ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Robert Thomas’ home is still standing after the coffee-colored floodwaters of Hurricane Helene rushed through his community, but everything that made up his life has been swept away. Thirteen days after Helene first made landfall in the U.S., it is known that at least 230 people died during the storm’s surge, with […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inElections
The New Georgia Project Helped Turn the State Purple. Now, It’s in Peril.
A Black-led organization that was instrumental in turning the red state of Georgia purple – helping Democrats elect President Joe Biden in 2020 and sweep the state’s runoff elections for Senate the following year – is in turmoil. Four of its executives have resigned or been dismissed in the past six months due to internal […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Voters in Philadelphia Can Tip the Scales Toward Harris or Trump
PHILADELPHIA — There are times where Alyce Hobson, 80, can’t believe what’s happening to food prices. One Sunday in late September, she walked into a Philadelphia grocery store and came out with three small items that cost almost $30. “Prices are totally ridiculous,” said Hobson, a retired government employee who assisted Philadelphia’s social workers. “I […]
Posted inBlack Migration, Elections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Understanding Phoenix’s Complex — and Growing — Black Voter Bloc
PHOENIX — Over the past two decades, Black people disillusioned by the inequalities that have defined life in other states have moved to Arizona in droves, searching for more opportunities. Still, as transplants have found hope in the battleground state, the ability to build political power has struggled to take root. The state has emerged […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
VP Debate Fact Check: What We Did — and Didn’t — Learn
Americans tuned in on Tuesday night to see Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio duke it out over a host of issues, from immigration to abortion to Jan. 6. Less than half an hour into the policy-heavy showdown, the conversation turned to the threats facing Black migrants that have arisen […]
Posted inCourts, Politics & Policy
How Presidential Elections Can Change the Judicial Landscape
Donald Trump left the White House after having appointed more than 200 judges to the federal bench and three justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, securing a Republican supermajority. These lifetime appointments, and the decisions in historic court cases that have followed, have influenced countless legal precedents and policies.. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Why Mayor Eric Adams’ Scandal Doesn’t Shock Black New Yorkers
Outside the steps of New York City’s Gracie Mansion, Mayor Eric Leroy Adams, surrounded by more than a dozen Black clergy members and civil rights activists, approached the podium to make a statement before his indictment on bribery and other charges. But a hefty male voice from the crowd interrupted. “Your policies are anti-Black. You […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy
How Haitian Immigrants Are Fighting Back
They’ve filed criminal charges. They’re talking to the media. They’ve spoken out at the U.N. And they’re organizing politically. As anti-Haitian rhetoric and lies continue to spread, sparking violence and intimidation against immigrants from the overwhelmingly Black country, they and their allies are fighting back. Even as former President Donald Trump and his running mate, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
She Was Accused of Murder After Losing Her Pregnancy. This South Carolina Woman Now Tells Her Story.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Amari Marsh had just finished her junior year at South Carolina State University in May 2023 when she received a text message from a law enforcement officer. “Sorry it has taken this long for paperwork to come back,” the officer wrote. “But I finally have the final report, and wanted to see […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Black Election Workers Brace for Security Threats
Black Voters and the Fight for Democracy is a multipart series that explores the stakes of the 2024 election for our communities. This project was produced as part of the Advancing Democracy Fellowship. Deidre Lesesne, a Pittsburgh-based poll worker, remembers the anger that seized her in 2020 when a group of white election observers harassed […]