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 […]
Rural Issues
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Colorado Ranchers Prevail After Attempts to Run Them Off the Land
Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery believed they had moved to greener pastures after being displaced by a hurricane. They moved to Yoder, Colorado, an unincorporated town where they could nurture their animals and grow food on their 1,000-acre ranch. What the married couple say they’ve encountered, however, nearly cost them their lives. They faced being […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
Sapelo Island’s Gullah Geechee Community Fights Back and Wins
In a win for Gullah Geechee residents on Georgia’s sea islands, voters this week rejected an ordinance that doubled the allowed square footage for homes in Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock district. Many Black residents feared the change would lead to higher property taxes, gentrification, and displacement. Unofficial results on Tuesday showed 19% of 10,000 registered […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Eminent Domain
Mississippi Residents Say City Quietly Marked Their Homes for Takeover
Greg Gipson walked out of a federal appeals court in Louisiana last week feeling a bit more hopeful about a case that was dismissed in Mississippi over his historic neighborhood’s designation. Gipson and other residents drove 93 miles from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to New Orleans to persuade a panel of federal judges to reconsider whether their […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area
In December, on a two-lane road not far from the ACE Basin, a protected ecosystem and wildlife refuge in South Carolina, Paul Black drove past St. Paul AME Church and the cemetery where his wife’s grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-grandmother are buried, then slowed as the trees opened onto the piney tract. Black is an environmental […]
Posted inClimate Change, Housing, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Wealth Gap
This Mississippi Delta Home Could Collapse Before Help Arrives
SIDON, Mississippi — Malissa Whitehead is known for making tea cakes and blueberry pies during the holidays — but as Christmas approaches, she’s uneasy about baking anything in the house she’s lived in for 40 years. The kitchen ceiling wood is peeling, revealing small holes and chipped paint. On the outside, the roof is covered […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
This Alabama Cattle Rancher Is Ready for a Legal Battle to Protect His Land
SELMA, Alabama — On a sunny, humid summer afternoon, Willie Palmer Jr. gathered his cows under a tree for feeding time. He watched as they roamed the grounds, passing by a slew of vehicles, a shed, and barn on his 20-acre property. As the animals feasted, Palmer stood quietly for a moment, taking in the […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Food Access, Rural Issues
In a N.C. Town With Almost No Grocers, One Farmer Is Expanding Local Food Access
Most days, Patrick Brown kneels in the red clay of Warren County, North Carolina, running the soil through his fingers. His roughly 300 acre farm has been in his family since 1865 and has survived crisis after crisis. Now it has another important job to do — affordably feeding families in one of the state’s […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Community
Why Fresh Collard Greens Are Becoming a Holiday Lifeline in These Communities
SYMONDS, Mississippi. — Robert Jackson hauled a truck two hours away from his farm to his home in Pensacola, Florida, to give away 1,200 bundles of collard greens just days before Thanksgiving. Instead of giving away free turkeys, like most people, he offered free greens and sweet potatoes. It’s the fourth year he’s been giving […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Black Women Sweep Local Elections in Small Towns
Deondreze Young hadn’t planned on a career in politics. But, when seats opened up on her hometown city council, her father encouraged her to run, and she did, in hopes of making change in Wadley, Georgia. Young’s roles and position in the community — as a cosmetology instructor, nail technician, substitute teacher, and mother — […]