Southern Heroes

The best of the most distinctive region in the country could be vanishing before our eyes

From conservationists to cultural champions to preservationists to storytellers, these groundbreakers are making the South a better place

With her innovative albums, a ballet, and now an opera, the musical genius elevates neglected pieces of Southern history to works of art

The Texan is helping bring back the bobwhite, icon of Southern game birds

The Georgian works to perpetuate the South’s heirloom crops

The preservationist relighting the way in the Florida Keys

The upstart Mississippi farmer brings a new mindset to tending the land

A conversation, in letters, with one of the South’s most vital voices

The professor of sociolinguistics tracks the distinctive speech of the South

A South Carolina trio elevates the work of Southern storytellers

This propagator of the Cherokee Purple preserves and protects the South’s favored summertime crop

The co-founder of Uncle Nearest, the most-awarded new whiskey brand in the country, keeps an undersung distiller’s legacy alive

This couple sprang into action constructing houses after Katrina—and haven’t stopped since

The Winston-Salem director is revolutionizing how house museums embrace a hands-on approach to history

Three guardians of Gullah Geechee culture work to help their Lowcountry traditions not only survive, but thrive

Through hell and high water, the Louisiana groups form a river of relief

The country star turns his gaze on history with the new National Museum of African American Music in Nashville

The North Carolina native advocates for the culture of the Down East region

The Kentucky luthier helps addicts in recovery by teaching them how to make musical instruments

The Marine sergeant and his fellow Force Blue veterans find peace while diving to preserve vital coral tracts off Florida