Baton Rouge resident Ashley Shelton was overjoyed when she learned that, after a years-long legal battle, Black Louisianans have secured greater political representation. On Monday, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a map that follows the math by adding a second majority-Black congressional district. Previously, Black Louisianans had a fair shot at electing their […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Can Biden Reclaim Black Voters’ Support in 2024?
South Carolina activist Lawrence Moore and other Black residents in the state are worried about losing the right to vote. And they don’t think President Joe Biden is taking a strong enough stand. The Columbia resident and longtime Democrat’s irritation is particularly acute because the Palmetto State is a major site of the assault on […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Last Black Neighborhood in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — In November 1978, Pete Holmes was among the hundreds of Black San Francisco residents killed in one of the most notorious mass murder-suicides in history. Three weeks later, Holmes’ granddaughter Kamillah Ealom was born in a San Francisco hospital more than 4,000 miles away from where her grandfather and others perished in […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Higher Education Wasn’t the Only Target of the Anti-Affirmative Action Movement
The moment the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out affirmative action in higher education in June, civil rights advocates warned that the effects could stretch beyond colleges and universities. Just months later, we can see that they were right. A venture capital firm run by women of color is in a legal fight to protect the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
This Case Could Undermine Voting Rights and Black-Latino Political Solidarity
The only district in a Texas county where Black and Latino voters can determine election outcomes is under siege — and that county’s sole Black Democratic commissioner refuses to go down without a fight. Stephen Holmes has served since 1999, and he’s insisted that he and his constituents won’t “go quietly in the night.” Rather, […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
This Legislator Wants Black Floridians to Stay in the Fight
Angie Nixon has had a front-row seat to the attacks on Black Floridians this year, from the dismantling of a Black congressional district to the racist killing of three Black people at a Dollar General to the whitewashing of Black studies. But while Florida has become something like the ground zero of anti-Black bigotry, Nixon […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
The Case That Could Destroy the Voting Rights Act
A new federal court opinion in an Arkansas case that would restrict who can sue under the 1965 Voting Rights Act is one of the most alarming attacks on the law in recent years. It would effectively prohibit most efforts to protect Black people’s access to the ballot box and continue the long assault on […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
The Spelman College Community Has Stood in Solidarity With Palestinians for Years
Originally published by The 19th The demonstrators in downtown Atlanta held Palestinian flags and wore keffiyehs. They prayed, they sang. They carried signs stating “Stop the Genocidal Bombing of Palestine” and “End All U.S. Aid to Apartheid Israel.” Numbering in the several thousands, the throngs included born-and-bred Georgians and visitors from as far as Ireland. […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Black Voters Flex Political Power in Some Key States
Tyronne Walker is working overtime to let Black voters know what’s on the line in Louisiana. The Urban League of Louisiana and its partners recently hosted a statewide registration day for Black and brown voters. Walker told Capital B that he and his colleagues’ primary goal is “to position [Black communities] to show their collective […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Why Fair Voting Maps Could Be Good for the Environment
Gullah-Geechee Corridor resident Taiwan Scott is angry. The South Carolina real estate agent, who focuses on supporting Black property owners, is in a battle with legislators as rising sea levels and more intense and frequent storms imperil Black Americans’ land and heritage across the approximately 12,000 square miles extending from North Carolina to Florida. “Black […]