When Naimah Muhammad heard that her alma mater, Fisk University, planned to build a data center on campus, she was annoyed and confused. The announcement came just days after the spring semester ended. There were no hearings, town halls, or meetings with students or residents of the majority-Black neighborhood in north Nashville, Tennessee, she said. […]
Alecia Taylor
Alecia Taylor is the national education reporter at Capital B.
Posted inCulture, LGBTQ
How D.C.’s Ballroom Culture Is Pushing Back Against Anti-Black and LGBTQ+ Attacks
WASHINGTON — “The category is femme boys!” As Nicko Garçon announced the next field of contestants at the Equity Ball on Friday, participants in bold, metallic, futuristic dresses and military-inspired costumes stepped forward. A panel of the judges nodded in approval, handing out scores. The ball marked the first time Garçon worked as an emcee, […]
Posted inCommunity, LGBTQ
Your Guide to Black Pride Celebrations Across the Country This Summer
Every June, two liberation movements share the same month — Pride and Juneteenth. It’s the perfect time to celebrate Black queer joy. Across the country, as the days get hotter and the sounds of summer get louder, from kiki balls to parades to wellness events, there are Black Pride celebrations that go into the fall. […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education
HBCU Funding Fight Puts First-Generation Students at Risk
ST. LOUIS — With a 2.0 high school GPA, Xavier Hickman thought college was unattainable. But mentors in the TRIO Upward Bound Program challenged him to not limit himself. A low GPA didn’t have to block him from going to the next level. Hickman’s family didn’t have much, and the program was designed for students […]
Posted inCulture, News, Politics & Policy
‘We’re Not Going Back’: Black Voters March in Alabama Against Redistricting
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Roy Wilson remembers marching with his family before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. More than 60 years later, the 77-year-old answered the nationwide call to action this weekend as hundreds mobilized across Selma and Montgomery against the direct attacks on the voting protections he fought for as a teenager. […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy
An HBCU Canceled Its MAGA Commencement Speaker, Now Republicans Want to Defund It
Less than two weeks before graduation day, students at South Carolina State University learned that a MAGA-supporting politician had been invited to speak at their upcoming commencement ceremony. The students wasted no time in taking their grievances about South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to the school’s president and provost. Three days after the news […]
Posted inCulture
5 Black Designers to Watch Out For at the 2026 Met Gala
Black designers helped shape one of fashion’s biggest nights last year, but will their creations get the same red carpet treatment again? The highly anticipated 2026 Met Gala takes place May 4 and is co-chaired by iconic Black women such as Beyoncé and Venus Williams. Misty Copeland, Doja Cat, Teyana Taylor, A’ja Wilson, and Angela […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Culture, Juvenile Justice, Policing, Politics & Policy
Black Teens Called ‘Radioactive’ as D.C. Cuts Programs Meant to Help Them
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Youth advocate Kawana Billy nearly jumped out of her chair listening to the way a white D.C. Council member described Black youth in Washington. To him, they were “dangerous” and “radioactive,” and at one point, he alleged young people carry guns and scare residents. “It’s very interesting how folks are using these […]
Posted inHBCUs, Sports
HBCUs Say They Stand to Lose Out if College Athlete Pay Rules Don’t Change
When Trayvean Scott was a college basketball player at Southern University in the 2000s, he says, he was never asked to throw a game in return for a payout. But more than 20 years later, he worries that the lack of a uniform policy about student athletes getting paid for their name, image or likeness […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education
A Financial Crisis Could Upend Kentucky’s Only Public HBCU
Jamya Chenault is finishing her third year as a mass communications major at Kentucky State University, but the state legislature has her worried about what will happen if the state takes control. In March, a plan was unveiled in the Kentucky General Assembly that would shave Kentucky State’s academic offerings and assign it a new […]