Southern Heroes

Special Issue
Making a Southern Stand
The best of the most distinctive region in the country could be vanishing before our eyes

G&G PRESENTS:
30 Southern Heroes
From conservationists to cultural champions to preservationists to storytellers, these groundbreakers are making the South a better place

Southern Heroes
Rhiannon Giddens: The Storyteller
With her innovative albums, a ballet, and now an opera, the musical genius elevates neglected pieces of Southern history to works of art

Southern Heroes
Ronald Kendall: The Quail Doctor
The Texan is helping bring back the bobwhite, icon of Southern game birds

SOUTHERN HEROES
Sarah Ross: The Seed Restorer
The Georgian works to perpetuate the South’s heirloom crops

Southern Heroes
Eric S. Martin : The Lighthouse Keeper
The preservationist relighting the way in the Florida Keys

Southern Heroes
Cindy Ayers Elliott: The Agrarian Evangelist
The upstart Mississippi farmer brings a new mindset to tending the land

Southern Heroes
Wendell Berry: The Poet of Place
A conversation, in letters, with one of the South’s most vital voices

Southern Heroes
Walt Wolfram: The Accent Advocate
The professor of sociolinguistics tracks the distinctive speech of the South

Southern Heroes
Hub City Writers Project: The Literary Lights
A South Carolina trio elevates the work of Southern storytellers

Southern Heroes
Craig LeHoullier: The Tomato King
This propagator of the Cherokee Purple preserves and protects the South’s favored summertime crop

Southern Heroes
Fawn Weaver: The Whiskey Benefactor
The co-founder of Uncle Nearest, the most-awarded new whiskey brand in the country, keeps an undersung distiller’s legacy alive

Southern Heroes
Liz McCartney & Zack Rosenburg: The Rebuilders
This couple sprang into action constructing houses after Katrina—and haven’t stopped since

Arts & Culture
Franklin D. Vagnone: The Firebrand
The Winston-Salem director is revolutionizing how house museums embrace a hands-on approach to history

SOUTHERN HEROES
Amir Touré, BJ Dennis, and Sallie Ann Robinson: The Torchbearers
Three guardians of Gullah Geechee culture work to help their Lowcountry traditions not only survive, but thrive

SOUTHERN HEROES
The Cajun Navy: The Rescuers
Through hell and high water, the Louisiana groups form a river of relief

Southern Heroes
Darius Rucker: The Music Maker
The country star turns his gaze on history with the new National Museum of African American Music in Nashville

Southern Heroes
Karen Amspacher: The Maritime Defender
The North Carolina native advocates for the culture of the Down East region

Southern Heroes
Doug Naselroad: The Teacher
The Kentucky luthier helps addicts in recovery by teaching them how to make musical instruments

Southern Heroes
Rudy Reyes: The Coral Commando
The Marine sergeant and his fellow Force Blue veterans find peace while diving to preserve vital coral tracts off Florida