Whatever you think of when you think “rural Alabama,” prepare to reconsider. In this issue, we contemplate what exactly rural is – and isn’t. And we explore the diversity and vitality — and history and realities — of life in rural Alabama. Click the button to read the issue, and scroll down for bonus features!
Mosaic 2023: The Rural IssueConsidering Crossroads
A guide for the Smithsonian traveling exhibit touring Alabama across 2023-2024, Crossroads: Change in Rural America.
An Alabama Bibliography
The best books, films, and resources on rural Alabama, past and present, compiled by Julia Brock, Ph.D.
The Playlist: Music from rural Alabama
A mag-inspired playlist of music featuring rural Alabama musicians and songs with rural themes.
Extended feature: Invitation to Notice
A longer-form version of a story in the print issue, The Many Layers of Marion: Biscuiting in the Black Belt with Scott Peacock.
Film: 54 Miles to Home
Watch the AHA-funded documentary on the rural campsites of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march.
Film: Rural Revival: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama
Watch the AHA-funded documentary on the CCC’s role in saving, creating, and reshaping much of Alabama’s rural landscape.
Film: Trail of Tears
Silent documentary footage from 1978 that was highlighted in Creek Survivance, an essay by Deidra Suwanee Dees, Ph.D.
Check out AHA’s playlist of music inspired by this issue, featuring Alabama musicians and songs that illuminate rural life in Alabama.
A guide for the Smithsonian traveling exhibit touring Alabama across 2023-2024, Crossroads: Change in Rural America.
Preview 'Crossroads'
The best books, films, and resources on rural Alabama, past and present, compiled by Crossroads project scholar Julia Brock, Ph.D.
Read our recs
A longer-form version of a story in the print issue, "The Many Layers of Marion: Biscuiting in the Black Belt with Scott Peacock."
Read the story
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