“We who are born in the South are marked by it… I left the American South at a young age, only to return to Birmingham, Alabama for holidays and vacations. But I also carried it with me everywhere. It was in me, in the way my mother socialized me to behave and dress, and I always saw myself in relation to my home place. The South was where I felt legible and connected.”
– Imani Perry, author of South to America [i]
Roots run deep in the South. When you introduce yourself, the question of “where you’re from” isn’t just a casual inquiry; it’s a way to trace the branches of your family tree, revealing roots that often span generations. People take pride in knowing who their people are, where their long-held traditions come from, and how familiar local landmarks have transformed or held steady over the years. This strong sense of place, of being a “Southerner,” is both comforting and profound.
Being a Southerner is also complex. Our long and painful history of racism and xenophobia is palpable here. Many of the region’s cultural narratives, landmarks, and political rhetoric perpetuate messages of who “belongs” in our communities and who doesn’t. This sense of “belonging” is not just symbolic; it affects who has access to power and resources and ultimately who thrives and who merely survives.
Across the country, people of color and low-income individuals experience lower levels of belonging.[ii] Whites in rural and suburban communities are more satisfied with their quality of life than people of color in similar communities. People with bachelor’s degrees or higher are more satisfied with their quality of life than those with a high school education or less.[iii] This should all be cause for concern in the South, where nearly half of the population are people of color and close to one-third of the population (32%) lives below 200% of the federal poverty level.[iv]
The Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) defines belonging as “having a meaningful voice and the opportunity to participate in shaping the social, political, and cultural structures that impact one’s life.”
When individuals belong, they are more satisfied with life; less stressed; more likely to stay at their job; and more willing to take part in community activities, advocate for change, and invest in the well-being of their neighbors. Conversely, when people feel excluded or marginalized, they are less likely to contribute to the community’s well-being, resulting in weakened social bonds and a diminished capacity to address common challenges.[v]
Local Belonging and Civic Engagement
A strong sense of belonging benefits everyone, fostering healthier, happier, and more supportive communities. Achieving this requires a shift in narrative and change in power dynamics so that communities can shape their own stories and engage in decisions that affect them.
Newer, truer narratives are needed to strengthen sense of belonging
The South has a deeply entrenched history of systemic racial oppression, from the forced removal of Native Americans and the enslavement of African Americans to the implementation of Jim Crow laws, redlining, discriminatory loan practices, and voter suppression. These historical injustices continue to shape the social and economic disparities we see today. This history of systemic oppression is often not acknowledged. At times, it is actively suppressed—a marker of whose histories and experiences are valued in our communities and whose are not.
Confederate monuments are a visible marker of this. Although they first emerged after the Civil War, most Confederate monuments were erected during the Jim Crow era as an attempt to promote the myths that Civil War had not been about slavery and that enslaved people were content being enslaved.
In recent decades, there has been a nationwide movement to remove Confederate iconography and provide a more accurate account of historical events. Although at least 100 symbols have been removed since 2015, over 1,000 markers still stand today and many are protected by law. This directly impacts feelings of belonging among people of color in our communities as it reinforces messages that Whites belong and Blacks do not.
While recent movements like Black Lives Matter have garnered attention—and, to some extent, resources—for issues faced by Black communities, Native communities are all but missing from popular narratives. At State of the South™: Durham, Dr. Marvin Richardson, Vice Chief of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, highlighted a troubling perception of Native people as relics of the past, expected to be “frozen in time” while navigating the modern world. This view neglects the ongoing struggles of Native communities for rights, identity, sovereignty, and autonomy. Native communities and other communities that have faced systemic marginalization must be included in the conversation to leverage their strengths and successfully address the barriers they encounter.
Some institutions are stepping up to the challenge. For example, the City of Raleigh Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources (PRCR) has worked with Black and Indigenous communities to create a public park that reconciles with the land’s complex history. “We recognize this is a place of both violence and healing, incarceration and freedom, sustenance and scarcity,” said Kate Pearce, who works with the City of Raleigh PRCR, at State of the South. “We need to connect with the hard parts even as we strive to create a place of joy and community.” The process has not been perfect, but it represents a movement toward building inclusive spaces and accurate narratives where all people belong.
“We must write newer, truer narratives that include the difficulty of the past.”
To foster strong communities in the South, we must change the narratives we tell, acknowledging experiences that have been, at best, overlooked and, at worst, suppressed. The region’s full diversity of voices must be engaged in shaping accurate and inclusive narratives and creating communities where all individuals feel connected and valued.
Equitable systems will foster stronger, more inclusive communities
Narratives about “who belongs” play out in policy decisions when some communities receive greater resources or protections than others. The Othering and Belonging Institute has created an “Inclusiveness Index” to measure the degree of institutional inclusion and protection of various groups in the U.S. and around the globe. In the Southeast U.S., factors such as political representation, income inequality, incarceration, and discriminatory policies reflect lower levels of inclusivity for women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+-identifying individuals.
Inclusiveness Index 2023
A clear example of this is the regressive tax systems in the South, which require lower-income residents to pay a disproportionately higher percentage of their income in taxes compared to wealthier individuals. Regressive taxation reflects the region’s deep-seated issues with power imbalances, where community voices—particularly from communities of color and those that struggle economically—are often overlooked in policy decisions.
Share of State and Local Tax Revenue by Category in 2019
The South didn’t get this way overnight. The region has a long history of policies designed to exclude and exploit people, the effects of which we’re still grappling with today. For example, redlining maps, which show the legacy of racially discriminatory housing policies, continue to influence patterns of poverty, wealth, and health in Southern cities. Areas once redlined are often characterized by concentrated poverty, underfunded schools, and limited economic opportunities. In Durham, NC, the displacement of Black communities through municipally driven urban renewal serves as a powerful reminder of how policy choices can have long-lasting impacts.
In Appalachia, State of the South participants highlighted the importance of social networks and mutual aid during disaster recovery. Local organizations and community members often fill gaps left by government agencies. This resilience is a testament to the strength of community ties, but it also underscores the need for more equitable resource allocation from state and federal governments. In Durham, we heard a similar story: “There’s no such thing as a natural disaster that doesn’t have policy choices built into it,” noted Adriane Lentz-Smith, Associate Professor of History, Duke University. This insight underscores the need for decision-makers to engage with the communities most affected by their choices, ensuring that policies do not replicate past mistakes.
A 2018 study from Pew Research Center found that people of color are significantly more likely than Whites to say that poverty, crime, racism, jobs, access to good doctors and hospitals, and access to high-speed internet are major problems in their local communities. People of color feel the effects of these issues more acutely. Yet—as was echoed at State of the South convenings—their concerns are not addressed. Communities of color and low-income communities are continually left out of critical decisions that affect them, resulting in policies and practices that don’t serve their needs or resolve their problems.
Chart Source: Parker, Kim et al. “Views of problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities,” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (2018). Accessed October 2, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/views-of-problems-facing-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/.
This is true not only of government, but also philanthropy. In the South, funding is more concentrated in larger cities and more affluent areas. A disproportionate amount of philanthropic funding goes to White-led nonprofits than those led by people of color. Initiatives that address systemic issues like poverty, racial justice, and disaster recovery receive limited support.
Philanthropic giving relative to racial inequity and economic security, by county
Indeed, philanthropic funding for racial equity efforts represents less than 10% of all philanthropic funding. This funding increased steadily from 2010 to 2020, but 2020 saw a significant jump in commitments from foundations—up to $16.5 billion by one count, though it’s unclear how much of that was actually distributed. Many advocates fear that the 2023 Supreme Court decision against affirmative action and ongoing national scrutiny of racial equity efforts could lead, and perhaps already has, to a decline in funding for racial equity efforts.
Racial Equity and Racial Justice Grantmaking, 2011-2018 & 2020
Philanthropy must adjust their strategies and resource allocations to better serve low-income communities and communities of color. This might mean providing more multiyear financial support, streamlining application or reporting requirements, or reducing funding restrictions so that it’s less burdensome for community leaders rather than efficient for institution staff. It might mean co-designing a program with participants (as MDC did with Investing in Leaders of Color) or developing shared metrics of success.
As one of the foundation partners in MDC’s Investing in Leaders of Color program stated, the job of philanthropy “is to think and act in the best way possible, to invest in solutions that will produce the best outcomes. Cultivating deep relationships with nonprofit [leaders of color] allows you to consider ways to center the needs of the community over those of the institution.” Relationship-building takes time and intentionality. At times, it may feel inefficient, but in the long run, the return on investment is better because the communities most affected were involved in the process and able to help avoid missteps from the start.
Voices from the ground
A common thread emerged across all of the State of the South convenings: the need for communities to have a voice in the decisions that affect them. Whether advocating for more inclusive public spaces, pushing back against inequitable zoning, or demanding accountability from philanthropists and all levels of government, Southern communities are calling for more inclusive and participatory decision-making processes.
In the stories that follow, you will learn how communities are organizing – and institutions are responding – to ensure that all Southerners can participate in shaping the future of our region.
- Jay Augustine, Senior Pastor of St. Joseph AME Church (Durham, N.C.) and faculty member at the Hampton University School of Religion, argues that Christian nationalism and the Great Replacement Theory pose the greatest domestic threat to democracy, particularly in the South. To counteract this ideology, we must embrace a culture of belonging.
- Giany Guedjo, Jovonia Lewis, ReZsaun Lewis, and Angela McDuffie, four alumni of MDC’s Investing in Leaders of Color (ILOC) program, offer ideas for how funders can work collaboratively with leaders of color to make more equitable and impactful investments in communities of color.
- Members of MDC’s Rural Prosperity and Investment team share lessons about confronting institutional nervousness around equity to disrupt a legacy of discrimination and bias in the public sector.
Authored by MDC
MDC envisions a South where all people thrive. We work with partners to strengthen community capacity, foster collaboration, and build influence to challenge systemic inequities and build an equitable and inclusive South.
[i] Perry, Imani. “Why we’re still struggling to understand the American South,” January 31, 2022. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-were-still-struggling-understand-american-south-imani-perry/.
[ii] OverZero and the American Immigration Council. “The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in America,” Revised ed. (2024). https://www.projectoverzero.org/media-and-publications/belongingbarometer.
[iii] Parker, Kim et al. “Views of problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities,” Pew Research Center (2018). Accessed October 2, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/views-of-problems-facing-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/.
[iv] Kaiser Family Foundation. “Demographics and the Economy.” Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/state-category/demographics-and-the-economy/.
[v] OverZero and the American Immigration Council. “The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in America,” Revised ed. (2024). https://www.projectoverzero.org/media-and-publications/belongingbarometer.
