The 2 Live Crew: Remember them? Led by Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, the hip-hop group pioneered the Miami bass genre and Southern rap more generally in the 1980s and ’90s, as they rattled car trunks and scandalized censors with lyrics that implored women to pop that … well, you know. Fast-forward a few decades, and […]
Brandon Tensley
Brandon Tensley is Capital B's national politics reporter.
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
The Supreme Court Fight That Could Unravel Who Gets to Be American
With birthright citizenship — which was enshrined in the 14th Amendment to clarify the legal status of Black Americans following the Civil War — on the chopping block, civil rights groups are on high alert for threats to all rights, even those long seen as safe. There’s concern that a decision undermining birthright citizenship “could […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Elders Without Birth Records Could Lose Vote Under SAVE America Act
When Courtney Patterson was born on his family’s farm in Lenoir County, North Carolina, 80 years ago, he was fortunate that a country doctor recorded his birth, ensuring that he would have a document later. “But many other people who grew up with me didn’t even have that,” Patterson recalled. Babies were usually delivered at […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Civil Rights Leaders Sound Alarm on SAVE America Act
Despite facing long odds, Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to begin debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill, also known as the SAVE America Act, is a deeply controversial proposal that civil rights groups say could disenfranchise millions — particularly Black Americans — by creating new barriers to the ballot box. The […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
From Crockett to Willis: 8 Black Officials Who Have Clashed With Trump
During a memorial service for the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in 2025, President Donald Trump made a stunningly candid admission when he said, “I hate my opponents.” His opponents don’t exactly love him, either, and some of the Black members of Congress, fed up with the limits of respectability politics, are dropping it to fire […]
Posted inHealth, LGBTQ, Politics & Policy
If PrEP Coverage Disappears, Georgia’s Black Communities Could Be Hit Hardest
Cullen Smith takes an HIV preventative medication every day for “added security” and “peace of mind” after he thought he may have contracted the disease from a partner last year. “Once that situation came up, if I wanted to keep my current health, I needed to take other actions,” said Smith, an Atlanta resident. “I […]
Posted inCulture, History, LGBTQ, Politics & Policy
As Chicago Celebrates Jesse Jackson’s Life, Those He Inspired Confront What’s Next
Jeanette Taylor, the alderwoman of Chicago’s 20th Ward, first met the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 2012. At the time, she was an organizer with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, and her executive director insisted that she meet him. Taylor was nervous: She knew his national stature, his speeches, his mystique — and “sometimes when you […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
For Black Texans, Primary Election Results in High Stakes for November
Texan Algenita Davis headed into her state’s primaries Tuesday with a clear sense of what she wanted the outcome to be. “You want to make sure that you put people in office who are going to make the most difference — who are going to fight,” said Davis, 75, a retiree who lives in the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Texans Head to the Primaries With More Than Just Ballots on the Line
Texan Algenita Davis isn’t just talking about the candidates as she heads into the March 3 primaries. She’s also talking about voting maps. From her home near the Old Spanish Trail and Cullen Boulevard in the Third Ward of Houston, she describes congressional lines that curve and stretch north and south across the city and […]
Posted inEconomy, Employment, Health, Politics & Policy
Trump Touts Success in State of the Union as Black Communities Reflect on Hard Year
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address opened with an uproar. A few minutes into Tuesday’s program, Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas was escorted from the chamber for breaking decorum rules after holding up a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes!” It was a rebuke to a racist video that Trump […]