Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Capital B is talking to newsmakers across the country who want to reshape American politics or galvanize Black voices in government. Our “Voices of Change” series will update periodically with insights from the candidates, activists, lawmakers, and political insiders whom you should know. Voting apathy is real for America’s youngest […]
Adam Mahoney
Adam Mahoney is the climate and environment reporter at Capital B. He can be reached by email at adam.mahoney@capitalbnews.org, on Bluesky, and on X at @AdamLMahoney.
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Mississippi Water Crisis Is ‘Racism to the Umpteenth Degree,’ Residents Say
The water crisis that has left residents of Jackson, Mississippi, struggling to bathe, cook, and flush their toilets has been decades in the making. For years, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has asked for financial assistance from the state government to alleviate the city’s infrastructure needs. Local organizers, rather than wait on the government, have […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Officials Withheld Funds Over an Abortion Ban. Black Louisianans Are Most At Risk.
Sitting in the Louisiana Senate chambers last week, Democratic Sen. Jimmy Harris received a text alert: A brewing storm heading toward his New Orleans district had prompted a flood advisory. Moments later, the state’s all-male bond commission voted 7-6 to temporarily block a $39 million loan that New Orleans planned to use for a power […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
Black Louisianans Still Haven’t Recovered From 2020’s Storms
As Tropical Storm Laura rapidly transformed into a Category 4 hurricane and barreled toward the Gulf Coast in the summer of 2020, residents of southern Louisiana had little time to react. In Lake Charles, Tasha Guidry was thinking about how to evacuate with her elderly parents in the middle of a pandemic, a task made […]
Posted inHousing, Money
A Sweeping Ordinance Would Make It Easier For LA to Target its Unhoused Residents
Since last fall, Lee has lived in a budding community on the southern edge of Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Residents of the once-majority Black area — the epicenter of the 1965 Watts Rebellion and the 1992 uprising following the police beating of Rodney King — have advocated for investments in Black life for […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
Can Biden’s New Environmental Justice Leader Make Climate a Public Priority?
Jalonne White-Newsome sees a path towards climate justice despite the seeming “insurmountable barrier” created by a conservative Supreme Court.
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
How Will Climate Change Affect the Search for a New Black Mecca in the South?
Rhiana Gunn-Wright knows Black life in America is fragile — by design. The idea of “home” has constantly been threatened: Slavery and segregation legally dictated where Black Americans could live for centuries, and the residual effects of those racist institutions continue to guide where they plant their roots. When you think about it, Gunn-Wright says, […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
These Maps Show the Risks of the New Great Migration
When the coronavirus began its deadly sweep through the streets of New York City, Pilar Johnson knew she needed an escape route. The convergence of rising living costs, growing segregation, and a tight job market had already pushed out more than 200,000 Black residents since 2000. The pandemic was the last straw for Johnson. Once […]
Posted inCulture, History
Black History Sites Aren’t Being Preserved. This Historian Wants to Change That.
Saying America has a troubled relationship with the land it seized from Indigenous people would be an understatement. Colonialism, and the taking of land through force and murder, defined the country’s borders. The struggle over terrain continues today with the threat of climate change, an increase in internal migration, and the soaring cost of housing. […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Eight Years Later, Flint’s Water Crisis Rages On
The United States’ simmering water crisis boiled over in Flint, Michigan, in 2014. Eight years later, roughly 2,000 homes in the majority-Black city still don’t have clean drinking water. A recent internal audit by the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s watchdog found that the government agency, which is tasked with containing toxic contamination and pollution, hasn’t […]
