President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address opened with an uproar. A few minutes into Tuesday’s program, Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas was escorted from the chamber for breaking decorum rules after holding up a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes!” It was a rebuke to a racist video that Trump […]
Politics & Policy
Posted inCulture, Economy, Employment, Equity, History, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Mississippi Delta Is a Testing Ground for the Nation
The majority-Black Mississippi Delta region is shrouded in both magic and myth for many outsiders, writer and essayist W. Ralph Eubanks says. Dubbed the “Most Southern Place on Earth,” the Delta’s rich culture and blues music brings millions of tourists to the region every year. The Magnolia State broke records in 2024 when about 44 […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Black Conservatives Still Riding with Trump
The black GMC Yukon pulled up outside the National Republican Club of Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, blasting a song featuring Nicki Minaj. As the lyrics spilled out, five young Black conservatives, a group of political influencers and rising activists, hurried inside for the Black Americans for Trump Trailblazer Reception. “We had to play MAGAMinaj,” […]
Posted inCourts, Economic Development, Eminent Domain, History, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Georgia Is Letting a Railroad Seize Land a Black Family Has Owned For 100 Years
SPARTA, Ga. — In 1850, Andrew Benjamin Tarbutton enslaved 25 people in central Georgia. A year later, he purchased more than a dozen additional people off the docks in Savannah and marched them toward his home, setting the foundation for his family’s generational wealth. Four generations later, a railroad company owned by one of his […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
Philadelphia Wins Court Fight Over Slavery Exhibit Removal
After a weekslong battle, Black Philadelphians and their allies have notched a victory: A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore a slavery exhibit at the President’s House Site in the city. Without warning, National Park Service workers in January removed panels about slavery from the President’s House Site, where George Washington […]
Posted inCulture, History, Politics & Policy
Remembering the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Impact and Civil Rights Leadership
The Rev. Jesse Jackson — a grandfather, husband, and storied civil rights icon — has passed away. Jackson died peacefully Tuesday morning, surrounded by family, according to a statement issued by the Rainbow People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) Coalition. Last fall, Jackson was hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he received “good […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
100 Years After a Black Family Was Forced Out, a Descendant Sues a California City
Sidney and Iréne Dearing, along with their two small children, faced lynching and bomb threats after they settled in a “sundown town” in California in 1924. As the first Black homeowners in Piedmont, a wealthy white suburb of Oakland, they endured a racial terror campaign that included a mob of 500 people showing up on […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Texas Senate Primary Erupts After ‘Mediocre Black Man’ Remark
The Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas has been jolted by fresh controversy, one that has revived debates over race, power, and perceived political legitimacy in the Lone Star State and beyond. The flare-up began on Sunday. A TikToker posted a video in which she says that Democratic Texas state Rep. James […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
Black Diplomats Say Trump’s Moves Are Pushing People Out of Public Service
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. Pamela L. Spratlen knows all too well how elusive diversity has long been within the U.S. Foreign Service. Her father, as a young man, applied to join the Foreign Service. But this was […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Alabama Town That Blocked Its First Black Mayor Now Has Another
Read Capital B’s continuous coverage on Newbern, Alabama, and the first Black mayor’s fight to serve. The rural Alabama town that once ousted its first Black leader has now appointed its second Black mayor and first woman to hold the office. The historic appointment of Barbara Patrick in Newbern on Feb. 1 comes after Patrick […]
