MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Roy Wilson remembers marching with his family before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. More than 60 years later, the 77-year-old answered the nationwide call to action this weekend as hundreds mobilized across Selma and Montgomery against the direct attacks on the voting protections he fought for as a teenager. […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Women Are Turning the Supreme Court Ruling Into a Battle Cry
The flurry of direct attacks on voting rights in the South has thrust voters, candidates, and organizers into a state of chaos and confusion in the midst of an election season. It’s a result of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act. It allowed several states, including Alabama, […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Housing, Politics & Policy
Trump Weakened FEMA, and a Black St. Louis Neighborhood Is Paying the Price
ST. LOUIS — The tapping sound drew Jeffrey Bingham to his front window. Outside, the world was folding in on itself. Trees bent sideways. Power lines snapped. Across the street, a two-story brick house crumbled and disappeared instantly. Then his windows blew and the front door ripped open. He ran for the basement as pressure […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
After Being Forced Out by Trump, Black Federal Officials Are Taking Him to Court
In 1995, Alvin Brown’s grandparents became two of the 40,000 people who die in car crashes each year. They were going to a funeral service when their van crashed along Interstate 95 South near Manning, South Carolina. After their vehicle hydroplaned, a design flaw caused its doors to open, and they were ejected from the […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
Virginia Supreme Court Strikes Down Vote That Was About Representation and Power
ARLINGTON, Virginia — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s April 21 redistricting ballot measure that voters had approved and that would have helped Democrats to pick up four additional seats and bolstered Black political power in Congress. The 4-3 ruling comes just two days after the FBI raided the offices of Democratic […]
Posted inElections, Partner Content, Politics & Policy, Politics & Policy
Black Memphians Came to Fight a Voter Map That They Say Erases Them
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout. Breaking news: Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new U.S. House map Thursday that carves up a majority-Black district in Memphis, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to hold on to a slim majority in the November midterm elections. A Tennessee […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Black Ranchers Got No Help After Their Cattle Were Stolen, So They Fought to Change the Law
A month after shots were fired at their rural Colorado ranch, Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery can finally celebrate some good news with a legislative win. When the couple reported their cattle stolen from their Freedom Acres Ranch, they say they didn’t receive any help from their local law enforcement officials. They went directly to […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Louisiana Exoneree Wins Election, Then Gets Blocked From Taking Office on First Day
Calvin Duncan was supposed to start on May 4 overseeing the criminal court in New Orleans after a federal judge blocked the state from eliminating the position. But less than an hour later, a higher court intervened, halting that decision at the state’s request. Five months after Duncan secured 68% of the vote to become […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy
An HBCU Canceled Its MAGA Commencement Speaker, Now Republicans Want to Defund It
Less than two weeks before graduation day, students at South Carolina State University learned that a MAGA-supporting politician had been invited to speak at their upcoming commencement ceremony. The students wasted no time in taking their grievances about South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to the school’s president and provost. Three days after the news […]
Posted inNews, Politics & Policy
Supreme Court Ruling Threatens Black Voting Power Beyond Louisiana
Louisiana resident Press Robinson wasn’t surprised by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on Wednesday to strike down the state’s new majority-Black district. But he was deeply disappointed. “They’re determined to see to it that we don’t have a voice at all,” Robinson, a participant in the case, said Wednesday, referring to Louisiana political leaders. […]
