NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Republicans on Friday approved a new congressional map that erodes Black voting power in the state — eliminating a majority-Black district established in 2024 that gave residents there an opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. Friday’s move comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court found that the lines of […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics & Policy
Cross Burning, Federal Charges, and the State That Still Won’t Call It a Hate Crime
Monica Williams’ phone notifications wouldn’t stop dinging while in class. During her free moment from teaching, she checked her text messages. She learned that her former neighbor, Worden E. Butler had been indicted in April. Williams and her husband, Shawn, have accused Butler, who is white, of burning a cross in his backyard. “You are […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Jim Clyburn’s District Is at the Center of a New Fight Over Black Voting Power
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — To Jasmine Broadwater, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina isn’t some distant power broker in Washington, D.C. He’s a hometown fixture. Broadwater, 32, grew up in Columbia, the state’s capital, and she said that Clyburn would sometimes “just randomly pop up at school.” His daughter Jennifer Clyburn Reed was one […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
How One Supreme Court Ruling Is Rewriting 60 Years of Voting Protections
The battle over Black political representation in the South continues to unfold, with a federal court rejecting a new Alabama House map. Federal judges on Tuesday ruled that the Republican-backed map “intentionally discriminated based on race” and ordered the state to continue using a map with two congressional districts that are majority Black or close […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Voters in the South Want Leaders Who Fight but Also Deliver
Farmer Jeremy Peaches spends his days thinking about food: not only how to grow it and where to send it — but also whether people can afford it. The owner of the Fresh Life Organic Produce Co., he manages 25 acres of vegetables for restaurants, food banks, and residents in the largely Black community of […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Sapelo Island Residents Won a Major Vote, but Their Fight Continues
Sometimes, Josiah “Jazz” Watts can’t remember a time when he and other Gullah Geechee descendants weren’t fighting for their homeland. It’s been four months since McIntosh County, Georgia, voters overwhelmingly rejected a zoning ordinance that could have resulted in higher taxes, attracted more developers, harmed local businesses, and led to Geechee displacement. The January referendum […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Young Black Men Are ‘Politically Misread,’ Not Absent, New Survey Finds
Michael Bland has a message for political campaigns: Young Black men aren’t politically checked out. They’re just being ignored. “Black men are not politically absent, they are politically misread,” said Bland, executive director of Black Men Vote, a nonpartisan organization focused on mobilizing Black male voters. That assessment comes from new polling his organization commissioned, […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
The Word ‘Black’ Has Disappeared From Bills Aimed at Addressing Black Maternal Health
This piece was copublished with The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics policy and power. The word “Black” has been almost completely removed from a package of bills that have long been viewed as Congress’ main legislative vehicle to address the Black maternal health crisis, frustrating some advocates who feel Black women are […]
Posted inCulture, News, Politics & Policy
‘We’re Not Going Back’: Black Voters March in Alabama Against Redistricting
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Roy Wilson remembers marching with his family before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. More than 60 years later, the 77-year-old answered the nationwide call to action this weekend as hundreds mobilized across Selma and Montgomery against the direct attacks on the voting protections he fought for as a teenager. […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Women Are Turning the Supreme Court Ruling Into a Battle Cry
The flurry of direct attacks on voting rights in the South has thrust voters, candidates, and organizers into a state of chaos and confusion in the midst of an election season. It’s a result of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act. It allowed several states, including Alabama, […]