What keeps rural Black students from pursuing college or thriving when they get there? J. Brian Charles of The Chronicle of Higher Education went to Sussex County, Virginia to get a closer look at what post-high school opportunity looks like in the swampy countryside, where "peanuts, pork, and pine" are the major exports – not young people headed for higher education.

He talks with EWA Public Editor Emily Richmond about the overlooked stories on rural schools, an innovative program providing volunteer college counselors in high-need communities, and what might change the equation for Black students looking to expand their horizons beyond their hometowns.