Mayor Andrew Gillum: The South

Join IOP Resident Fellow Mayor Andrew Gillum for a study group with guest LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, for a conversation about the American South. 

Today’s American South is younger, more diverse, and more innovative — so why is it still largely a one-party region? Meanwhile, the South remains a hotly contested political battleground and key to both parties’ hopes of winning the White House. What are the legacies of the South’s history — cultural, racial, political — that persist to this day? While many southern cities have become centers of diversity and economic growth, southerners living outside of metropolitan areas are feeling left behind. As a son of Miami who grew up in Gainesville and Tallahassee, I will bring my lived experience to this session. If you are from the South, we hope you will bring your insight to this session. If you are not, what are the historical and cultural legacies where you grew up?