A group of white farmers sued the federal government last year over a $4 billion loan forgiveness program created for farmers of color. The lawsuit stalled payment distribution to Black recipients and pushed the Biden administration to replace the race-conscious program — created to address past discrimination by the USDA — with a race-neutral version. […]
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 inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
The Government Failed to Help Black Farmers. These Women Created a Fund for Them.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decades of discrimination against Black farmers has resulted in lost land, economic instability, and a decline of diversity in the industry. During the pandemic, access to capital became an even larger barrier for farmers trying to keep their farms or, in the case of new farmers, obtain land. Farmer-activists Olivia […]
Posted inEducation, Student Loans
Student Loan Forgiveness Is On Hold. What’s Next for Black Borrowers?
A Texas judge this month halted President Joe Biden’s landmark student loan relief plan, which aims to forgive up to $20,000 in debt for tens of millions of borrowers. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the judge’s ruling and allow Biden’s debt forgiveness program to move forward. […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
How Gerrymandering Hurt Black Voters in the Midterms
A record number of Black candidates ran for seats in Congress this week, hoping to increase representation in a predominately white legislature. But only a fraction of Black candidates won their races on Nov. 8. One possible explanation: gerrymandering. In Florida, incumbent Rep. Al Lawson, a Democrat who served in Congress since 2017, lost his […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Why So Many Black Candidates Struggled in the Midterm Elections
Several Black candidates made history on election night: Democrat Wes Moore became Maryland’s first Black governor. Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old progressive activist, won his bid to become the youngest member of Congress. And in Pennsylvania, voters elected their first Black U.S. representative, Democrat Summer Lee. But for many more — particularly those whose names topped […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Black Voters Turn Out to Polls Despite Election Day Confusion
Black voters were at the center of legal disputes and polling-site confusion on Election Day, as voting rights advocates responded to allegations of intimidation at the polls and Republican interference in ballot counts. In Philadelphia, election officials made a last-minute change to the ballot-count process on Tuesday that could delay the vote tally for days, […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
The Black Candidates to Watch on Election Day
The Nov. 8 elections have the potential to be historic, as a record number of candidates are running to become the first Black woman or Black man to hold their office. With diverse faces on ballots nationwide — from governorships to school board races — Tuesday’s midterms could increase Black political power across layers of […]
Posted inRural Issues
Meet Deidre DeJear, the Black Woman Hoping to Become Iowa’s Next Governor
Deidre DeJear is used to being a “first.” In 2018, she became the first Black person nominated by a major party for a statewide office in Iowa when she campaigned for secretary of state. Now, she’s Iowa’s first Black nominee for governor, hoping to unseat Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in a historic midterm election on […]
Posted inRural Issues
Meet the Rural, Black Voters Who Hold the Key to Georgia’s Midterm Elections
WAYNESBORO, Ga. — In the midday heat on a late September afternoon, Shamarius “Sham” Bolton, a 25-year-old lead canvasser with the New Georgia Project, scrolled on his phone to find the next house on his list of registered voters. His task was simple: Talk to residents about their hopes, concerns, and plans for November’s midterm […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Jackson’s Not Alone. Water Crises Are Plaguing Black Communities Nationwide.
JACKSON, Miss. — The historic floods that washed across southern Louisiana in 2016 left Joyce Turner Keller’s home so damaged she was forced to sleep in her car. The Baton Rouge native had no flood insurance to recover the belongings she lost in the floodwaters. Government officials were slow to respond as she struggled with […]
