the cost of voter ID laws, barriers to student voting and voter registration "purges" that have prevented citizens from voting.

The Institute has published a series of influential reports on Hurricane Katrina, especially its social, political and environmental aftermath, and the state of the post-storm recovery. Key reports include:

• The Mardi Gras Index (February/March 2006), a widely-used set of statistics on the state of Katrina recovery;
• One Year after Katrina (August/September 2006), a book-length report examining the status of housing, jobs, health care, education and other key issues;
• A New Agenda for the Gulf Coast (February/March 2007), a set of policy proposals for a just and speedy recovery;
• Blueprint for Gulf Renewal (August/September 2007), featuring interviews with 20 grassroots organizations in the Gulf Coast and their prescriptions for policy change;
• Hurricane Katrina and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (January 2008), a report produced in conjunction with the Brookings Institution, highlighting the need to bring U.S. disaster policy in line with international human rights law.

• "Faith in the Gulf: Lessons from the Religious Response to Katrina" (August/September 2008), which highlighted the catalytic role faith organizations have played in assisting affected Gulf Coast communities and inspiring advocacy for needed policy changes.

Current research and education programs include the 2010 Census and Redistricting Project, the Energy and Environment Reporting Project, and the Freedom Journalism School, a new program to train Southern bloggers and new media journalists in how to conduct investigative reporting and public interest journalism.