When Ronald Davis III was deciding where to attend college in 2021, he was drawn to Eastern Washington University. He was recruited by the small school as defensive back, and being a kid from Seattle, staying home on a good football scholarship was all he could ask for. But once he got there, he felt […]
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Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration, Partner Content
Michael Johnson Spent 3 Years in Solitary and Was About to Give Up on Life. Then He Got a Letter from his Daughter.
This story was originally reported and published by MindSite News, a nonprofit news outlet that reports on mental health. To read more stories like this, sign up for the MindSite News Daily newsletter. Michael Johnson had all but given up on living when a letter from his 14-year-old daughter, Ja’Kyra, arrived for him at Pontiac Correctional Center in 2015. […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education, Partner Content
HBCU Alumni Object to School President’s Return Following Administrator’s Suicide
Originally published by The 19th Lincoln University’s national alumni association is objecting to the school’s decision to keep John Moseley as president after a Black woman administrator who accused him of bullying took her own life earlier this year. The alumni association said in a letter that it was issuing a statement of “no-confidence” in […]
Posted inLGBTQ, Partner Content
Black LGBTQ+ Youth Need Spaces That Embrace Them Fully, Researchers Say
Originally published by The 19th Twenty-one percent of Black trans, nonbinary and questioning youth have made a suicide attempt in the last year, nearly half said they felt unsafe at school, and 64% said they had encountered transphobia, according to two recent reports that advocates say should serve as a call to action for LGBTQ+ […]
Posted inPartner Content, Technology, The Workplace
Whistleblowing While Black: How Truth-Telling Changes the Careers of Black Women in Tech
This article was copublished with The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics, and policy. Sign up for The 19th’s newsletter here. The night of Jan. 5, 2021, Anika Collier Navaroli slept poorly. She had an uneasy feeling about what might happen in Washington, D.C., the next day. Back then, Navaroli was a senior policy official at […]
Posted inCulture, History, Partner Content
‘Opera Has Never Been White’: The Invisible Legacy of Black Women in Classical Music
Originally published by The 19th It was 1781 when a 14-year-old girl made her debut as an opera soloist in Saint-Domingue, the former French colony now called Haiti. She was a free person of color, the first person of African descent to star as the soloist in a French opera, and soon became the main […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Partner Content
Industry Poisoned a Vibrant Black Neighborhood in Houston. Is a Buyout the Solution?
This story was produced by Grist and co-published with Houston Public Media. Leisa Glenn spent decades living in the Fifth Ward, a historically Black neighborhood in Houston, known for having one of the city’s best views of downtown. Every July 4th, Glenn, 65, and her neighbors would stream out of their houses into the summer […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Partner Content
Prayers to End Sewage Crisis in Alabama’s Black Belt Go Unanswered
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— As federal officials continue their civil rights investigation of the Alabama Department of Transportation, a White House environmental adviser says more could be done for Black Alabamians. Robert Bullard, a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, traveled to Washington on Wednesday […]
Posted inLGBTQ, Partner Content, Sports
Brittney Griner’s Return to the School That Didn’t Always Embrace Her
Originally published by The 19th When basketball star Brittney Griner left Baylor University in 2013, she was one of the most decorated student-athletes in the school’s history, with accolades that included NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year and NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. But Griner had a complicated relationship with her Baptist […]
Posted inLGBTQ, Partner Content
Leaving the Church Isn’t So Simple for LGBTQ+ Black Christians
Originally published by The 19th When Karmen Michael Smith moved to New York City in 2003, he joined a new progressive Baptist church. He was raised with the understanding that if he wanted to find community in a new place, he needed to find a “church home.” But in a city known for progressive views, […]
