Last April, Sherry Bradley and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program helped rural Alabama resident Willie Perryman install a septic system in his home for the first time. Since his grandfather purchased the land and homestead more than six decades ago, none of the family’s properties had a proper disposal system for their waste. Thousands […]
Donald Trump
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
Can D.C. Keep Its Local Power? Residents Stand Up Against Federal Takeover.
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. WASHINGTON — For most of 61-year-old Jocelyn Frye’s life, her hometown of Washington was majority Black. As a child, she was keenly aware of how some white lawmakers would disparage D.C. and assert that […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Living in Industry’s Shadow: How Black Communities Are Left Behind by EPA Cuts
From Gary, Indiana’s steel mills to the oil refineries of Beaumont, Texas, and the toxic waste sites in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point, Black communities across the country are living with the harsh realities of industrial pollution. As the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations are rolled back, efforts to address these toxic hazards in these areas […]
Posted inClimate Change, Rural Issues
With Southern Utilities Quietly Dismantling DEI Programs, Black Households Pay the Price
When Chris Womack became the first Black CEO of Southern Co. in 2023, he called the company’s commitment to racial equity one of his guiding principles. His leadership of the third-largest private utility company in the world offered hope of fairer wages and more representative employment for thousands of Black employees and cleaner air and […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Inside One Student Movement to Save DEI on College Campuses
Bradley Price traveled to the Kentucky governor’s office to show her support for the veto of an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion bill. Alexandria Underwood took part in a letter-writing campaign calling for the preservation of inclusion programs on college campuses. And Savannah Dowell organized a demonstration in support of anti-discrimination efforts at Kentucky colleges and […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Black Milwaukee Voters Say No to Musk, Yes to Reproductive Rights
It was a frigid spring day shortly before polls closed in Wisconsin. Chanita Edwards and her daughter, Chamari, left their polling place in Milwaukee’s North Side with two concerns: Elon Musk and reproductive rights. “I voted because I’m a woman and those rights are very important to me, especially abortion rights, and I’m a student,” […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
This Climate Program Saved the U.S. $6 for Every $1 Spent. Trump Just Killed It.
As floodwaters surged through the streets of Natchitoches last month, soaking homes and businesses in this rural Louisiana town, residents were left grappling with yet another devastating blow. Over a thousand residents lost power as the muddy waters left behind waterlogged homes and damaged possessions. It was the fifth major flooding event the small majority-Black […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
What Trump’s Cabinet Picks Mean for Black Americans as Hearings Continue
President Donald Trump’s picks for key positions in his second administration continue their Senate confirmation hearings, which began on Jan. 14. Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for Secretary of the Department of State, was the first to win confirmation, gliding through the process. On the other hand, Pete Hegseth, selected to be the Secretary of the […]
Posted inHealth
CDC Employees Say Layoffs Under Trump Hit Black and Marginalized Staff Hardest
Employees at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are accusing the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of laying off Black CDC workers at higher rates than other racial demographic groups. Three employees — two of whom received layoff notices on Tuesday — told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
What Happens If a Highly Effective HIV-Prevention Drug Is No Longer Free?
Black queer activist Preston Mitchum has been on PrEP — pre-exposure prophylaxis, a medication used to reduce the risk of getting HIV — since around 2014, just two years after its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Washington, D.C., resident remembers the barriers he and many others faced when trying to secure […]