Arlita Walker lives a fairly quiet life in southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The 60-year-old grandmother was employed with Federal Express for 15 years while she also raised her daughter. But when the toll of lifting heavy packages started to harm her health, Walker had to quit; she’s been grappling with health challenges since 2013. Since then, […]
Congress
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Politics & Policy
Trump Is Giving 500+ Plants a Pass to Pollute More. Is Your Home at Risk?
Imagine if the billion-dollar companies that run oil refineries or chemical plants could ask the government for permission to spew more pollution into the air with less hassle than it takes to renew your driver’s license. That’s now a reality. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has created a shortcut for fossil fuel and chemical […]
Posted inBlack Businesses, Politics & Policy, Technology
With TikTok Ban in Limbo, Black Creators Face an Uncertain Future
The story has been updated. The original story was published on January 16. Lifestyle content creator Talia Cadet hasn’t quit her day job, but TikTok has changed her life, she says. The additional income generated from her viral lists of Black-owned products, books she loves, and local events has made “a huge difference,” especially as […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Rep. Al Green Accepts Censure Vote and Recalls Civil Rights Era Protests
Rep. Al Green of Texas thought about the Black liberation struggle of the 1960s on Thursday, as House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, prepared to read the resolution censuring the 77-year-old Democratic lawmaker. “I recalled when we were faced with adverse circumstances, we would sing a song that would inspire and encourage us to move […]
Posted inEducation, K-12, Rural Issues
Congress Failed to Renew a Critical Funding Program for Rural Schools
Majority-Black, rural school districts in Mississippi like the one where Jacqueline Brown has taught for 17 years cannot afford budget cuts. It’s already difficult to recruit a certified math teacher or offer additional incentives to retain experienced educators who are nearing retirement in a rural area, she said. One federal program that helps rural counties […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Louisiana’s Brand New Majority-Black Congressional District Is in Peril
ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. — Observing a joyous children’s holiday parade in the Louisiana parish she calls home, Clara LaFleur said that she isn’t surprised that the political power of Black Louisianans in her congressional district is in peril. After all, she told Capital B, it’s long seemed as if no one has been a […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Black Women Made A Mark on Election Night
Election night marked a historic day for Black women in politics, despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks have been elected as the fourth and fifth Black women to win a Senate seat. It will be the first time in history that two Black women will serve in the […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Ilhan Omar Ends the Squad’s Losing Streak
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Tuesday put a stop to the losing streak that the “Squad” of progressive Democrats in the House had been on this summer. Omar, the incumbent of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, beat her primary challenger, Don Samuels, a former Minneapolis City Council member who nearly defeated her in the […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy
SCOTUS Allows ‘Big Business’ to Have Greater Say in Federal Regulations
Last week, in a monumental decision, the conservative U.S. Supreme Court made it harder for the federal government to regulate virtually everything that impact’s Americans’ daily lives. Arguably the most damning impact of the SCOTUS decisions will be on how the country faces the mounting impacts of pollution and climate change. While the ruling’s impacts […]
Posted inHistory
Inside the Battle to Preserve the Legacy of Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street’
It’s time — past time — that Tulsa’s historic Greenwood neighborhood be granted national monument status, said Tiffany Crutcher, a native of the Oklahoma city that more than a century ago was the site of a white supremacist massacre. Her hope is that the district, known as “Black Wall Street,” will soon secure that history-honoring […]