A Racist Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Enslaved People. One Possible Descendant Wants to Reclaim Their Story.
The images are among the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. Tamara Lanier’s fight to gain control of them shows there is no clear system in place to repatriate remains of captive Africans or objects associated with them.
Reporting From the South
ProPublica’s seven-person reporting unit, based in Atlanta, covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The region plays a pivotal role in national issues including political representation, racial equity and environmental justice.
“Where Is There to Go?” He Needs Gender-Affirming Surgery, but His State Is Fighting to Deny Coverage.
A North Carolina policy that denies state employees coverage for gender-affirming care has been on hold pending appeal. For one transgender worker still awaiting surgery, the anxiety is “like somebody has got their hands around my neck.”
Activists Have Long Called for Charleston to Confront Its Racial History. Tourists Are Now Expecting It.
Surging interest from visitors is contributing to a more honest telling of the city’s role in the American slave trade. But tensions are flaring as South Carolina lawmakers restrict race-based teachings.
Their Families Said They Needed Treatment. Mississippi Officials Threw Them in Jail Without Charges.
In Mississippi, serious mental illness or substance abuse can land you in jail, even if you aren’t charged with a crime.
South News Staff
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- Max Blau, Nicole Carr, Doug Bock Clark, Jennifer Berry Hawes, Aliyya Swaby and Seth Freed Wessler
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
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- Mountain State Spotlight
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- Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
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Louisiana Sheriff’s Department Settles Two Use-of-Force Cases, Including One in Which an Autistic Teen Died
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office will pay part of a $1.25 million settlement in the case of Eric Parsa and an undisclosed sum to the family of Tre’mall McGee.
How “The Kids of Rutherford County” Sets Investigative Reporting to Music
Experimentation was key in creating the score for our four-part narrative podcast series, produced in collaboration with Serial.
Listen to All Episodes of “The Kids of Rutherford County”
ProPublica presents the complete podcast series “The Kids of Rutherford County” in partnership with Serial and WPLN Nashville Public Radio.
Union Pacific Fired Him Rather Than Heed His Warnings of Dangerous Rail Conditions
Time and again, Johnny Taylor’s duty to keep the rails safe from disaster conflicted with his employer’s desire to keep its trains running as fast and as frequently as possible, putting his career and family in peril.
Tennessee Lawmakers Demand an Audit of Juvenile Detention Facilities, Citing “Culture Of Lawlessness”
Following reporting from WPLN and ProPublica, the state lawmakers said there is a “culture of lawlessness” inside Knoxville’s Richard L. Bean Center and called for an audit throughout the system.
This Louisiana Town Runs Largely on Traffic Fines. If You Fight Your Ticket, the Mayor Is Your Judge.
Fenton, population 226, brings in over $1 million per year through its mayor’s court, an unusual justice system in which the mayor can serve as judge even though he’s responsible for town finances.
This Youth Detention Center Superintendent Illegally Locks Kids Alone in Cells. No One Has Forced Him to Stop.
The Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center has been punishing kids with seclusion more than any other facility in Tennessee. And as the laws and rules on how to treat kids changed, the facility failed to keep up.
Mississippi Jailed More Than 800 People Awaiting Psychiatric Treatment in a Year. Just One Jail Meets State Standards.
Counties are allowed to hold people awaiting court-ordered psychiatric treatment in jails only if the facilities meet safety and health standards, but there’s no funding to help them comply and no penalties if they don’t.
Virginia Lawmaker Calls for Commission to Study State Universities’ History of Uprooting Black Communities
In response to our reporting, state Delegate Delores McQuinn said a task force could shed light on the impact of college expansion in Virginia. Officials are also calling for displaced families to receive redress, from scholarships to reparations.
Big Insurance Met Its Match When It Turned Down a Top Trial Lawyer’s Request for Cancer Treatment
Blue Cross and Blue Shield denied payment for the proton therapy Robert “Skeeter” Salim’s doctor ordered to fight his throat cancer. But he was no ordinary patient. He was a celebrated litigator. And he was ready to fight.
They Tried to Expose Louisiana Judges Who Had Systematically Ignored Prisoners’ Petitions. No One Listened.
The all-white judges of Louisiana’s 5th Circuit Court of Appeal systematically ignored thousands of claims from prisoners, most of them Black, who said they had been wrongly convicted. Efforts to expose the decadelong injustice went unheard.
The Supreme Court Will Decide if Domestic Abuse Orders Can Bar People From Having Guns. Lives Could Be at Stake.
The court’s ruling on United States v. Rahimi could clarify an earlier decision on guns. Or it could take away one of the best options to protect domestic violence victims. In states like Tennessee, the consequences could be deadly.
The Kids of Rutherford County: A Reporter’s Essay
The three years I spent working on “The Kids of Rutherford County” podcast taught me one thing: Tennessee’s punitive policies aren’t leaving children in the legal system better off.
The Mississippi Supreme Court Moved to Ensure Poor Criminal Defendants Would Always Have a Lawyer. It’s Not Working.
Months after the state’s highest court directed judges to ensure that all criminal defendants have legal representation while awaiting indictment, one justice has acknowledged that the rule isn’t being widely followed.
Democratic Rep. Clyburn’s Role in Redrawn Congressional Maps Becomes Key in Supreme Court Redistricting Case
The court will hear a case about whether South Carolina Republicans illegally took race into account when they created the current voting districts.
