(Wikimedia Images/known per ticket)

“Progress is never easy,” President Joe Biden declared to onlookers in a crowded room on Jan. 15. “But redeeming the soul of the country is absolutely essential.” The setting of the president’s recent remarks was none other than Atlanta’s distinguished Ebenezer Baptist Church — a mere 15-minute drive away from Emory University’s main campus. Ebenezer Baptist is brimming with history: this is the same church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked from 1960 to 1968 and where Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) currently serves as senior pastor.

Consequently, the recent presidential visit has prompted conversations about both Georgia’s historic and current role in United States culture. Despite being cited as the cradle of the modern civil rights movement, negative perceptions of the state and the broader South seem to permeate every aspect of U.S. society, resulting in the false belief that this region is inherently inferior. 

Southern accents are viewed as synonymous with illiteracy, and Southern passions such as country music are often dismissed as unsophisticated. “Because you know, we’re in the South,” is a common phrase you’ll usually hear reiterated as the punchline of someone’s vapid joke. These attitudes contribute to the ongoing narrative that Southern states are characterized only by extreme poverty, incest-ridden ignorants, Donald Trump disciples and mini Marjorie Taylor Greenes.

Although the school is tucked away in Atlanta’s affluent Druid Hills neighborhood, if you’re an Emory student who has ever had to explain where our campus is located, you’ve probably dealt with these assumptions firsthand. Maybe you’ve even enabled them.

Many individuals — especially out-of-state students from predominantly blue, urban locations — believe that the Bible Belt is wholly unredeemable — a place marred solely by the shameful history of the Civil War and the manifestations of inequity. This is a bitterly oversimplified version of the truth.

I am no stranger to the South. I have lived in suburban Atlanta for 19 years, and I know that there is a new story unraveling; it’s one where the Trump flags on the neighbor’s front lawn are juxtaposed by pride flags at the local coffee shop and where Generation Z is turning the political tide in its favor. Look no further than Georgia for evidence of the power of purple: in the last four years, the state has gone to runoff twice, with highly significant increases in civic engagement evident in both instances despite attempts made at voter suppression. Southern states also possess a higher population, more electoral votes and more members of Congress than any other region — all factors that could be critical to the future success of progressive politics. Politicians and self-proclaimed liberals alike would be wise to re-examine their prejudices about an entire region’s political potential. Democrats will only harm their own party by downplaying and ignoring the possibilities for change here. 

As the late Anthony Bourdain once said, the South is not purely a monolith. Despite its past, I choose to believe in a future for Georgia that is forged by the likes of the late icon former U.S. Rep.  John Lewis (D-Ga.) and by the work of leaders like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. I believe in the very best that the South has to offer: sharing glasses of sweet tea in the summer, charming hospitality and always loving your neighbor — regardless of what they look like or love like. Faith, family and community: I’m proud of these Southern values. The image of the South that I know and love is very different than what you might typically expect.

You may think I’m biased, or that my lived experience as a Georgia native forces me to be overly sympathetic to my state, but neither is true. 

There are many valid criticisms to be made about the South. Problems such as racism, poor infrastructure and low levels of education are still extremely prevalent, and denying these facts would be foolish. But these issues do not exist within the mere confines of arbitrary state boundaries. Perpetuating the idea that the South is infinitely more bigoted than the rest of the country only furthers polarization in an already divided nation. It also takes away from the fact that racial injustices are present everywhere. Northern states — and the individuals from them — should not operate on a sense of moral superiority, as they too are complicit in harming people of color. In fact, many people may be surprised to learn that Jim Crow laws actually had their roots in the North. But instead of delineating between one area as intrinsically good and one area as entirely evil, we must remember that the burden of actively combatting racism is a responsibility for all citizens, not just for those living in states once associated with the Confederacy.

American redemption — fighting back for the soul of the country — is impossible if we continue to attribute racial and political stereotypes toward only one region disproportionately. 

True progressivism can never be achieved through the ostracism of an entire half of the country. Furthermore, looking down on the South is a disservice to the vast BIPOC and LGBTQ communities that exist there. 

Given the University’s role as an academic powerhouse of the region, Emory students in particular have a responsibility to remain vigilant in the face of misconceptions about the South and to get more involved in their local communities — whether it be through volunteering for Fair Fight, serving in a student-run clinic or tutoring in impoverished areas. At a university known for its integrity of inquiry and with billions of dollars in its endowment, cheap insults filled with distorted stereotypes have no place. It’s time to stop making the South the punchline and start recognizing it for the complex, dynamic demographic that it actually encapsulates.

Assuming that the Southern region of the United States is the sole perpetrator of racism is unequivocally untrue; instead, it is simply an elitist, classist and condescending attitude to adopt. It may be far from perfect, but I think I’ve finally come to appreciate the complexities that comprise the U.S. South. You should too.

Safa Wahidi (24Ox) is from Sugar Hill, Georgia.

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Safa Wahidi (she/her) (23Ox) is from Sugar Hill, GA, majoring in English and political science. She is an active member of the Emory Muslim Student Association and serves as Co-President of the Young Democrats of Oxford College. Outside of the Wheel, Wahidi enjoys writing fiction, watching rom-coms and anticipating the next Taylor Swift album. You can find her wandering around the nearest Barnes & Noble, tea and Jane Austen novel in hand.