This is the second story in our series chronicling the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On the first night of Essence Fest, Paper Machine, an artist space in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, came alive with creativity and community. Inside a sunlit room, Lauryn Hinton gathered neighbors around long tables scattered with scissors, glossy magazines, […]
Money
Posted inTechnology
‘Digital Resistance’: Black Coders Battle Biased AI Systems
For African Americans, providing our data to artificial intelligence — or AI — doesn’t end when you start a search for a protest happening near you, ask for the best Black-owned businesses, or even about whether you need a lawyer when speaking with law enforcement. Technology experts say our personal data and the questions we […]
Posted inHousing
From Watts to D.C.: How 500 Black Neighborhoods Vanished in 45 Years
Ignited by a single arrest and fueled by decades of poverty and police brutality, the Watts Uprising of 1965 turned the Los Angeles neighborhood into a national symbol of Black struggle and resilience. Thousands of Black residents like Ted Watkins Sr. rose up in anger and desperation. They were fighting for resources to maintain their […]
Posted inCulture, Economic Development, History
‘Sinners’ Shows Clarksdale’s Past. What’s Next for the Birthplace of the Blues?
CLARKSDALE, MISS. – Tyler Yarbrough makes it clear. Sinners and the cultural fest that followed may have thrust Clarksdale into the national spotlight, but this moment represents the culmination of years of hard-fought progress. In as little as three weeks, community members, more than a dozen sponsors, and partners planned and executed Clarksdale Culture Capital’s […]
Posted inEconomy, Elections, Politics & Policy
PG County Has Long Been a Bastion of Black Wealth. Now It Faces an Uncertain Economic Future.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — As a special education teacher, Ivan Johnson can’t stop worrying about what might lie in store for his students. President Donald Trump has long vowed to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Though he says that his administration won’t slash funds for students with disabilities, teachers and advocates worry that […]
Posted inEmployment, Federal Overhaul, Mental Health, Politics & Policy
Fired, Rehired, Fired Again. Massive Federal Cuts Leave Black Workers Reeling.
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. Regina Fuller-White had been applying for various roles at the United States Agency for International Development for more than a year, filling out applications whenever a new position opened up only to hear […]
Posted inCulture, Economic Development
‘Sinners’ Is Set in Clarksdale, Where There’s No Theater. Locals Are Asking for a Screening.
Tyler Yarbrough didn’t see Sinners once, but twice. The film, which has made more than $200 million at the box office, is authentically Mississippi Delta through and through, he said. From the Chinese Delta history to the Black businesses, residents say director and filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who has Mississippi roots, did his homework. On both […]
Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy
Black Renters Could Be Displaced by Historic Affordable Housing Cuts
Elisha Fye Jr. grew up hearing his father’s stories of the Jim Crow South. There, Elisa Sr. was born on a plantation in 1918 and one of 14 children in a family of sharecroppers who toiled all year for just $200 and a share of the crops in Vidalia, Georgia. After a violent run-in with […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Culture, History, Money
‘Sinners’ Honored Juke Joints. Today, They’re Fighting to Stay Open.
The blues runs deep through Orlando Paden’s veins. As a child, he danced for nickels and quarters by the jukebox. He cleaned, crushed cans, and bagged them. He’d greet Mr. Bill, the bouncer, at the front door of his father’s juke joint, and watch patrons play pool and arcade games. Folks broke beer bottles, fought, […]
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 […]