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THE BITTER SOUTHERNER

Better South / Better Word

Weekly Columns

Essays, opinions, commentary, criticism, and fiction from Southern writers.

THE BITTER SOUTHERNER
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February 19, 2018

Eighteen Is Enough

February 19, 2018/ Adam W. Jordan and Todd S. Hawley
Eighteen Is Enough

In 2018, bullets have flown on American school campuses 18 times. It’s time for teachers and parents to fight back.

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February 19, 2018/ Adam W. Jordan and Todd S. Hawley/
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February 08, 2018

What Is Southern Beer?

February 08, 2018/ Bob Townsend
What Is Southern Beer?

We love beers brewed in the South. Just because. But what should a Southern beer taste like?

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February 08, 2018/ Bob Townsend/
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February 01, 2018

How to Kill a Community

February 01, 2018/ Tom Lee
How to Kill a Community

Having no broadband access can stop the economies of rural communities in their tracks. Just ask the shrinking population of Carroll County, Mississippi.

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February 01, 2018/ Tom Lee/
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December 18, 2017

A Second Helping of Generosity

December 18, 2017/ Bob Townsend
A Second Helping of Generosity

The annual release of SweetWater’s Second Helping IPA is coming — and with it, another year of ensuring that restaurant workers, who often live paycheck to paycheck, can weather the storms of life.

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December 18, 2017/ Bob Townsend/
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December 13, 2017

Song From a Birmingham Church

December 13, 2017/ Tom Lee
Song From a Birmingham Church

You won’t figure out why Doug Jones won in Alabama last night by reading news about the election. The answer, for any Southerner who seeks it, lies in our own history.

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December 13, 2017/ Tom Lee/
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December 11, 2017

Mayor Keisha

December 11, 2017/ Dr. Joycelyn Wilson
Mayor Keisha

How the juice of hip-hop creators and consumers turned the tide in a hotly contested mayor’s race in the South’s largest city.

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December 11, 2017/ Dr. Joycelyn Wilson/
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December 04, 2017

Principles for Principals

December 04, 2017/ Todd S. Hawley, Ph.D., and Adam W. Jordan, Ph.D.
Principles for Principals

How a school principal interacts with students, teachers, and staff has a huge effect on building an ecosystem where students are treated as people, not test scores.

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December 04, 2017/ Todd S. Hawley, Ph.D., and Adam W. Jordan, Ph.D./
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December 01, 2017

To Ring in Repeal Day, Visit Tampa

December 01, 2017/ Clair McLafferty
To Ring in Repeal Day, Visit Tampa

Tampa Bay was a haven for gangsters and rum-runners during Prohibition. Now, its bartending community celebrates the anniversary of the end of the Noble Experiment with a formal ball and conference.

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December 01, 2017/ Clair McLafferty/
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November 24, 2017

Comfort Others

November 24, 2017/ L. Kasimu Harris
Comfort Others

Southern Food columnist, L. Kasimu Harris, has learned that hard way that when you’re broke, depressed, or heartbroken, you still have to eat. And you still need to feed others.

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November 24, 2017/ L. Kasimu Harris/
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November 20, 2017

Investing In Neighbors

November 20, 2017/ Holly Beilin
Investing In Neighbors

Two Morehouse grads leave investment-banking jobs in New York and come home to Atlanta to help small-business owners get investment capital in neighborhood were banks seldom make loans. And it's working.

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November 20, 2017/ Holly Beilin/
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November 17, 2017

Knock, and the Door Shall Be Opened

November 17, 2017/ Tom Lee
Knock, and the Door Shall Be Opened

How did people like Danica Roem manage to win in Southern elections last week? They knocked on thousands of doors — and actually listened when they were opened.

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November 17, 2017/ Tom Lee/
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November 10, 2017

Tank Ball’s Abundant Life in New Orleans

November 10, 2017/ Alex B. Johnson
Tank Ball’s Abundant Life in New Orleans

Tarronia Ball — the Tank of New Orleans’ Tank and the Bangas — reminds us how “freakin’ beautiful” life is.

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November 10, 2017/ Alex B. Johnson/
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November 06, 2017

In Praise of the School Nurse

November 06, 2017/ Todd S. Hawley, Ph.D., and Adam W. Jordan, Ph.D.
In Praise of the School Nurse

Southern Schooling columnists Adam Jordan and Todd Hawley bring in an expert (who happens also to be Adam’s wife, Kasey) to talk about the critical importance of school nurses in public education.

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November 06, 2017/ Todd S. Hawley, Ph.D., and Adam W. Jordan, Ph.D./
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November 03, 2017

A Hip-Hop Mayoral Race

November 03, 2017/ Dr. Joycelyn Wilson
A Hip-Hop Mayoral Race

Atlanta is about to elect a new mayor. What does that mean for a city where hip-hop music and culture are major economic exports?

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November 03, 2017/ Dr. Joycelyn Wilson/
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October 30, 2017

It Ain’t Just Our Music

October 30, 2017/ Holly Beilin
It Ain’t Just Our Music

You already know that Southern music changes the world. It appears that Southern music technology is about to do the same.

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October 30, 2017/ Holly Beilin/
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October 23, 2017

Gainesville Says No to Richard Spencer

October 23, 2017/ Rob Rushin
Gainesville Says No to Richard Spencer

It was a lovely autumn day on the University of Florida campus. Mild temps, gentle breeze. A perfect setting for a few thousand people to gather and express a simple sentiment: Nazi Punks, F**k Off!

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October 23, 2017/ Rob Rushin/
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October 20, 2017

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

October 20, 2017/ Thomas Mullen
Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Novelist Thomas Mullen, author of the great “Darktown” series and a lifelong sports fan, ponders whether any of us can “stay on the sidelines” this NFL season.

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October 20, 2017/ Thomas Mullen/
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October 16, 2017

Translating Bob Corker

October 16, 2017/ Tom Lee
Translating Bob Corker

A decade ago, Tom Lee's job was to get inside Bob Corker’s head as he ran for the U.S. Senate. Today, he tells us what Corker really means when he calls the White House an “adult day care center.” 

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October 16, 2017/ Tom Lee/
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October 09, 2017

Arts Dollars Make Business Sense

October 09, 2017/ Rob Rushin
Arts Dollars Make Business Sense

After writing a feature story for us about how Knoxville’s arts scene drives the city’s economy, Rob Rushin follows up with a look at the numbers — and some recommendations for communities that want to nurture their own arts economies.

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October 09, 2017/ Rob Rushin/
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October 06, 2017

“Like Sonny Liston”: An Appreciation of Tom Petty

October 06, 2017/ Patterson Hood
“Like Sonny Liston”: An Appreciation of Tom Petty

Writing songs that are truly great is a hard enough job. Writing a perfect song is rare indeed. But in this remembrance of Tom Petty, Drive-By Truckers co-founder Patterson Hood argues that Petty achieved perfection repeatedly, perhaps more than any other Southern-born songwriter.

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October 06, 2017/ Patterson Hood/
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