PHOENIX — Arizona and its biggest city, Phoenix, can be intimidating places to voice political opinions if you don’t subscribe to MAGA Republicanism. Since the 2020 election — and as recently as this summer — white Republican elected officials who have refused to buy into the false claim that former President Donald Trump won the […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inCourts, Elections, LGBTQ
Why Judicial Elections Matter
It was a moment in a Detroit courtroom that went viral. A judge ordered that a 15-year-old girl be handcuffed and dressed in a prison uniform. Her offense? She fell asleep in his courtroom during a class trip. The incident was caught on the cameras in state District Court Judge Kenneth J. King’s courtroom, the […]
Posted inCourts, Housing, Policing, Politics & Policy
Black Unhoused Communities Targeted After Supreme Court Ruling
LOS ANGELES – On a dirt pocket between a sidewalk and freeway in the Wilmington neighborhood in South Los Angeles, roughly half a dozen people lived in tents for most of the summer. But by 7 a.m. on Sept. 24, three police SUVs and a bright orange truck lined the street next to the freeway […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
The Powerful, Unsung Role Black Rural Voters Can Play in Our Elections
For years, Garrett Snuggs questioned why the predominantly white town council of Wadesboro, North Carolina, didn’t reflect its population — 69% of which is Black. In the rural town of 5,000, about 52 miles away from Charlotte, he noticed that many Black folks, particularly youth and men, were disengaged from the political process. That changed […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Was Obama Right About Black Men’s Support for Harris?
Former president Barack Obama said that Black men are “coming up with all kinds of reasons” to avoid turning out for Harris. Things came to a head last week when a pretty heated Barack Obama attempted a bit of “tough love” at a Pittsburgh campaign office for Vice President Kamala Harris. The former president said […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
How a Black Furniture Factory Worker Became a Face of the MAGA Movement
Mark Robinson has been North Carolina’s lieutenant governor since 2021 and its Republican gubernatorial nominee. He said that he wants to serve on behalf of all North Carolinians, and has sketched out plans for the economy and education. Over the course of a few years, Robinson has become a recognizable face of Trump’s MAGA movement, […]
Posted inExtreme Weather, Politics & Policy, Voting
Hurricane Helene’s Black Survivors Face Floods, Disinformation, and a Threat to Their Vote
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 […]
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 […]
