For years, the Rev. Donald Perryman wondered why the formerly thriving Black downtown of Toledo, Ohio, couldn’t get a grocery store. His suspicions were confirmed after a city study found in 2020 that the opening of new Dollar General stores drove other companies out of business, deterring potential grocers from investing there. He, along with […]
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 inHealth, Mental Health
The Criminalization of Black Men’s Mental Health
Jordan Neely wasn’t committing a crime. He was in need of help. In the week since he died after a lethal choke hold inside a New York City subway car, his family has called the statement from the ex-Marine who killed him “a character assassination.” He didn’t know anything about Neely’s mental health history before […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Looked to Cash In on the CBD Industry. Now, Hemp Is in Decline.
When Brendalyn King and her partner, Osei Doyle, quit their jobs and left Brooklyn, New York, in 2020 to buy land, they had high hopes of entering the growing industrial hemp industry. They moved to Salem, Illinois, to farm on a family friend’s land until they were able to buy the property. However, they never […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and Why Does It Go Underdiagnosed in Black Women?
My body stiffened at the news I received from my OB-GYN. I had been anxiously waiting for the results from a uterine ultrasound, a test that I desperately hoped would get to the root of my immensely painful and irregular periods. I had suffered in silence for years, then spent at least one more traveling […]
Posted inMoney, The Workplace
Black People Still Experience Racial Bias in the Hiring Process. Can AI Help?
While more than half of U.S. adults agree that artificial intelligence technology could help improve racial bias in the hiring process, Black Americans are more skeptical, a recent report found. About 47% of Black people who see racial bias in hiring as an issue agree that AI could improve the process, versus 64% of Asian […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Jackson Residents Join Fight to Stop Law That Strips Away Voting Power
Mere days after the NAACP sued Mississippi state officials over two new laws the civil rights organization says are discriminatory, three Jackson residents are following a similar course, arguing in a lawsuit filed on Monday that one of the laws is a violation of the Mississippi Constitution. “State lawmakers have said that this takeover of […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
Tennessee Wants to Take Land from Black Residents So a Ford Plant Can Benefit
When retired nurse Rosa Whitmore-Miller left New York City after 40 years for the peace of her hometown of Stanton, Tennessee, she never expected she’d have to fight to keep the land her family worked hard to cultivate. “It wasn’t just handed to us, like some people inherit. We had to go out there and […]
Posted inCulture, History
The Fight to Stop the Erasure of Historic Black Towns
The Rev. Darryl Johnson rejoiced when he received a text message that a deal to sell the remaining 100 acres of the historic Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School property in Eatonville, Florida, fell through a week ago. After hearing the news that a developer dropped out of the controversial plan to buy the land, the […]
Posted inCulture, History
Once an ‘All-Black Utopia,’ Eatonville Residents Say New Development Could Erase History
Millard Livatt takes pride in knowing the literary destination he’s called home for more than 50 years is still standing. Made famous by the late Zora Neale Hurston, Eatonville, Florida, is one of the oldest Black-incorporated towns in the U.S. Despite high poverty rates, limited job opportunities and food insecurity, Livatt said he looks beyond […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
What’s Missing in Financial Literacy Courses in School? Experts Explain.
At least 15 states have joined the growing movement to make financial literacy a requirement for high school graduation. Utah became the first to require a half-credit financial literacy class as a graduation mandate in 2004. Today, eight states require a stand-alone course that provides students with an understanding of personal finance and skills to […]
