The South has been down the road of regional separatism in the past and all it lead to was alienation in the social and economic fields, former Gov. Carl Sanders told an audience at St. Jude’s parish Sunday night.

Sanders said, “The South and Georgia are at a critical juncture. One road leads to regional separatism -- we’ve been down it before -- while the other road, the one I like to talk about, leads us to the mainstream.”

The former governor told members of the St. Jude’s Legislative-Human Relations Commission that the South and the state face three major challenges. “We must attain full economic equality with the rest of the nation. We must increase our efforts so that every segment of society shares in the progress. We must revitalize our politics, modernize our machinery and our state constitution.”

“We have had more than our share of demagogues. Many of them knew better but they pandered to the ideas of uninformed voters. We must not vote for those who want to retreat to the past.”

Tracing the history of the South, Sanders said it was known for its cohesiveness. “It has been reflected in our politics and in the terms ‘Solid South’ and ‘Southern Bloc.’”

“The popular image of the serene life and magnolia trees existed in only a limited sense - if at all - and certainly ceased to be after the Civil War.”

“The region was set aside by poverty and an undiversified economy. The talented men and women left the South for their education and jobs and left the area in a serious economic rut. A cash-crop agriculture and an unskilled labor force resulted in the institutions being controlled by an elite group.”

Sanders told his audience that the pattern had to be changed for meaningful progress. “We have to acknowledge that it has been slow and agonizing. We have been pulled into the modern era despite vigorous efforts to remain in the past.”

Sanders said the most important element in progress is improving education. “Free people are those who have had the benefit of education.” He said his administration spent $2 billion for education and established a network of vocational-technical schools to provide a skilled labor force.

The former governor also pointed out that competition for industry has caused the state’s communities to take a look at their educational systems, their water resources, their sewer systems and at their socio-economic posture.

“Industry cannot grow in atmosphere of turmoil. We have turned that corner to some extent. Georgia and the South have come a long way in a short period of time, but we’ve got a long way to go.”