The South is a land forged by the brilliance of Black imaginative thought. I reached out to a few of my friends in the creative world whose vision of what is possible for the South inspires me and pushes me to see the beauty of this region and her people. The artists below — representing Arkansas and Mississippi — have managed to distill the soul-split nature of the South into art that is clear-eyed, radical and unflinching. They represent the heartbeat of forward-thinking Southern culture.
Respondents:Danielle Buckingham: Black Mississippi writer and creative
Zaire Love: filmmaker, music maker, hood griot
Joshua Asante: musician, writer, transient
Describe your relationship to the South in one word.
Tumultuous. DB
Complex. ZL
Hemiola. JA
How has COVID-19 impacted your identity as a Southerner?Â
I think it has exacerbated already-existing problems. Like the fact that there are some towns in Mississippi whose hospitals really don’t have the capacity or resources to deal with a COVID outbreak. I think being in the South sets us apart in that way, particularly those of us living in or from rural areas. And especially if you’re poor and/or Black and/or queer. It puts us at an even greater disadvantage when we already have regional-specific issues compromising the health of marginalized folks. And then a pandemic on top of that is disastrous. DB
I don’t think it has in the present. I believe that revelation will come after it has passed. ZL
I feel that in a lot of ways Southern folk en masse deal with a bit of inferiority in relation to the rest of the country. No one really talks about it, but it’s there. Like a cultural birthmark, or that stain in the floor that ain’t going no place, so you just step over and get on with the day. For me, some of the Southern reluctance to adhere to pandemic-related restrictions added to that bit of shame. But that’s just the funk of life down here; and it’s in the fibers of everything. JA
What role can the arts play in reimagining a better South?
I think art provides an alternative and more accessible way to make sense of the regional-specific issues we face. I think about Jesmyn Ward’s writing, and her also being a Black woman from a small town in Mississippi. She gave me permission and audacity to say, “I want to be a writer, and maybe I can be a writer.” I think the very visibility of Southern artists, musicians and writers opens up a realm of possibilities, particularly for young people who grow up in places like Mississippi, and the narrative around the state really makes us feel worthless unless we somehow remove ourselves. But being in the South and creating art and sharing that art and growing art communities here, it’s so liberating and necessary. DB
Making and demanding space for diverse voices and experiences within and outside of the binary. ZLÂ
Only the arts can reimagine the South to the extent of being a better place to be and thrive in. It takes the dreamers and the sound makers to shape new realities. I believe that this world, if it’s worth keeping, will never be more valuable than the art it produces and the diversity therein. The same is true for the country’s underskirts. JA
If you could make a promise to future generations of Southerners, what would it be?
Everything feels so all-over-the-place and unpredictable that I don’t even know how to answer this. To keep it short: I promise to do my best to get us a little closer to being free. DB
I promise to make space for Black experiences, stories and voices to be heard, expressed, documented and archived, to inspire you and to affirm and confirm that you all come from a mighty lineage. ZL
Whites gone white. JA
John Lewis spoke of the need for “good trouble” when confronting injustice. What does good trouble look like to you?
This is complicated, especially when so many young folks have been out in the streets and demanding more of politicians and having their “non-respectable” methods demonized. To me, good trouble is anything that actively defies the power structure in this country. Good trouble is demanding and overbearing. It is disruptive to those who hold the most power in this country. And it is challenging, or should be, for those of us who have too much blind faith in this country. DB
Creating, documenting and archiving the movement and Black life in a way that preserves stories from the source, so that our history can not be revised as the dominant culture has done for centuries. My good trouble is ensuring that the revolution is indeed televised/filmed and documented while also creating music, art and spaces that tell I was here. ZL
I strive to be a well-rested Black person with my good mind intact. In this country, there are few things more troublesome than that. JA
What has kept you tied to the South?
My grandmother and siblings, my community, but also I feel at home here. I feel a very complicated type of safety here. I know this place. And I don’t know, it feels irresponsible to say I love Black folks, to say I love my family and my ancestors whose roots are mostly in Mississippi, and to then get up and turn my back on it. I think love and a sense of responsibility keep me tied to the South. DB
My purpose in documenting and archiving through film the stories and lives of my people and ancestors while also creating my art that is deeply influenced by this place. ZL
The possibility of bumping into Nikky Finney some place. JA
What Southern musician, writer or poet has best articulated your Southernerness back to you?
Jesmyn Ward. DB
Nina Simone. Maya Angelou. Kiese Laymon. Jesmyn Ward. My granny. Myself. ZL
Henry Dumas/Sun Ra toss up. Because being down here, at the geographic bottom of things, just feels Black. Like space. And free will. And the dark, vast spine of the Mississippi snaking through my childhood memories and up, up, up into the cosmos. JA
