EUTAW, Ala. — Leroy Walker arrived at the county hospital short of breath. Walker, 65 and with chronic high blood pressure, was brought in by one of rural Greene County’s two working ambulances. Nurses checked his heart activity with a portable electrocardiogram machine, took X-rays, and tucked him into Room 122 with an IV pump […]
Rural Issues
Posted inClimate Change, Rural Issues
With Southern Utilities Quietly Dismantling DEI Programs, Black Households Pay the Price
When Chris Womack became the first Black CEO of Southern Co. in 2023, he called the company’s commitment to racial equity one of his guiding principles. His leadership of the third-largest private utility company in the world offered hope of fairer wages and more representative employment for thousands of Black employees and cleaner air and […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, News, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Brace for Trump’s Tariffs While Navigating USDA Office Closures
Third-generation farmer Igalious “Ike” Mills knew it was only a matter of time before a United States Department of Agriculture local office would close in his rural east Texas town. He’d heard of the ongoing closures nationwide and kept close watch on the news about President Donald Trump’s calls for tariffs on nearly all U.S. […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues, Technology
Broadband Program Changes Stir Uncertainty for Rural Black Communities
A promise made by former President Joe Biden to connect millions of Americans to reliable and affordable high-speed internet service may become another casualty of President Donald Trump’s campaign to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the nation. A top outgoing official at the U.S. Department of Commerce warned that funds for the Broadband, […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
USDA Promised Loan Relief, Then Repealed It. Black Farmers Are Fighting Back.
Lester Bonner purchased a tractor, hay baler, and two hay combines for his 113-acre wheat farm when he learned he’d have $50,000 of his loans wiped clean as a result of a debt relief program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many more farmers invested in their farms in anticipation of the forgiveness of loans […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, HBCUs, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Mobilize to Protect Vital HBCU Scholarship
In the two weeks since the White House reversed course on the 1890 National Scholars Program and lifted its suspension, Kendall Strickland still feels a sense of unease about the program’s future. Created in 1992, the program covers full tuition and room and board for underserved or rural students interested in studying food, agriculture, natural […]
Posted inCulture, Politics & Policy, Public Safety, Rural Issues
Meet the Black Women Who Say Survivalism Is a Necessity, Not a Trend
Kelli McGuffey Pilkington hunts deer and squirrels, fishes whenever she can, stores jars of preserved food she cans herself — and keeps a holstered Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handgun under her T-shirt, just in case. Pilkington, 48, is a sturdily built 6-foot-tall Black biracial woman who lives in a 644-square-foot cabin on 18 acres of […]
Posted inBlack Farmers
Black Farmer Goes From Crops to Fashion
When Jonathan Miller isn’t traveling or sitting courtside at Milwaukee Bucks games, he’s back at his farm in Portland, Oregon. The growing season in the northwestern state, which has been his home since 2015, provides him with the flexibility to manage Doe Doe Farms, run his custom apparel business, and serve as head of security […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
This Black Family Won’t Back Down After Court Allows Railroad to Take Their Land
Blaine and Diane Smith were hurt but unsurprised when a Georgia superior court judge ruled last week that a railroad company could seize their land, despite their refusal to sell. For nearly two years, they have been fighting to stop Sandersville Railroad Co., a 130-year-old, white-owned business, from building a 4.5-mile rail spur through a […]
Posted inHistory, Money, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Battle for Land, Identity, and Survival of Gullah Geechee Communities
Whenever Nikki Williams’ feet touch the soil on Sapelo Island, Georgia, memories of her youth flood back vividly. Every fall, her grandfather had her work at the drink booth during Cultural Day, where hundreds gathered to celebrate “the heart and soul of Gullah Geechee culture” through arts and live entertainment. It’s a time to “touch […]