The national civil rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee

This special issue of Southeastern Geographer, guest edited by Tyrel “Tink” Moore and Derek Alderman, honors the work and friendship of Dr. John J. Winberry, who passed away in March of 2012 (Carbone 2012). John was a devoted student of the American South and he played a major role in ensuring the Southeastern would become a leading outlet in geography for southern studies research (Figure 1). Indeed, as editor (1988–1991), he created the journal’s “Changing South” section with the intent of bringing greater critical attention to the region (Wheeler 1998). The section’s very emphasis on change, as opposed to the more comfortable subject of tradition, prompted readers and future contributors to pay close attention to the dynamic geographic shifts and tensions that characterize the contemporary southern landscape.