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 […]
Alabama
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
A Solution to Alabama’s Sewage Problem Is in Danger
When it rains in Alabama’s Black Belt, poop gurgles up from the earth. A new federal grant program wants to stop it from happening. It is a crisis that has long roots dating back to slavery, and has been the focus of Black Alabama activists for generations. Last year, the Justice Department determined that the […]
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 […]
Posted inIncarceration
Alabama Outlawed Slavery in Prisons. Is It Still Happening?
The day after Trayveka Stanley’s mother died, she was devastated. She was having trouble coping with her loss and needed time to grieve, but her plea for a day off from her prison job at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama, didn’t persuade its officials. The 32-year-old was still required to show up […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Infrastructure, Partner Content, Rural Issues
How Alabama Turned to Restrictive Deed Covenants to Ward Off Flooding Claims From Black Residents
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. SHILOH COMMUNITY, Ala.—Their land is bound forever. The deeds of three homeowners — Pastor Timothy Williams, Aretha Wright, and Page Jones — all living in the historically Black Shiloh community of south Alabama, tell the tale. Restrictive covenants attached to their deeds limit the ability of current and […]
Posted inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
Everything’s Political, Including the Name of a School
Welcome back to Everything’s Political, Capital B’s weekly news, culture, and politics newsletter! In this edition, learn about two Virginia schools renamed after Confederate generals, a Texas county’s fight for a fair voting map, the killing of a Black airman in Florida, a Black mayor’s fight to govern his Alabama town, and the Trump campaign’s […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Alabama Family Sues Officer Who Mayor Says Failed to ‘Know The Law’
Light from the sun beamed down onto Twyla Stallworth’s black sunglasses as she approached microphones on a podium in front of an Alabama federal courthouse. Tears instantly rolled down the Andalusia native’s cheeks as she thought about that day in February when she and her son could have lost their lives because of an arrogant […]
Posted inRural Issues, Technology
Millions May Lose Internet Benefits if Lawmakers Don’t Act
For years, Leon Hudson struggled to get high quality home internet in the countryside of Selma, Alabama. If he wanted the service, he would “have to get a petition, go to the neighborhood, and get people to sign it for them to put their stuff there,” the 50-year-old recalled last fall about what internet service […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Partner Content
Prayers to End Sewage Crisis in Alabama’s Black Belt Go Unanswered
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— As federal officials continue their civil rights investigation of the Alabama Department of Transportation, a White House environmental adviser says more could be done for Black Alabamians. Robert Bullard, a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, traveled to Washington on Wednesday […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Partner Content
‘Control the Narrative’: How an Alabama Utility Wields Influence by Financing News
In the more than a decade since Alabama regulators allowed a landfill to take in tons of waste from coal-burning power plants around the U.S., neighbors in the majority-Black community of Uniontown frequently complain of thick air so pungent it makes their eyes burn. On some days, it can look like an eerily white Christmas […]
