What might happen to federal checks on anti-Black violence once Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office in January? Maybe this question popped into your head after you read that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the killing of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a […]
Brandon Tensley
Brandon Tensley is Capital B's national politics reporter.
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
A Trump Win, Against the Will of Most Black Voters
For the overwhelming majority of Black voters, a political nightmare is becoming a reality: Donald Trump secured enough Electoral College votes to win the 2024 presidential election, according to the Associated Press. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. In the weeks leading up to Election […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Education, Environmental Justice, LGBTQ, Politics & Policy, Reproductive Health
What Trump’s Second Term Could Look Like for Black Americans
The dread many Black Americans feel about Donald Trump’s triumph in the 2024 presidential election isn’t misplaced: He organized his reelection campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris around revenge — around how he and his allies can inflict the greatest amount of suffering on vulnerable groups and on those he considers enemies. Making things worse, […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Vibe Check: What Every Black Voter Should Know for Election Day
Election Day is here. For some voters, it’s already a nightmare. Shantae Martin is a lifelong Virginian who cast her first ballot for Barack Obama. But the 37-year-old recently found out through a notice in the mail that her voter registration had been canceled, supposedly because she’s a noncitizen. “I was confused, to be honest. […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy
The Fight for ‘Freedom’
This time around, the rumors were true. Houston native Beyoncé Knowles-Carter returned to her hometown Friday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. The campaign’s anthem, Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom,” played as Harris took the stage. Back in August, rumors had circulated that the global music phenomenon was scheduled to perform at the Democratic National Convention […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Was Obama Right About Black Men’s Support for Harris?
Former president Barack Obama said that Black men are “coming up with all kinds of reasons” to avoid turning out for Harris. Things came to a head last week when a pretty heated Barack Obama attempted a bit of “tough love” at a Pittsburgh campaign office for Vice President Kamala Harris. The former president said […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
How a Black Furniture Factory Worker Became a Face of the MAGA Movement
Mark Robinson has been North Carolina’s lieutenant governor since 2021 and its Republican gubernatorial nominee. He said that he wants to serve on behalf of all North Carolinians, and has sketched out plans for the economy and education. Over the course of a few years, Robinson has become a recognizable face of Trump’s MAGA movement, […]
Posted inCourts, Gun Violence, Public Safety
‘Ghost Guns,’ Black Communities, and the Case That Could Alter a Crisis
Two years ago, 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo was leaving her favorite bodega in the Bronx borough of New York City when she was struck and killed by a stray bullet. That bullet came from a 9 mm pistol that lacked a serial number, which most guns have. But this wasn’t a traditional firearm. It was a […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
VP Debate Fact Check: What We Did — and Didn’t — Learn
Americans tuned in on Tuesday night to see Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio duke it out over a host of issues, from immigration to abortion to Jan. 6. Less than half an hour into the policy-heavy showdown, the conversation turned to the threats facing Black migrants that have arisen […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Black Election Workers Brace for Security Threats
Black Voters and the Fight for Democracy is a multipart series that explores the stakes of the 2024 election for our communities. This project was produced as part of the Advancing Democracy Fellowship. Deidre Lesesne, a Pittsburgh-based poll worker, remembers the anger that seized her in 2020 when a group of white election observers harassed […]
