State of the South has been, and always will be, a key to achieving MDC’s mission of equipping Southern institutions and communities to advance equity and improve economic mobility; it is a tool MDC uses to move from thought to action.

MDC’s 2022-2023 State of the South series, True South, will weave together community conversations, artistic expression, online content, and a series of reports to explore how—and if—Southerners are reckoning with this moment of economic, social, and environmental upheaval. We will dive deep into topics like health equity, educational equity, and debt and wealth accrual. We will highlight the work of MDC partners and friends who are meeting the unique challenges of this moment, considering community strengths and systemic failures, examining barriers built into systems, and finding ways to acknowledge and remove them.

Our aim is not to define a True South, but to capture a bigger picture of the region than is typically depicted in our country’s dominant narratives. True South will include voices from all over the geographic, social, and power map and incorporate different ways of knowing and exploring themes—not just policy and practice, but also through art and personal narrative. In this series, we will strive to be honest, brave, and vulnerable as we reckon with our past to improve our present and create a better and truer South in the future. We invite you to come along with us.

Click image below for list of upcoming True South Series events.