Candice Hammons’ curiosity about the history of the maternal side of her close-knit family unearthed a mystery along Texas’ Neches River. It all started with a simple ancestry test in 2018. Her niece had just completed a DNA kit from 23andMe and her excitement was contagious. For Hammons, it wasn’t just about learning where she […]
Aallyah Wright
Aallyah Wright is the rural issues reporter for Capital B. From farmers to land fights to health care and jobs, her reporting explores the issues that matter most while celebrating culture and joy.
Follow her on Bluesky @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social and Instagram @journalistaallyah.
Posted inCulture, History
How to Find the Roots of Your Family Tree
From the inception of the United States, Black families have been displaced and ripped apart. It’s been difficult to track Black lineage because of limited data and written documents that erased Black folks. Over the years, and more recently, descendants have uncovered their histories, which have led to reclaiming stolen land, holding onto historical land, […]
Posted inRural Issues
What Solutions Exist to Eradicate the Digital Divide?
Capital B’s “Disconnected: Rural Black America and the Digital Divide” project explores the disparate effects of broadband accessibility on Black Americans in the rural South. Check out the first story here. You can read the second story here. The digital divide in the Black rural South has been a problem for decades — but the […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Her Family’s Land Was Stolen. Now, She’s Helping Black Farmers Keep Theirs.
During a four-day hearing in late November, Marvin Smith testified that he’s still fighting for his American dream: land ownership. After mostly Black residents refused to sell their property, the Sandersville Railroad Co. filed a petition with the Georgia Public Service Commission to seize the land through eminent domain. The private company wants it for […]
Posted inRural Issues
How Black Rural Americans Navigate Internet Issues
This is the second story in Capital B’s “Disconnected: Rural Black America and the Digital Divide” project, which explores the disparate effects of broadband accessibility on Black Americans in the rural South. This project is made possible by a grant from The Center for Rural Strategies and Grist. You can read our first story, “Digital […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
The Black Harvard Alumni Who Rallied to Defend the School’s President
On Sunday morning, five Black Harvard University alumnae jumped into a group chat to figure out how to build momentum around the school’s president, Claudine Gay, after she received backlash over her handling of antisemitism on campus. The sound bites floating around social media and reported in news outlets didn’t accurately reflect who Gay is, […]
Posted inRural Issues
Digital Redlining and the Black Rural South
This is the first story in Capital B’s “Disconnected: Rural Black America and the Digital Divide” project, which explores the disparate effects of broadband accessibility on Black Americans in the rural South. This project is made possible by a grant from The Center for Rural Strategies and Grist. Aaron Sankin, investigative reporter for The Markup, […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
Why This Rural Community Is at War With a 130-Year Railroad Company
SPARTA, Ga. — On a muggy and humid afternoon in mid-September, a frustrated Mark Smith stands in the kitchen of the home he and his wife, Janet Smith, built over 30 years ago on the 600 acres his grandfather acquired in 1926. Just a few feet away, the home where Mark grew up still stands. […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
Resources for Black Families Fighting for Control of Their Land
Josephine Wright can finally enjoy a bit of good news after eight months of fighting in court over her land in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. While the dispute isn’t over, the 93-year-old is getting a newly built, five-bedroom home on her property. For more than 30 years, Wright has lived on the land, which […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
Years of Water Woes Could Cost Alabama Residents Their Homes
PRICHARD, Ala. — On a hot afternoon in September, Angela Robinson Adams walked to her backyard, where the recent rain showers created “her own swimming pool.” Adams’ yard rarely floods, but the streets in her Alabama Village neighborhood often do. She had little water pressure in her home, so she called the Prichard Water Works […]