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This is a great point and I can’t wait to read this. Thanks so much for sharing, you are so right about what you wrote here! I live in South Carolina and we travel often. While SC certainly isn’t perfect when it comes to politics or social attitudes (and what state really is?), it drives me crazy when people assume that an accent denotes stupidity. The south is full of diverse brilliant writers, artists, thinkers, and businesspeople. Unfortunately, I believe that some of the Southern media help hold back knowledge of this fact by only highlighting the things that are “traditionally” Southern. Grits, iced tea, and big hats are wonderful (I’m working on an essay about grits right now!), but we are so much more than that. The south is about carefully crafting professions and stories in a way that connects people. People of all educational backgrounds, economic groups, and ethnicities are offering amazingly creative innovations in all industries in a way that is unique to our region. Southern Living is doing a great job highlighting this lately. I hope more publications will follow suit! ***stepping down off my Monday morning soapbox now***