HARRIS NECK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Ga. — Over the course of what was a scorching, yet typical May day across Coastal Georgia, Willie Moran made it a point to stop and take a deep breath at every sight of water. Looking out across the estuaries and salt marshes teeming with wildlife, he repeatedly reminded his […]
Culture
Posted inCulture
After ‘Sinners,’ Clarksdale Locals Used the Spotlight to Build Unity
CLARKSDALE, Mississippi — Dave Houston still can’t believe what he helped bring to life in his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. For three days last week, he, along with a small committee, hosted the first ever Clarksdale Day Festival to unify the city and celebrate the culture, history, and traditions of the people who live in […]
Posted inHBCUs, Sports
HBCUs Are Keeping Black Baseball’s Legacy Alive With Limited Resources
Cydney Cooper has been playing softball since she was 5 years old. Playing the sport in South Carolina came with being the only Black girl on the team, or one of a few Black players. As a shy, dark-skinned girl, Cooper said people often thought she had an attitude, but she was just quiet and […]
Posted inHistory
The Long Journey to Preserve Emmett Till’s Story, 70 Years After His Lynching
At about 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. arrived by train in Greenwood, Mississippi. He traveled for nearly 13 hours from Chicago aboard the Amtrak City of New Orleans. This first-of-its-kind commemorative ride was done to honor the life of his cousin and best friend, Emmett Till. Parker and Till […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
What’s Really in the Blacksonian. It’s Not How Trump Framed It.
Photographs by Kuwilileni Hauwanga/Capital B “Woke.” “Out of control.” “Nothing about success.” President Donald Trump on Aug. 19 took to his social media platform to post about what he believes are the failures of the Smithsonian Institution when it comes to depicting the experiences of Black Americans. He claimed that the Smithsonian — which includes […]
Posted inHistory
Black Tourists Defend History as Trump Targets the Smithsonian
WASHINGTON — When Ronnie Underwood heard President Donald Trump’s claim this week that the Smithsonian Institution is “out of control” and focuses on “how horrible our country is,” he grew angry, he said. The way Underwood, 65, sees it, if we don’t know our past, how can we learn from it? He’s from Bessemer, Alabama, and […]
Posted inCulture, Environmental Justice
This Photographer Preserved Life in New Orleans Before Katrina — With a Polaroid Camera
This is the fifth story in our series chronicling the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. All photos by Polo Silk unless noted. NEW ORLEANS — There weren’t always a pair of security guards standing outside of Big Man’s Lounge in Uptown New Orleans. As a teenager in the early 1980s, Selwhyn Sthaddeus “Polo Silk” Terrell […]
Posted inBlack Migration, Culture, Extreme Weather, History
Hurricane Katrina Displaced a Generation — and Led to a Renaissance in Houston
HOUSTON — On a recent Sunday afternoon, tears welled in Sharon Becnel’s eyes as she heard her now 34-year-old daughter reminisce about the scrapbook she lost to Hurricane Katrina. Inside the pages were Ronisha Johnson’s childhood dreams of becoming an actress and winning a big case as a lawyer. She had only packed for a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, History
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth
CENTER, Texas — As Delbert Jackson turned right onto the clean, sandy-paved stretch of Martin Luther King Drive, his chin lifted with quiet pride. The road’s upkeep is due in large part to Jackson, who leads regular community cleanups in the city. On this humid and sunny morning in early June, something felt a bit […]
Posted inClimate Change, Culture, Social Welfare, Sports
Black Kids Are 2x More Likely To Drown. This Organization is Offering Free Swim Lessons.
Across the country, Black children and youth are twice as likely as the general population to die by drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And this crisis is compounded by the fact that their parents are 20% more likely to be non-swimmers, creating a cycle that perpetuates the problem across generations, […]