In a win for Gullah Geechee residents on Georgia’s sea islands, voters this week rejected an ordinance that doubled the allowed square footage for homes in Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock district. Many Black residents feared the change would lead to higher property taxes, gentrification, and displacement. Unofficial results on Tuesday showed 19% of 10,000 registered […]
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 inEconomic Development, Eminent Domain
Mississippi Residents Say City Quietly Marked Their Homes for Takeover
Greg Gipson walked out of a federal appeals court in Louisiana last week feeling a bit more hopeful about a case that was dismissed in Mississippi over his historic neighborhood’s designation. Gipson and other residents drove 93 miles from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to New Orleans to persuade a panel of federal judges to reconsider whether their […]
Posted inClimate Change, Housing, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Wealth Gap
This Mississippi Delta Home Could Collapse Before Help Arrives
SIDON, Mississippi — Malissa Whitehead is known for making tea cakes and blueberry pies during the holidays — but as Christmas approaches, she’s uneasy about baking anything in the house she’s lived in for 40 years. The kitchen ceiling wood is peeling, revealing small holes and chipped paint. On the outside, the roof is covered […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
This Alabama Cattle Rancher Is Ready for a Legal Battle to Protect His Land
SELMA, Alabama — On a sunny, humid summer afternoon, Willie Palmer Jr. gathered his cows under a tree for feeding time. He watched as they roamed the grounds, passing by a slew of vehicles, a shed, and barn on his 20-acre property. As the animals feasted, Palmer stood quietly for a moment, taking in the […]
Posted inHealth Equity, Partner Content, Transportation, Voices of Change
How Rosa Parks’ Legacy Inspired a New Fight Over Who Could Ride the Bus
Originally published by The 19th Decades after her act of defiance, Rosa Parks galvanized a cadre of activists to protest their own conditions and, though the scope of her legacy for them is still coming into focus, it remains just as powerful. They were fighting for disability access, and, like Parks, they used public transportation […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Community
Why Fresh Collard Greens Are Becoming a Holiday Lifeline in These Communities
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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, Gun Violence, K-12, Partner Content
Does Closing A School Contribute to Gun Violence in Philadelphia?
Originally published by MindSite News. KIPP North Philadelphia Academy charter school has been operating since 2018 in the red brick school building on North 16th Street at Cumberland Street. Bright KIPP banners hang off the four-story building, but you can still see the fading letters “M Hall Stanton” on the facade. That’s because KIPP only […]
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 […]