It took Sen. Cory Booker 25 hours and 5 minutes to make his point: The Trump administration’s actions are harmful to everyday Americans — and a disruption is necessary. “I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because […]
Brandon Tensley
Brandon Tensley is Capital B's national politics reporter.
Posted inBlack Businesses, Politics & Policy, Technology
With TikTok Ban in Limbo, Black Creators Face an Uncertain Future
The story has been updated. The original story was published on January 16. Lifestyle content creator Talia Cadet hasn’t quit her day job, but TikTok has changed her life, she says. The additional income generated from her viral lists of Black-owned products, books she loves, and local events has made “a huge difference,” especially as […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy, The Workplace
The Trump Administration Is Leaving Federal Workers Vulnerable to Discrimination
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. “Overbearing.” “Intimidating.” “Aggressive.” Oscar Hampton, a Black former attorney at the U.S. Department of Labor, claimed in a federal district court complaint filed in 2023 that this was the language that white attorneys at […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Rep. Al Green Accepts Censure Vote and Recalls Civil Rights Era Protests
Rep. Al Green of Texas thought about the Black liberation struggle of the 1960s on Thursday, as House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, prepared to read the resolution censuring the 77-year-old Democratic lawmaker. “I recalled when we were faced with adverse circumstances, we would sing a song that would inspire and encourage us to move […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
DEI Didn’t Start With ‘Wokeness’ — What Trump Gets Wrong
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. President Donald Trump and his allies have turned diversity, equity, and inclusion into a catchall slur. The administration claims to be eliminating DEI, but what it’s doing is conflating issues, attacking long-established civil rights […]
Posted inMoney, Politics & Policy
Black People Missed Out on Millions in Stimulus Payments. Here’s How to Get Yours.
Stimulus payments the Internal Revenue Service is distributing to some 1 million taxpayers could be especially beneficial to Black Americans, who generally have lower and more volatile incomes than their white counterparts. In 2023, the median income was $56,490 for Black households and $89,050 for white households, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, LGBTQ
Sam Nordquist’s Death Highlights Violence Against Black Trans Men
Sam Nordquist craved romance. So, last September, he traveled to New York from his home in Oakdale, Minnesota, to meet his online girlfriend. A few months later, he was dead. On Feb. 13, human remains believed to be those of the 24-year-old Black transgender man (some outlets say that Nordquist identified as biracial) were found […]
Posted inEmployment, Federal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
How the Cutting of Federal Jobs Puts Black Workers at Risk
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. When Theodore Johnson was a young boy in Raleigh, North Carolina, he and his family had to be strategic to make ends meet. They often went shopping at Kmart months in advance, putting clothes […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Anti-DEI Assault Gains Momentum Under New DOJ Leadership
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is bringing the U.S. Department of Justice in line with President Donald Trump’s platform, as she continues the administration’s anti-diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility purge and appears to reverse the pro-civil rights agenda of her predecessor. On Wednesday — her first day in office — she issued a litany of […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Residents Liken Mississippi’s New Court System to ‘Modern Day Slavery’
This story originally published in 2024, but has been updated to reflect that three judges and a clerk have been sworn in. Jackson, Mississippi, resident and organizer Rukia Lumumba is frustrated with a federal appeals court decision that allows Mississippi to move forward with its separate, state-run court system in her hometown. Backed by a […]