In this time of long-overdue national reckoning, The Bitter Southerner’s core beliefs are the same as they ever were.
We believe every single human being was put on this earth as an equal, a being worthy of respect. We believe the South is a beautiful place with beautiful people and one of the ugliest legacies in human history. And we know, as we always have, that Black Lives Matter.
To all our readers on the front lines: attending protests, organizing, calling, signing petitions, writing, grieving, paying bail funds, pushing for an end to racialized violence throughout our country’s infrastructure, take care of yourselves, keep washing those hands. We are in it with you for the long haul.
We encourage all our readers who don't know enough of the long history and ongoing oppression of Black and Brown people in the South (and across the planet for that matter): Now is the time to educate yourselves deeply.
If this is all a little new to you, we are so glad you want to learn more. There are 400 years of high quality, easily accessible anti-racist material at your fingertips. Some of the stories from our seven years of grappling with the South might also help you learn.
Read, listen, repent, engage, repeat.
Until true justice emerges, we will press on with the work in front of us:
Telling the stories of those who reject the violent, racist, white supremacist mythology of the Old South and do the work of building a Better South.
Using our megaphones to amplify the voices of — and put money in the pockets of — organizations and contributors that work for justice and healing.