SYMONDS, Mississippi. — Robert Jackson hauled a truck two hours away from his farm to his home in Pensacola, Florida, to give away 1,200 bundles of collard greens just days before Thanksgiving. Instead of giving away free turkeys, like most people, he offered free greens and sweet potatoes. It’s the fourth year he’s been giving […]
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 inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Black Women Sweep Local Elections in Small Towns
Deondreze Young hadn’t planned on a career in politics. But, when seats opened up on her hometown city council, her father encouraged her to run, and she did, in hopes of making change in Wadley, Georgia. Young’s roles and position in the community — as a cosmetology instructor, nail technician, substitute teacher, and mother — […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Food Access, Politics & Policy
Black-Owned Farms Fill Gaps Left by SNAP Funding Delays
Cherie Jzar, a North Carolina farmer, has become a lifeline for area residents as the Trump administration has delayed funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Many of her customers are seniors — who often live on fixed incomes and rely on SNAP. With the rising costs of food, she said, it has been difficult for […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
As Tariffs Rise, One Family’s Fields Tell the Real Cost of the Trade War
Willis Nelson, a third-generation farmer in eastern Louisiana, was hoping to avoid the worst. The 38-year-old farms 4,000 acres in Sondheimer with his brothers and father. They grow row crops such as corn, cotton, and soybean, which are the leading U.S. agricultural exports that are sold to a global market. This year, they opted out […]
Posted inHistory
Founded by Freedmen, Forgotten by Textbooks: The Men Reviving Mound Bayou
MOUND BAYOU, Mississippi — On an early summer morning, Hermon Johnson Jr. walked the halls of the former band hall of the John F. Kennedy High School surrounded by archival photographs and rotating exhibits. The historical records tell the story of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. The small but mighty town is one of America’s first all-Black […]
Posted inCulture, Economic Development
Georgia’s Highest Court Sides With Sapelo Island Residents to Put Land Battle on Ballot
In a win for Black landowners, Georgia’s highest court unanimously sided with Gullah Geechee communities in a long-standing zoning battle on Sapelo Island. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped a referendum to consider repealing a revised zoning ordinance passed by McIntosh County officials two years ago. A […]
Posted inFood Access, Politics & Policy
For 30 Years, a Report Tracked Hunger in America. Now It’s Been Canceled
After three decades of tracking food insecurity, understanding the reality of Americans without access to reliable food may become more difficult due to the discontinuation of a federal survey. The Household Food Security Report is an annual, national survey that monitors the severity of food insecurity in U.S. households. The United States Department of Agriculture […]
Posted inRural Issues
The Black Women Driving a Food Revolution in Rural Mississippi
Sowing Resilience: Rural communities across the country are grappling with food insecurity. Schoolchildren, seniors, grocers and even farmers face a food crisis compounded by government cuts and soaring costs. These nine stories reveal how communities are navigating — and reimagining — the systems that have left them hungry. OAKLAND, Miss. — Grocery store owner Marquitrice […]
Posted inNews
Black Student Found Hanging at Delta State. Police Say No Foul Play.
This story has been updated. The death of a Black college student, who was found hanging from a tree on his school’s campus in Mississippi, sparking online speculation of a lynching, has been ruled a suicide, according to the state examiner’s office. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Sept. 17, after […]
Posted inCulture, History
Mississippi Festival Puts Black Blues Elders in Spotlight
CLARKSDALE, Mississippi — On a summer Saturday in the Mississippi Delta, Australia “Honey Bee” Jones sat calm and reserved in a chair on the MLK Park Stage in downtown Clarksdale. The weather was mild. A light wind blew, but the sun shone brightly, making it feel hotter than the actual temperature of 90 degrees. It was […]