Southerners on New Ground

Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is a regional organizing and training organization based in Atlanta, GA, specializing in intersectional social justice work across issues of race, class, gender, culture, and sexuality. Since 1993, SONG has developed comprehensive leadership development programs, strategic organizing campaigns, and capacity-building initiatives serving LGBTQ people and allies throughout the South. The organization provides specialized training to racial and economic justice organizations on integrating anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia work into their campaigns, with over 100 organizations trained to date. SONG operates the first-ever Southern LGBTQ-led traveling Organizing School designed specifically for small towns and rural communities across the region, addressing the unique challenges of organizing in areas experiencing rural isolation and right-wing political pressure. The organization has successfully conducted over 50 sub-regional retreats for Southern Queer People of Color and continues to be one of the few LGBTQ organizations in the United States that actively listens to and represents LGBTQ communities in rural and small-town settings. SONG's strategic work includes major campaign victories, such as winning an injunction against key aspects of Georgia's HB 87 immigration enforcement law. Through regional capacity building, intersectional analysis, and grassroots organizing methodologies, SONG builds sustainable Southern movement infrastructure while centering the leadership of women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and immigrants in shaping the region's future.