The Leah Chase School got a lifeline this week after the Orleans Parish School Board decided to keep the district’s only direct-run public school open for the next two years. On Jan. 8, parents, teachers and community members packed a room in the office space where the school board meets to demand the district keep […]
Alecia Taylor
Alecia Taylor is the national education reporter at Capital B.
Posted inBlack Businesses
Where to Find Black-Owned Bookstores Across the U.S.
Black-owned bookstores are popping up around the country, offering spaces and access to books that may not be on the shelves at chain bookstores. Larger corporations like Amazon and Target sometimes sell books at a lower price compared to independent Black bookstores. Five bookstore owners told Capital B their stores provide community, something large corporations […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education, Public Safety
Black Colleges Enhance Security in Response to Bomb Threats
This story is a collaboration between Capital B and Open Campus. HAMPTON, Virginia — Just weeks into the start of the fall semester, Nick Jones was walking back to his Hampton University dorm when he got an alert that the campus was on lockdown. “Yo … should I be outside?” he thought to himself, but really, he was […]
Posted inCommunity, HBCUs
The HBCU Students Staying on Campus During the Holidays — And Loving It
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Xavier University alumna Destinee Kerr remembers being a broke freshman, barely scraping by to pay a phone bill and her out-of-state tuition. She dreamed of attending the Bayou Classic, an annual Thanksgiving weekend event and football game in New Orleans. While Kerr always wanted to go, she could never afford it, let […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Politics & Policy
Republicans Allege Discrimination at George Mason, but the Data Tells a Different Story
FAIRFAX, Virginia — Amani Banks, a George Mason University freshman, sat on the south side of the campus last week and pointed out that the student body is more diverse than her professors. When the college’s president, Gregory Washington, arrived on campus in 2020, he encouraged the hiring of more people of color through what […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs, Higher Education, Voting
Inside Blexit’s Bid to Win Over Young Black Voters at HBCUs
BOWIE, Maryland — On one of the last stops on the Educate to Liberate tour, conservative influencer Siaka Massaquoi and other supporters stood behind the student center on Bowie State’s campus for nearly four hours asking students about their ideologies and thoughts on being Black. “It was a surprising, on-the-spot type of thing,” said Daniel […]
Posted inHBCUs, Public Safety
Deadly Homecoming Weekend Prompts HBCUs to Rethink Campus Safety Plans
BOWIE, Maryland — Bowie State University junior Tamia McClorin remembers people running after a shooting near campus during her first homecoming two years ago. It’s an image she can’t forget. “I literally saw a guy that was shot and just lying in the ditch. … I was just freaking out,” McClorin recalled. “It was literally […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs
Jackson State Names New President After High Leadership Turnover
Denise Jones Gregory has been named Jackson State University’s 14th president after a monthslong national search. The university alumna had been serving as the interim president after former president Marcus Thompson resigned in May 2025 without explanation. Prior to serving as interim president, she worked as provost and vice president of academic affairs at JSU, […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
Black Virginia School Board Member Censured After Turning Point USA Clash
Weeks after a heated debate over the possibility of starting a high school chapter of deeply conservative Turning Point USA, a Black Virginia school board vice chairman has been censured for “unbecoming” conduct after a board meeting. Prince William County School Board member Tracy L. Blake is accused of being “aggressive” and bullying another board […]
Posted inEducation, Politics & Policy
Federal Layoffs Put Head Start, FAFSA, and Civil Rights Investigations at Risk
The U.S. Department of Education has begun laying off more than 450 employees — many of whom oversee special education and civil rights enforcement. After the layoffs, a federal judge in San Francisco on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing government workers. While the judge’s decision has temporarily prevented more cuts to government […]