Certain words in the Southern dialect are not easily rendered on the printed page — words that do not necessarily lend themselves to spellings that make sense. At a recent art exhibition in Atlanta, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece was reminded of such a word from his youth, one he found literary validation for only after he left home.

Inviting people to your home for a meal is one of the most important ways that we build communities of friends and neighbors. As he planned how to feed some people at a coming dinner gathering, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece found himself grateful he could do that, because five years ago, no such gatherings were possible.

When President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece remembered the night when he, at age fourteen, first shook the great man’s hand. Chuck has some thoughts about the examples Carter left behind for all Southerners. 

At this time of year, carols and holiday songs surround us. They’re on the radio. They’re in the stores when we’re shopping. And this is true everywhere, all over the world. Thus, we rarely think of Christmas tunes as a Southern thing. But Salvation South editor Chuck Reece today offers four distinctly Southern holiday classics.

Much of today’s political news is filled with discussion and debate about immigration. Which people are coming to America? Which should be permitted to come? And how many should be permitted? Can immigration and Southern hospitality live in the same community? Salvation South editor Chuck Reece today invites you to visit a place where it does.

People from the American South have distinctive ways of speaking. But losing the accent has become big business. It’s easy to find companies that charge big bucks to teach you to lose your Southern accent. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece wonders why you would want to. Our accents, he argues, are as diverse as our region’s population.

For a decade, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has focused his work on the region in which he lives — the American South. After spending years pondering the question of why Southerners feel such pride for their region, he’s learned some things about where that pride comes from as he explains in this week's commentary. 

This year marks a decade since the release of Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy's first album, "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101." On Second Thought reflects on Jeezy's early work, the evolution of "trap music" and what it takes to be a respected hip-hop spokesperson for the South.