When word spread through Bessemer, Alabama, earlier this year that a tech giant was eyeing hundreds of pine-covered acres at the city’s edge, Benard Simelton’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing. The longtime NAACP leader had fielded calls about toxic air and shuttered steel mills before, but this, he said, was new to him. At first, the […]
Money
Posted inExtreme Weather, Money, Wealth Gap
Climate Disasters Are Destroying Black Retirements and the American Dream
Standing in front of the Pasadena, California, City Council in June, Totress Beasley begged for support. After being displaced twice — after previous landlords sold the rental properties she called home — she explained how she thought she should put her life in her own hands and buy her own house. For five years, through the Great Recession, the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Economy
Hollywood South Is Hurting: Georgia’s Film Industry Weathers a Brutal Downturn
Atlanta has long been the scene where Black creatives could thrive both behind and in front of the camera. Since the 1970s, when then-Gov. Jimmy Carter launched the Georgia Film Office, the opening of Tyler Perry studios and other large-scale production facilities over the past twenty years, and a favorable film tax credit, the state […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy, Technology
In Houston, A Program Turns Sunlight into Second Chances for Incarcerated Texans
HOUSTON — Leon Dillard gripped the solar panel tight, sweat stinging his eyes as he scaled the sun-baked roof for the first time. His adrenaline racing, he remembered making sure his harness was clipped not once, but twice. He’d never climbed up onto a roof before, let alone with a 50-pound panel of metal and […]
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 inCulture, Economic Development
Georgia’s Highest Court Sides With Sapelo Island Residents to Put Land Battle on Ballot
In a win for Black landowners, Georgia’s highest court unanimously sided with Gullah Geechee communities in a long-standing zoning battle on Sapelo Island. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped a referendum to consider repealing a revised zoning ordinance passed by McIntosh County officials two years ago. A […]
Posted inFood Access, Politics & Policy
For 30 Years, a Report Tracked Hunger in America. Now It’s Been Canceled
After three decades of tracking food insecurity, understanding the reality of Americans without access to reliable food may become more difficult due to the discontinuation of a federal survey. The Household Food Security Report is an annual, national survey that monitors the severity of food insecurity in U.S. households. The United States Department of Agriculture […]
Posted inEconomy
U.S. District Judge Blocks Lisa Cook’s Removal From the Federal Reserve
A federal district court judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the removal of Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Last month, Cook came under fire from President Donald Trump in a social media post alleging that she committed mortgage fraud. While Cook has not officially been charged with any crimes, he called for […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Black Farmers, Economy, Politics & Policy
Black-Owned Businesses Confront Rising Costs Amid Trump’s Tariffs
Sweeping tariffs took effect Thursday, and while President Donald Trump has said the tariffs would lead to factories and jobs moving back to the United States, for Black Americans and small-business owners, it is not that simple. Prices are expected to dramatically rise for clothing and shoes; electronics like cellphones and computers; cars and auto […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Economy, Partner Content
For Black Women, Seeds of Wealth Start With Homeownership
After she moved into her first apartment in 2021, a one-bedroom unit in East Baltimore, Saj Dillard realized her rent wouldn’t have gotten her much once her lease ended. The recent college graduate wanted to grow her capital, build wealth and have the chance to own something. So, she set a goal for herself — […]