Rural hospital relief, controversial street names and good eats

Welcome to The American South!

If you're new here, thank you for subscribing and becoming a part of our community where we focus on producing revelatory journalism about the South.

I'm still processing that soon after the fatal shooting of eight people in Atlanta (many Asian-American), there was another shooting in Colorado that left 10 people dead. This sobering database, which tracks these tragedies, left me stunned.

Meanwhile in the South, I'm breathing a sigh of relief for some rural hospitals that may finally get the funding they need to stay afloat.

And speaking of holding steady, the American South has a story centering five Southern restaurant owners who share their personal stories of triumph amid tough times. This past year alone, more than 100,000 restaurants have closed nationwide. These business owners in cities including New Orleans, Savannah and Asheville give new meaning to the word persevere.

In New Orleans, another Confederate reckoning may be on the way. The City Council's street renaming commission has suggested 37 new names for streets and parks with links to white supremacy. The stories behind the newly-suggested names are fascinating and diverse.

Finally, if you need a reason to smile or quietly cry into some Kleenex, this throwback video, will warm your heart, I promise.

Thanks for reading. I know the days are long at times. Take good care!

Ashley Hopkinson (Editor, The American South)

P.S. Check out these beautiful blooms blanketing Savannah, Georgia.

What's the South talking about ?

How COVID-19 relief package will help rural hospitals in the South

The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package signed by President Biden on March 11 includes $8.5 billion in funding set aside for rural health providers. The money secures additional funding for workforce development in rural areas, contact tracing, testing and vaccine distribution. Rural hospital directors said they are in dire need.

“It’s important to remember the context in which these providers were working under coming into the pandemic. A number of rural hospitals have had to close in the last ten years,” said Carrie Cochran-McClain, the vice-president of government affairs and policy at National Rural Hospital Association. “The pressure was already there going into the pandemic.”

Click here to read the full story.

New Orleans commission suggests new names for 37 streets and parks

The New Orleans City Council may soon approve of renaming Robert E. Lee Boulevard for famed local musician Allen Toussaint, and Patton Street could be renamed for Nils Douglas, a prominent civil rights attorney for the Congress of Racial Equality.

Those are just two of 37 streets and parks in the city that could be renamed if the Council approves the changes.

“The city has an abundance of notable folks in all those arenas that most people who grew up here probably don’t know the full stories of,” says Karl Connor, chairman of the Street Renaming Commission. “We’re trying to tell a story about the city more fully.”

Click here to read the full story.

Finding good in the bad: How 5 restaurants across the South survived the pandemic year

Few businesses suffered as much during the coronavirus pandemic as restaurants. As the country marks one year since the pandemic began, five USA Today Network writers from across the South tell the stories of restaurants that, despite the difficulties, continue to feed their communities.

Click here to read the full story.

Facebook Twitter Email