Kym Smith is passionate about a wide range of causes, from pushing for South Carolina public schools to include Black history in their curricula to bringing adequate health care to Black communities. But rarely, if ever, does Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley grapple with issues of deep-seated racial inequality, said Smith, a 36-year-old mother and […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
‘New Literacy Test’: The Black Organizers Waging War on Disinformation
Every time an election looms, Baton Rouge resident Ashley Shelton notices the red flags — the signs sprinkled around the city and other parts of Louisiana that give the wrong information about when voters can cast their ballots. She doesn’t know who the bad actors are. But whenever she sees one of these signs — […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
New York Could Elect the Second Black Republican Woman to Congress
Originally published by The 19th Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Jewish, Ethiopian-born immigrant and mother of seven, is campaigning to keep New York’s swingy 3rd Congressional District red in a special election on Tuesday. If elected, she would be the second Black Republican congresswoman. The relative newcomer is facing Democrat Tom Suozzi — who previously represented […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
For the First Time, Black Women Are Leading Democrats in Early Primary States
Originally published by The 19th President Joe Biden faces no serious threat to the Democratic nomination as he seeks a second term. But the Democratic presidential primaries, beginning with South Carolina on Saturday, offer the first real window into his strength with the Black voters who make up his key voting base. An endorsement from […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
‘A Lot to Be Concerned About’: Jim Clyburn on the Stakes of the 2024 Election
Black South Carolinians saved President Joe Biden’s struggling 2020 White House bid. Now, on Saturday, in this cycle’s first sanctioned Democratic primary, the state’s Black electorate will have an opportunity to set the tone of the 2024 race and center the issues that matter most to Black communities, including the right to vote, health care, […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Louisianans Enter a New Political Era
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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, […]