Introduction from the Editorial Team

Abstract

Introduction from the Editorial Team Selima Sultana, Paul Knapp, Ridwaana Allen, and Tyler Mitchell Our Editorial Team is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Southeastern Geographer, the flagship journal of the Southeastern Division of the American Association Geographers (SEDAAG). We are pleased to report that the 2021 Annual SEDAAG Meeting in Florence, Alabama during November 20–22 was well attended following the virtual-format platform arrangement for the 2020 conference. The success of the SEDAAG Conference is made possible by the extensive work of numerous division members. We recognize the outstanding contributions of Lynn Resler and Jennifer Rahn for their roles as SEDAAG President and SEDAAG Vice-President, respectively, and Local Arrangement Chair, Michael Pretes during this unprecedented and challenging time. We were pleased that AAG President Emily Ye attended the meeting and presented the Keynote Address at the Awards Banquet. SEDAAG meetings offer a suite of professional development benefits and have excelled in distinguishing exceptional contributions in scholarship, instruction, and service. The recognition of awards is judged by the members of the Honors Committee, who must decide on recipients of nominated awards prior to the meeting and then spend much of the meeting evaluating student presentations. We applaud the efforts of the Committee, especially committee chair Douglas Allen, for their dedication. We note that while we list some of the 2021 awardees below, there were no nominations for the prestigious Research Honors Award. 2021 Awardees • Southeastern Geographer Award for Best Paper: Thomas Saladyga and Stockton Maxwell (A Multi-Century Fire History from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia) and Gabe Schwartzman (POWER and the Future of Appalachia: Discursive Framings of an Economic Transition) • Southeastern Geographer Cover Art: Yin-Hsuen Chen, Old Dominion University • Lifetime Achievement Award: Bobby Wilson (posthumous) • Outstanding Service Award: Heidi J.L. Lannon, Santa Fe College • Excellence in Teaching: Ingrid Luffman, East Tennessee State University • John Fraser Hart Award, Best Ph.D. Student Paper: Savannah Collins-Key, University of Tennessee • Best Master's Paper: Avery Catherwood, University of North Carolina Greensboro [End Page 89] The conclusion of the annual meeting marks the transition of SEDAAG Officers. We thank Lynn Resler for her excellent work as President during 2019–2021 while navigating the numerous issues associated with the onset and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Treasurer, Amy Potter of Georgia Southern University. We congratulate newly elected President William (Bill) Graves of the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and Treasurer Paul McDaniel of Kennesaw State University for their two-year appointments as SEDAAG Officers. SEDAAG also welcomed newly elected State Representatives Jordan Cissell (Samford University), Johanna Engström (University of Florida), Michele Abee (Bellarmine University), Dean Hardy (University of South Carolina), and Thomas Saladyga (Concord University). We extend our warm thanks to the outgoing state representatives Caroline McClure (University of Alabama), Cynthia Simmons (University of Florida), Peggy Gripshover (Western Kentucky University), Conor Harrison (University of South Carolina), and Jamison Conley (West Virginia University) for their commitment and contributions to SEDAAG during the past two years. Please consider Southeastern Geographer as a publication outlet for work that relates to the American South. As an Editorial Team, we try to process manuscripts in a timely fashion with an average initial decision time of approximately six weeks. Manuscript submissions during the past four years have been from authors located from many locations outside of the SEDAAG region and SEDAAG membership is not a requirement to submit work to the journal. We are thankful for the contributions of authors and external reviewers that make Southeastern Geographer an outstanding journal. We are also grateful for the contributions of Joseph Weber of the University of Alabama for his role as Book Editor. Issue 62.2 (Summer) contains four papers, which we summarize below, and two book reviews. Biggs builds on cultural geography and the geographies of memory to explore how the managers at three historic sites in Durham, North Carolina attempt to manage the interests of historic preservation with present-day use and enjoyment of these sites. Rather than viewing the landscapes surrounding these sites as racially neutral backdrops, Biggs maintains that they are racialized spaces with their own histories. Specifically, the trees and grass at these sites are not...