DeSOTO COUNTY, Mississippi. — Hester Jackson-McCray witnessed the beginning of the economic boom in this Mississippi Delta county when she moved south from Chicago in 1999. Year after year, she has watched the county attract newcomers and grow culturally and economically, cotton fields giving way to subdivisions and shopping centers. Other Black families like hers […]
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 inNews
NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus Lends Support in Nolan Wells’ Case
From the National Urban League Conference to the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention, Nolan Wells’ parents are on a nonstop campaign to get answers into the mysterious death of their son. They’re getting more help in their quest, this time from the NAACP’s Office of General Counsel, which announced Aug. 17 that it […]
Posted inCourts, History, Rural Issues
How One Woman Landed in Jail Over a Fight to Protect Her Family’s Land
Jennine Labuzan spent two weeks in federal custody in June — shuttled from her residence in Georgia to Tennessee to Mississippi — after refusing a judge’s order to sign away more than 1,300 acres of land she says her family has owned for generations. Her arrest and release came after a legal battle she never […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
How Jackson’s Former Mayor Went From Progressive Star to Guilty Plea
Jackson, Mississippi, resident and social justice organizer Danyelle Holmes saw up close the scrutiny and efforts by the state’s top leaders to remove her friend and former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba from office during his tenure. Lumumba consistently fought back against lawmakers and the governor for refusing to fix the city’s crumbling infrastructure, she said, […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy
Black Farmers Win Court Case That Restores $127 Million in Federal Grants
Black farmers like Sharon Mallory can finally get some relief after a judge ruled to restore millions of dollars in grants. Earlier this year, the Trump administration yanked the money away from organizations led by and in support of Black farmers. Mallory’s organization, the 2020 Farmers Cooperative, promised to purchase equipment and land and provide […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
In the Oldest Town in Texas, Black Farmers Gathered to Secure Their Future
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Jermal Sanders fell in love with farming as a child. When he saw the seeds he planted produce fruit, he began to take farming more seriously. He took agriculture classes in middle school — from gardening to horticulture. As a 26-year-old, he’s building a farm to call his own. On a scorching […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
One of America’s Last Black Homesteads Is Fighting to Preserve Its Full Story
Beverly Steele didn’t realize her hometown could be recognized for its historic significance. It’s one of the only two African American homesteading communities left in the nation. In Royal, Florida, Black families are still holding onto the inherited 40-acre plot passed down nearly two centuries ago. It’s a rare reality in America today, given the […]
Posted inEconomy, Elections, Politics & Policy
Black Women in Mississippi Are Connecting Voting to Peace and Prosperity
Over the years, Gabrielle Wyatt has heard directly from Black women nationally who described wealth as not only earnings, but about the conditions to live fully with financial freedom, abundance of choice, belonging, and thriving health. With the attack on Black economic and political power, Black women have been hit the hardest, disproportionately suffering from […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Sue USDA Over $127 Million in Canceled Grants
When Sharon Mallory’s nonprofit received a $13 million federal grant to help farmers, it felt like a blessing and answered prayer. Through the 2020 Farmers Cooperative, the group had planned to purchase equipment and land and offer technical assistance to Black farmers. But in March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency snatched those […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Cross Burning, Federal Charges, and the State That Still Won’t Call It a Hate Crime
Monica Williams’ phone notifications wouldn’t stop dinging while in class. During her free moment from teaching, she checked her text messages. She learned that her former neighbor, Worden E. Butler had been indicted in April. Williams and her husband, Shawn, have accused Butler, who is white, of burning a cross in his backyard. “You are […]
