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 […]
Congress
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 […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
There’s a Renewed Push in Congress for Medicaid to Cover Doulas and Midwives
Originally published by The 19th Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, both Democrats, are introducing legislation Thursday that would allow Medicaid coverage of doulas and midwives. The bill, called the Mamas First Act, aims to “improve access to care before, during, and after pregnancy to under-served and under-resourced communities” as […]
Posted inElections, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
The Squad’s Summer Lee Believes All Politics are Local, from Israel to Infrastructure
Originally published by The 19th UPDATE: DecisionDesk HQ projected Tuesday that Summer Lee won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District. WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Rep. Summer Lee stood in the backyard of a recently built dream home in exurban Pittsburgh and peered at a rusted pipe coming out of the ground topped by […]
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 inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Federal Court Strikes Major Blow to Black Voting Rights
A federal district court’s order on Thursday allowing South Carolina to use a racially discriminatory congressional map for the 2024 election cycle is a gut punch to Black voters. “For over a century, the NAACP has worked fervently to protect Black Americans’ access to the ballot box. Make no mistake — these discriminatory maps are […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
New York Could Elect the Second Black Republican Woman to Congress
Originally published by The 19th Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Jewish, Ethiopian-born immigrant and mother of seven, is campaigning to keep New York’s swingy 3rd Congressional District red in a special election on Tuesday. If elected, she would be the second Black Republican congresswoman. The relative newcomer is facing Democrat Tom Suozzi — who previously represented […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
The Black Harvard Alumni Who Rallied to Defend the School’s President
On Sunday morning, five Black Harvard University alumnae jumped into a group chat to figure out how to build momentum around the school’s president, Claudine Gay, after she received backlash over her handling of antisemitism on campus. The sound bites floating around social media and reported in news outlets didn’t accurately reflect who Gay is, […]
