In the pews of a Memphis, Tennessee, church on Monday morning, the Rev. Earle J. Fisher wasn’t getting a headstart on next Sunday’s sermon, he was preparing a resource hub. “This can’t be my normal Monday because like so many others, we’re without power,” said Fisher, who teaches at LeMoyne-Owen College, an HBCU in Memphis. […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Battle Over Black Representation in a White Mississippi County
DeSOTO COUNTY, Mississippi. — Hester Jackson-McCray witnessed the beginning of the economic boom in this Mississippi Delta county when she moved south from Chicago in 1999. Year after year, she has watched the county attract newcomers and grow culturally and economically, cotton fields giving way to subdivisions and shopping centers. Other Black families like hers […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Surprise Wins in Florida Primaries Will Test the Future of State’s Black Political Power
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida won the Aug. 18 Democratic primary for the state’s historically Black 20th Congressional District — besting contenders including a hip-hop icon, a former congresswoman accused of stealing disaster funds, a Jamaica-born former mayor, and a progressive educator. Beneath some of the drama that’s captured headlines lie real stakes […]
Posted inCourts, Environmental Justice, Politics & Policy
Trump Ordered to Release Billions in Climate Grants Meant for Black Communities
Dominika Parry never stopped fighting for Jackson, Mississippi, residents even after the Trump administration terminated a multibillion-dollar program last year meant to help the Black city still reeling from a water crisis. For years, if water did flow out of Black households’ faucets in Jackson at all, it was often brown. It left elders and […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Health, Politics & Policy
After Cyclospora Outbreak, Local Black Farms See Rise in Support
This summer, it has felt like the flow of Black folks and families arriving at Deep Roots CPS Farm in Charlotte, North Carolina, has never let up, said Cherie Jzar, the farm’s managing director. They’re in search of something that has become harder to find in the grocery aisle: certainty. They’re asking about lettuce — […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Delaware Gives Black Voters New Protections Against Election Discrimination
WILMINGTON, Delaware — Wearing his Sunday best, Corey Gordon Jr. drove 30 minutes to Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington, Delaware, to witness a historic event that would impact his fundamental right to vote. The 22-year-old graduate of the University of Delaware saw firsthand how anti-diversity backlash could unsettle a campus. Over the past year, the […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy
The First Black Woman Will Lead the CDC, but Can She Restore Trust?
The Senate has confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, placing her in charge of the agency beleaguered by turmoil: resignations, deep staff cuts, and major changes to vaccine policies. In a 51-44 vote Wednesday, the 54-year-old became the 22nd leader and the first Black woman to […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
What El-Sayed’s Michigan Win Reveals About Black Voters and Democrats
Abdul El-Sayed is projected to win Michigan’s Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat, concluding a bruising contest that became a national proxy battle over where the party is headed and how Black voters might shape that future. While many observers framed the race around whether El-Sayed could break through with Black Michiganders — who […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy
Savannah State Student Keeps Fighting for His Baseball Dream Despite ICE Detention
Savannah State University student Johan Sandoval felt like the world had turned its back on him while he was being held in a New York detention center for two weeks, but God and his love for baseball remained a constant. While in custody, Sandoval and other detainees played baseball using makeshift bases made from sandals. […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy
Data Center Surge Worsens Electricity Costs for Black Families
In the sweltering Alabama heat, where a trailer home can feel like an oven during each new heat wave, Esther Calhoun’s electricity bill has doubled in recent years. On a fixed income of about $1,300 a month, the 63‑year‑old Calhoun now pays roughly $350 monthly for electricity in rural Alabama. President Donald Trump came into […]
