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 […]
Congress
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 […]
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 […]
