In 1975, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes laid down a melodic mandate that applies to our times: “Wake up, everybody / No more sleepin’ in bed,” Teddy Pendergrass, the former lead singer of the group, commands. “No more backward thinkin’ / Time for thinkin’ ahead / The world has changed so very much / […]
Donald Trump
Posted inCriminal Justice
What a Second Trump Presidency Could Mean for Pending DOJ Investigations
The clock is ticking for the Justice Department and federal prosecutors trying to resolve civil rights investigations and complaints against law enforcement agencies accused of mistreating Black and brown communities. This form of accountability can produce a court-ordered agreement — a consent decree — to enforce departments to overhaul their policing practices that Black Americans […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Why Has Qualified Immunity Excused Officers’ Misconduct for Decades?
The movement to increase accountability for police officers who use excessive force may have seen its most significant setback yet with the second election of Donald Trump as president. Trump has promised the nation’s police officers that he will grant them “immunity from prosecution,” a move that legal experts say would deal a severe blow […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Can the Farm Bill Bridge the Gap for Black Farmers?
Time is of the essence for farmers like Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin. Bellfield El-Amin and others are looking to Congress for emergency aid in this year’s farm bill. With intense weather conditions, funding struggles, and decline in revenue, Black farmers can’t afford a delay. After months of bickering, Republicans and Democrats reached a deal on a […]
Posted inHistory
The Renewed Urgency of Preserving Black History
Black Voters and the Fight for Democracy is a multipart series that explores the stakes of the 2024 election for our communities. This project was produced as part of the Advancing Democracy Fellowship. Bold. Assertive. Unafraid of questioning people or circumstances. That’s how 82-year-old Rosita Stevens-Holsey describes her “Aunt Pauli.” “Even if she was talking […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy
Decades of USDA Racism Leave Black Farmers Fighting for Equality
Lloyd Wright has worked with 10 presidents since the early 1960s and seen how both Republicans and Democrats have failed to address Black farmers’ civil rights complaints and correct institutional racism within the United States Department of Agriculture. “Many Black farmers refer to USDA as being the last plantation, and the reason for that is, […]
Posted inCourts, Politics & Policy
Biden Appoints 40 Black Women as Federal Judges, Breaking Record
Capital B is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to reporting on the issues that shape Black life in America. Our commitment to keeping this journalism free and accessible to all relies on your support. If you believe in our mission to inform and uplift Black communities, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. Thank you! President-elect […]
Posted inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
What Reconstruction Still Has to Teach Us
We might be approaching a moment that resembles the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s, historians and legal experts say. In the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election, big-name companies, some Democrats, and their allies have been pumping the brakes on the push for equality, prioritizing achieving peace with President-elect Donald Trump over protecting vulnerable […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Everything's Political, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
The Threat of Unchecked Anti-Black Violence in 2025 and Beyond
What might happen to federal checks on anti-Black violence once Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office in January? Maybe this question popped into your head after you read that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the killing of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Some Black Rural Voters Feel Abandoned by Democrats
The election results didn’t shock Keith McCants, a 42-year-old welder in south Georgia. Leading up to Election Day, the chairman of the local Democratic Party had been door-knocking and engaging with voters across Bryan County, about 21 miles from Savannah. He even passed out Kamala Harris for President signs, but people “would take them down […]
