Part 1 of a three-part series, FIRED: The DOGE Layoffs Hit Black Women Hard, a collaboration between MindSite News, Capital B, The 19th, and The Nation, edited by MindSite News. Photographs by Kuwilileni Hauwanga Darnese Foster remembers the day she learned she was fired from her federal government job. “I was off that Friday, which […]
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Posted inHigher Education, Politics & Policy
The Slow Disappearance of Black Studies on College Campuses
For Northwestern University alumna Keala Uchôa, the university’s recent decision to restructure its African Studies program and cut two staff positions is hardly surprising. The move isn’t isolated. Over the years, the university and students have clashed over protests, a faculty member has sued over not getting tenure, and some current and former students – […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Sue USDA Over $127 Million in Canceled Grants
When Sharon Mallory’s nonprofit received a $13 million federal grant to help farmers, it felt like a blessing and answered prayer. Through the 2020 Farmers Cooperative, the group had planned to purchase equipment and land and offer technical assistance to Black farmers. But in March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency snatched those […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy
An HBCU Canceled Its MAGA Commencement Speaker, Now Republicans Want to Defund It
Less than two weeks before graduation day, students at South Carolina State University learned that a MAGA-supporting politician had been invited to speak at their upcoming commencement ceremony. The students wasted no time in taking their grievances about South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to the school’s president and provost. Three days after the news […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
Black Diplomats Say Trump’s Moves Are Pushing People Out of Public Service
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. Pamela L. Spratlen knows all too well how elusive diversity has long been within the U.S. Foreign Service. Her father, as a young man, applied to join the Foreign Service. But this was […]
Posted inHistory
As Federal Sites Remove Black History, Communities Organize to Fight Back
It all started with a QR code. When Gerry James learned this summer that signs had been posted at National Park Service sites encouraging visitors to use a QR code to report information that could be considered “negative about either past or living Americans,” he wanted to change the conservation. He felt as if the […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
A Growing Warning From Black Veterans: The Military Isn’t Safe for Us
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. ARLINGTON, Virginia — “Not right now, baby girl. Now’s not the time for you.” That was the advice that Tavorise Marks, who served in the U.S. Army for 15 years, recently had for […]
Posted inHistory
National Parks Drop Free MLK Day and Juneteenth Entry, Further Erasing Black History
Alan Spears remembers visiting Gettysburg National Military Park with his parents in the 1970s. They wanted something educational, free, and fun to do with their only son, and the park was an obvious choice, given Spears’ interests — his favorite television show as a child was The Rat Patrol, about soldiers during World War II. […]
Posted inGun Violence, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
After DOJ Pulls Millions for Public Safety, Nonprofits and Neighborhoods Step In
JACKSON, Mississippi — Sharon Brown seemed destined from birth to be a changemaker in her hometown. She grew up reading old newspaper clippings about her mother and aunt protesting for women’s rights in the 1960s, and watching them help neighbors with whatever they could — from child care to groceries. Years later, her mother urged […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education, Politics & Policy
Republicans Allege Discrimination at George Mason, but the Data Tells a Different Story
FAIRFAX, Virginia — Amani Banks, a George Mason University freshman, sat on the south side of the campus last week and pointed out that the student body is more diverse than her professors. When the college’s president, Gregory Washington, arrived on campus in 2020, he encouraged the hiring of more people of color through what […]
