Confronting Corporate Power and Building Democratic Economies in the Deep South
The Southern Justice Project is a major Open Markets Institute initiative to expose how corporate monopolies have shaped life across the Deep South and to help communities reclaim economic and political power.
For decades, corporate consolidation has transformed the Southern economy—raising prices, lowering wages, and stripping local communities of independence. In poor, rural, and Black communities, monopolistic control over key sectors like agriculture, healthcare, retail, and labor markets has deepened inequality and curtailed opportunity.
The Southern Justice Project examines how these forms of economic domination take root and persist. Through a combination of rigorous research and extensive community engagement, the project seeks to document the structures of concentrated power and develop strategies to rebuild local enterprise, fair markets, and democratic participation.
The initiative’s first phase focuses on Mississippi, where researchers are studying at least six key sectors of the state’s economy to understand how consolidation shapes livelihoods and civic life. The project also works directly with local communities through public forums, partnerships, and workshops that connect economic research to lived experience. Its inaugural event, “Building Power and Prosperity Together,” brought residents together at New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson to discuss how to fight corporate exploitation, foster local business, and strengthen local self-governance.
The Southern Justice Project reflects Open Markets’ founding belief that concentrated power threatens human liberty and democracy. By highlighting how monopoly control undermines prosperity and participation in the South, the project aims to advance a fairer, more democratic economy nationwide.
The initiative is led by Evan Turnage, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and a seasoned expert in law, policy, and competition enforcement.
