The Rise of the New South

By Jaribu Hill, December 11, 2006

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Building a Movement: The founder of the Southern Human Rights Organizers Network reflects on a decade of fighting for social justice in the old bastion of Confederate pride.

Much has been written about the New South and expanded opportunities for people of color in the old bastion of Confederate pride, but human rights and civil rights leaders in the region point to stubborn racial injustices, voter disenfranchisement, workplace abuses, violations of women's rights and other issues as proof that the New South still has its old problems.

The days of the hooded night riders may take on different forms, but Blacks and people of color still live lives often controlled by others.

For the hope brought by African Americans drawn to Atlanta as the Black Mecca of the South, and the increased number of Black elected officials at the local, state, and national levels, there are other signs of how far we have to go.

It was in Atlanta, Ga., that Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old grandmother, was shot to death Nov. 21 when cops invaded her home. In January, Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old, died at the hands of guards at a Florida boot camp that was supposed to help turn his life around. He was the third young Black man to die in state custody in the last three years.

In New Orleans, many Blacks are denied the right to return to their homes, while Latino workers are often scapegoated, exploited, frequently not paid and threatened with deportation.

In Texas, Wal-Mart underpays and takes advantage of workers fearful of losing low-wage jobs, even if it means not receiving hard earned overtime pay and enduring the whims of harsh Supercenter task masters. In Mississippi, casinos are rebuilt and speculators gobble up land, but the poor people who suffered the wrath of Hurricane Katrina see the remains of the destruction and little progress toward life as usual.

The land where cotton was king has new rulers that employ old tactics of intimidation to keep workers from complaining, organizing and hoping for a better way of life. Still there is a strain of southern resistance that refuses to accept these conditions, these assaults on human dignity, and violations of human rights.

Part of the battle is understanding that these injustices aren't just wrongs that need to be righted, but violations of international principles that protect people worldwide. The U.S. isn't exempt from standards of behavior it loves to foist on others around the globe.

Just as the segregationists of the '60s had a Southern Strategy for their political success, a southern organizing strategy is needed to combat today's challenges. Part of the strategy involves building effective coalitions across the South to show the connections between seemingly different struggles, lend support to varied campaigns, share effective organizing tools and build a bigger base of folks that support social change and justice.

Over the past ten years, the Southern Human Rights Organizing Network (SHRON) and the bi-annual Southern Human Rights Organizing Conference has been the engine for a growing regional movement that tackles economic justice and other issues.

Since its establishment in September, 1996 in Oxford, Miss., the network has sought to link regional organizations and support a workers rights and other campaigns. When farm workers launched a battle against Mount Olive Pickles to heighten awareness about that company's plantation work conditions and rampant unfair labor practices, SHRON was there. Network members participated in demonstrations at supermarket chains in key southern cities. Joining with Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a member organization, the network supported a boycott against Diamond Walnuts.

The best example of longstanding successful collaboration between the network and its members is found the support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Taco Bell Boycott. The boycott pushed for an increase in the amount paid to laborers in Immokalee, Fla., for back-breaking work picking tomatoes.

Network members participated in the Coalition's Truth Tour and in major demonstrations at Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, Calif., and at Yum Brands company headquarters in Louisville, Ky. After several years, the campaign won a major victory for the Florida farm workers.

Most recently, SHRON joined picket lines in Houston to support the Justice for Janitors strike, which also proved successful. The network has also supported organizing efforts for reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, and efforts to combat police brutality, racial profiling and felony disenfranchisement.

In a partnership with the Mississippi ACLU and NAACP, the network raised public awareness to force governmental accountability after Hurricane Katrina. Southern Human Rights Organizing Network members campaigned for decent, affordable housing and challenged state and federal officials to provide equal access to post-Katrina resources, including food and shelter.

In the next phase, SHRON will establish state caucuses to strengthen the organizations. These state leaders will increase our impact by organizing more public events and actions to address human rights violations and injustice.

The network is committed to building new leadership. At all of its bi-annual meetings, youth summits are an integral part of crafting an action plan to deal with human rights, economic and social injustice in the region.

The determination to fight runs deep in the South and these old problems will be attacked with a historic determination to put an end to oppression. When that day comes, we will truly be able to celebrate the rise of a New South.

Jaribu Hill is the founder of the Southern Human Rights Organizers Conference, which marked its 10th anniversary Dec. 8-10 in Houston. She is also founder and executive director of the Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights.

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