Nearly 10 months before Rosa Parks’s famous act of defiance, a 15-year-old Black girl named Claudette Colvin had already refused to surrender her seat on a segregated bus on March 2, 1955. Even as the police arrived, the high school student refused to move, holding her ground. “History had me glued to the seat,” Colvin […]
News
Chicago’s Black Immigrants Face New Wave of ICE Arrests and Uncertainty
CHICAGO — Olayemi Owoludun was still in high school when Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. He was too young to vote, but not too young to feel its impact. A “terrified” friend who was an immigrant fell off the grid months after Trump’s first inauguration, he recalls. He was worried about his undocumented […]
Black Student Found Hanging at Delta State. Police Say No Foul Play.
This story has been updated. The death of a Black college student, who was found hanging from a tree on his school’s campus in Mississippi, sparking online speculation of a lynching, has been ruled a suicide, according to the state examiner’s office. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Sept. 17, after […]
Charlie Kirk Assassination Highlights Rising Political Violence in U.S.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk stunned first the audience at Utah Valley University, where he was shot while speaking Sept. 10, and then the country, as footage of his killing quickly spread. For many Americans, the conservative influencer’s death crystallized a growing fear: The United States is experiencing more and more political violence. Kirk, 31, […]
How to Use Clean Energy Tax Credits Before Congress Kills Them
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. The “one big beautiful bill” that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4 is set to upend many aspects of American life, including climate policy. The law, which Republicans backed en masse, not only derails the nation’s efforts to […]
Black Undocumented Migrants Face Far Higher Deportation Rates
One of the most underreported aspects of life for Black undocumented migrants can be summed up in one statistic: They’re deported at a rate four times more often than their numbers would suggest, according to an analysis of federal data by the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. The analysis showed that while Black migrants make […]
Fact Check: Trump’s Afrikaner Refugee Policy Based on Unfounded Claims About Land, White Farmer ‘Genocide’
President Donald Trump recently allowed 59 white Afrikaner farmers to resettle in the U.S. as refugees, saying they are losing their land in South Africa and are targets of genocide. When a reporter asked May 12 why he created an expedited path for Afrikaners, Trump said, “Because they’re being killed. And we don’t want to see […]
Black Farmers Brace for Trump’s Tariffs While Navigating USDA Office Closures
Third-generation farmer Igalious “Ike” Mills knew it was only a matter of time before a United States Department of Agriculture local office would close in his rural east Texas town. He’d heard of the ongoing closures nationwide and kept close watch on the news about President Donald Trump’s calls for tariffs on nearly all U.S. […]
Cory Booker’s 25-Hour Speech: ‘Our Nation Is in Crisis’
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 […]
Black Stories You May Have Missed in 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, Capital B is reflecting on some of the stories that resonated most with readers and our staff. These stories published this year highlight the brilliance, strength, and creativity of Black people in the face of both triumphs and challenges. At Capital B, we continuously tell unique stories that center […]

