A People’s Archive. A Moment of Reckoning. Your Story.
Something happened this spring that the South felt immediately.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais — a decision that further dismantled the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For those who’ve been tracking what’s been happening across this region, the ruling wasn’t a surprise. But that doesn’t make it any less serious.
Congressional district maps are being redrawn. States across the South are pausing primary elections mid-cycle to redo their maps under new legal cover. In Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, and Mississippi, the lines that determine whose vote carries weight are being redrawn — in ways that take power away from already underserved communities.
Grantmakers for Southern Progress is not running from this moment.
Why We’re Calling On You
The policy analysis and legal commentary will continue to flow. What often gets left out is the human perspective — what this actually means for the people living it. The grandmother who has voted in every election since she turned 18. The first-time voter who registered last year. The pastor who leads their congregation to the polls. The worker who knows that local elections decide whether the water in their community is safe.
That’s why we’re asking people across the South to record a 30-second video answering one question:
“My Southern vote matters because…”
Your answer can be about your family, your neighborhood, your future, or your history. What matters is that it’s your story to tell. We’ll bring these voices together into a living archive — published in a special edition of The South Got Something to Say and shared across GSP’s platforms and network.
Who Can Submit
We want to hear from anyone in the South. You don’t need to be a funder, a movement leader, or a policy expert. You don’t need to be affiliated with GSP or any of our member organizations. You just need to live in or have a connection to the South, and be willing to tell us what your vote means to you.
A note to GSP members and network partners: Keep your video personal. This is not a space for organizational announcements or programmatic messaging. Speak as yourself. Speak as a Southerner.
How To Record Your Video
- Length: 30 seconds max
- Orientation: Horizontal (landscape mode)
- Quality: Highest resolution available on your device
- Start with the prompt: Begin by saying “My Southern vote matters because…” before going into your answer
- Lighting: Face a window or find a well-lit space. Avoid recording with a bright light or window directly behind you
- Sound: Find a quiet space. No professional audio required — we just need to hear you clearly
iPhone
- Open Camera and rotate to landscape
- Settings → Camera → Record Video → 4K at 30fps
- Tap and hold your face to lock AE/AF exposure
- Center yourself, check your lighting, and press record
Android
- Open Camera and rotate to landscape
- Switch to Video mode and tap the settings gear icon
- Set resolution to UHD or 4K at 30fps
- Center yourself, check your lighting, and press record
What To Talk About
Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas:
- What does voting mean in your family? Did someone fight for the right to vote before you?
- What local decision — a school board, a city council seat — has directly affected your life or your community?
- What does it mean to you that the lines of your voting district could be redrawn to reduce your community’s voice?
- What do you want people outside the South to understand about what’s happening here?
- Why are you still showing up, even when it feels like the rules keep changing?
Submit Your Video
Submissions are collected through a secure upload form. We are not collecting or storing personal data beyond what you choose to include with your video.
The South has been here before. Fighting for the vote. Fighting for representation. Fighting to be counted, heard, and seen in the places where decisions get made. That history doesn’t disappear with a court ruling. But this moment calls for presence, documentation, and collective voice.
P.S. Know someone whose voice needs to be in this project? Forward this page or share the link. Every corner of the South is welcome here.