Race for Governor In the more than 245 years of America’s history, a Black woman has never held the position of governor in any state. This year, women across the country are trying to change that. Capital B’s state and local politics reporter, Chauncey Alcorn, sat down with Deidre DeJear, gubernatorial candidate in Iowa, and […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘Nobody’s Going to Steal That Joy’: Cory Booker’s Full Speech to Ketanji Brown Jackson, Annotated
When Black women break barriers, the reaction is often predictable. Detractors find various ways to say she doesn’t belong: She’s unqualified, she’s radical, she’s a beneficiary of affirmative action. That playbook was on display in the U.S. Capitol this week as Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
Will a Red State Elect a Black, Female Democrat to the U.S. Senate? Cheri Beasley Thinks So.
Cheri Beasley would make history this November if she wins the election to become North Carolina’s first Black U.S. senator. Beasley and a fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Florida, are two Black women vying for a seat in the Senate, which currently has no Black women after former Sen. Kamala Harris of California […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
This Activist Campaigned on Poverty, Gentrification, and Reparations —and Won
Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Capital B is talking to newsmakers from across the country who want to reshape American politics or galvanize Black voices in government. Our “Voices of Change” series will update periodically with insights from the candidates, activists, lawmakers, and political insiders who you should know. Jecorey Arthur expected much more pushback from other […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
The Reading List: The Voting Rights Issues Black People Should Care About
The fight for the basic right to vote has been among the most enduring struggles of Black people in America. From poll taxes to literacy tests and grandfather clauses, the methods used to bar Black voters from the ballot box goes back over a century. Even progress toward the goal for other once-disenfranchised groups has […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
It’s a golden era for Black female political leaders. This woman wants to keep it that way.
Ahead of the midterms, Capital B is talking to newsmakers from across the country who want to reshape American politics or galvanize Black voices in government. Our “Voices of Change” series will update periodically with insights from the candidates, activists, lawmakers, and political insiders who you should know. Laphonza Butler made history in September when she became […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
‘Democracy is a process, not a state of being’
The Senate’s failure to pass voting rights legislation this month was a blow to Democrats and Black activists who hoped to stem the tide of laws limiting ballot access across the country. Many had stressed the urgency of passing the bill ahead of November’s midterm elections, but the effort was thwarted when senators blocked a […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Reading List: The Policy Discussions Black Americans Should Be Following
In that past decade or so, Black Americans have been particularly hard hit. There was the massive recession that hiked unemployment and decimated homeownership and personal finances—ruining the economic safety of Black people in particular. Then a rise in white nationalism during the Trump presidency. A seemingly never ending wave of police shootings of Black […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
Meet the Reluctant Politician Fighting to Save Black Families’ Homes
Black candidates have thrived in recent elections, helping to fuel a blue wave that put reformers at the head of local governments and delivered both houses of Congress to the Democratic Party in 2020, for the first time in a decade. Progressives hoped the wave would bring change on major issues that disproportionately affect Black […]