In a matter of weeks, everything changed. A trip to the grocery store. Going to Mass. Meeting with recent arrivals from her native Haiti, or asking them to meet her. It all suddenly feels too risky for Farah Larrieux. Now that Donald Trump has returned to the Oval Office with a compliant Congress and what […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inMoney, Politics & Policy
Black People Missed Out on Millions in Stimulus Payments. Here’s How to Get Yours.
Stimulus payments the Internal Revenue Service is distributing to some 1 million taxpayers could be especially beneficial to Black Americans, who generally have lower and more volatile incomes than their white counterparts. In 2023, the median income was $56,490 for Black households and $89,050 for white households, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report. […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy, Public Safety, Rural Issues
Meet the Black Women Who Say Survivalism Is a Necessity, Not a Trend
Kelli McGuffey Pilkington hunts deer and squirrels, fishes whenever she can, stores jars of preserved food she cans herself — and keeps a holstered Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handgun under her T-shirt, just in case. Pilkington, 48, is a sturdily built 6-foot-tall Black biracial woman who lives in a 644-square-foot cabin on 18 acres of […]
Posted inEmployment, Federal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
How the Cutting of Federal Jobs Puts Black Workers at Risk
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. When Theodore Johnson was a young boy in Raleigh, North Carolina, he and his family had to be strategic to make ends meet. They often went shopping at Kmart months in advance, putting clothes […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy
Kendrick Lamar’s Multilayered Halftime Show Was About Far More Than Just a Rap Beef
Prior to the ascension of Donald Trump, rappers and America’s political right wing were not friends. They enjoyed — and often profited from — a mutual enmity. For nearly 30 years, from the perch of his eponymous and often top-rated Fox News show, commentator Bill O’Reilly consistently used hip-hop to gin up white conservative fear […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Anti-DEI Assault Gains Momentum Under New DOJ Leadership
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is bringing the U.S. Department of Justice in line with President Donald Trump’s platform, as she continues the administration’s anti-diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility purge and appears to reverse the pro-civil rights agenda of her predecessor. On Wednesday — her first day in office — she issued a litany of […]
Posted inHistory, Money, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Battle for Land, Identity, and Survival of Gullah Geechee Communities
Whenever Nikki Williams’ feet touch the soil on Sapelo Island, Georgia, memories of her youth flood back vividly. Every fall, her grandfather had her work at the drink booth during Cultural Day, where hundreds gathered to celebrate “the heart and soul of Gullah Geechee culture” through arts and live entertainment. It’s a time to “touch […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Politics & Policy, Wealth Gap
Severe Weather Is Increasing the Cost of Living for Black Americans
As Los Angeles battled its largest wildfires in history, parts of the southern U.S. faced a very different kind of disaster — record-breaking snowstorms not seen in over 125 years. In LA, the Benn family didn’t lose their home to the flames, but they did lose access to their livelihood. Their screen-printing business, which they’ve […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Residents Liken Mississippi’s New Court System to ‘Modern Day Slavery’
This story originally published in 2024, but has been updated to reflect that three judges and a clerk have been sworn in. Jackson, Mississippi, resident and organizer Rukia Lumumba is frustrated with a federal appeals court decision that allows Mississippi to move forward with its separate, state-run court system in her hometown. Backed by a […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration, Politics & Policy
Despite Pardons, Many Formerly Incarcerated Black People Still Face Uncertainty
Michelle West waited 32 years. Convicted in 1994 of nonviolent drug offenses, she was ordered to federal prison for two life sentences, plus an additional 50 years. On Sunday, former President Joe Biden commuted her sentence, meaning she will walk away from a low-security correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, this week as a free woman. […]