Posted inBlack Migration, Climate Change, Economic Development, Environmental Justice, Housing, Politics & Policy

As the Sea Rises and Rents Triple, Miami’s Black Neighborhoods Are Disappearing

This is the second story in a series on “climate gentrification.” Support for this series was provided by The Neal Peirce Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting journalism on ways to make cities and their larger regions work better for all people. MIAMI — By the time Latonya Floyd came outside, the photographer’s lens […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing, Politics & Policy

Trump Weakened FEMA, and a Black St. Louis Neighborhood Is Paying the Price

ST. LOUIS — The tapping sound drew Jeffrey Bingham to his front window. Outside, the world was folding in on itself. Trees bent sideways. Power lines snapped. Across the street, a two-story brick house crumbled and disappeared instantly. Then his windows blew and the front door ripped open. He ran for the basement as pressure […]

Posted inEconomic Development, Housing, Rural Issues

In Rural Mississippi, a Black Town Bets on New Homes to Build Wealth

JONESTOWN, Mississippi —  Felisha Stevenson has lived her whole life in this all-Black town of 852 people where everybody knows everybody. “My family, my mom, my cousin, my uncles, we’re just close,” the 40-year-old said. “In the neighborhood that I stay in right now, my sister is next door. My uncle is across the street.” […]

Posted inBlack Migration, Climate Change, Economic Development, Environmental Justice, Housing, Politics & Policy

The Black Mecca’s Climate Plan Is Costing Black Atlanta Residents Their Homes

This is the first story in a series on “climate gentrification” in Black neighborhoods. Support for this series was provided by The Neal Peirce Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting journalism on ways to make cities and their larger regions work better for all people. ATLANTA — By the time Atlanta hosts a World Cup […]

Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy

Georgia Lawmakers With Real Estate Ties Are Writing the State’s Housing Laws

This article was produced in partnership with the nonprofit newsroom Type Investigations, where Chauncey Alcorn and Adam Mahoney are 2025-2026 Ida B. Wells fellows. When Kenneth Porter moved to Atlanta from Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2016 to advance his career in the entertainment industry, he rented part of a two-bedroom townhouse on Atlanta’s eastside for […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing

Insurance Crisis Leaves Black Homeowners One Disaster Away From Homelessness

The insurance check to rebuild Zaire Calvin’s family properties came in at just under $300,000, a drop in the bucket compared to the roughly $2.1 million they had been worth. His family had five homes sprawled across two lots in the leafy suburb of Altadena, California, before the Eaton Fire unleashed its wrath, leveling both […]

Posted inClimate Change, Housing, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Wealth Gap

This Mississippi Delta Home Could Collapse Before Help Arrives

SIDON, Mississippi — Malissa Whitehead is known for making tea cakes and blueberry pies during the holidays — but as Christmas approaches, she’s uneasy about baking anything in the house she’s lived in for 40 years.  The kitchen ceiling wood is peeling, revealing small holes and chipped paint. On the outside, the roof is covered […]

Posted inEconomic Development, Housing, Politics & Policy

In LA, Olympic Dreams Lead to Nightmares for a Historic Black Community

Fre’Drisha Dixon can still recall the laughter that once spilled across the playground of the now-shuttered Clyde Woodworth Elementary School in Inglewood. Just as clearly, she can conjure up the loud banging of the bulldozers that plowed through the school’s classrooms last year.  Today, both sounds are drowned out by talk of turning that barren […]

Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing, Mental Health

20 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Residents Are Most Vulnerable to ‘Die of Despair’

This is the fourth story in our series chronicling the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Trigger warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide, gun violence, and child deaths that may be distressing to some readers. As the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approached in 2015, Michelle McCullum, a 25-year-old mother of two, drove her children, […]

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