On Sept. 29, Pastor Timothy Williams will lose the property insurance coverage for his home in rural Elba, Alabama. It’s another mark on a long list of recent letdowns for him in the aftermath of a persistent flooding crisis born by the expansion of a highway next to his home. Since the state raised and […]
Rural Issues
Posted inRural Issues
Locked Up and Locked Out
Pamela Barnes never thought she and her sisters would be sitting in a cold, dirty holding cell for trying to protect her family’s land. Just before sunset around 6:30 a.m., the 63-year-old gazed at the white walls’ chipped and peeling paint. Her eyes moved to the rusty, mold-covered vent above her. Her discomfort was eased […]
Posted inExtreme Weather, Rural Issues
Louisiana’s Black Rural Communities Feel Neglected After Hurricane Francine
On Tuesday, six days after Hurricane Francine smashed into Louisiana’s coast as the strongest storm of this year’s hurricane season, the Biden administration announced a major disaster declaration for the state and ordered federal aid to supplement the recovery process. How quickly states and local counties can help individual households largely depends on how quickly […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
In 11 Minutes, These Black Landowners Lost Their Property to a Railroad
Landowners in a predominantly Black town in rural Georgia who have been fighting to keep their properties from falling into the hands of a railroad company were dealt another blow on Wednesday when a state regulatory authority ruled in favor of the railroad. During a Wednesday session, the Georgia Public Service Commission unanimously approved Sandersville […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Rural Issues
Maternity Care in Rural Areas Is in Crisis. Can More Doulas Help?
This article was published by KFF Health News. When Bristeria Clark went into labor with her son in 2015, her contractions were steady at first. Then, they stalled. Her cervix stopped dilating. After a few hours, doctors at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia, prepped Clark for an emergency cesarean section. It wasn’t the […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Georgia Residents React to Harris-Walz Rally in Savannah
When Brandon Byrd learned that Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would be in his home state of Georgia to campaign this week, he responded: “It’s about damn time.” Byrd understands rural areas better than most as a native of Metter, a 30% Black town of fewer than 4,000 people. Since 2021, […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Justice Has Been Delayed for Black Farmers, and They’re Looking to the Next President for Answers
Bernice Atchinson, an 85-year-old advocate from Alabama, has been fighting for more than 40 years on behalf of her fellow Black farmers. She even represented them in the landmark case Pigford v. Glickman, a class-action lawsuit alleging the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against Black farmers from 1983 to 1997 when they applied for federal […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity, Partner Content, Rural Issues
Rural Communities of Color Across the U.S. Find New Ways to Get the Health Care They Need
Haywood Park Community Hospital was the closest hospital for many in Brownsville, Tennessee, a rural city in the western part of the state. Some residents believe it kept their loved ones alive. But others in this majority-Black city said they drove to a hospital miles away or skipped care completely. The facility eventually closed in […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Newbern’s First Black Mayor Won in the Courts, but the Fight Is Far From Over
NEWBERN, Ala. — The sunrays beamed on Patrick Braxton’s forehead as he raised his right hand and placed his left on a Bible, held by his wife, Freda. He stood confidently, ready to execute his oath of office for all to see. That moment — on an early August afternoon — felt so familiar yet […]
Posted inNews, Rural Issues, Voting
After Years of Litigation, First Black Mayor in Rural Alabama Town Gets to Serve
Patrick Braxton is overwhelmed with gratitude. He’s been juggling a yearslong legal battle to serve as the lawful mayor of his hometown, Newbern, Alabama. After years of harassment, his rural town enters a new chapter: Its first Black mayor will finally get to serve. Braxton will be reinstated as mayor of Newbern, according to a […]