LAS VEGAS — Maurice Clark huddled in his tent along dusty railroad tracks as two homeless-outreach workers began asking him questions to determine whether he would qualify for free or subsidized housing. Did he use drugs? Had he ever been in jail? How many times had he been to an emergency room? Had he been […]
housing equity
Posted inPolitics & Policy
10 Questions Capital B Readers Have for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
There is a lot at risk for our communities in the 2024 presidential election, from access to the ballot box to reproductive justice to financial support for Black farmers. Borrowing a page from their Republican rivals’ book, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have framed the contest as a […]
Posted inRural Issues
This City Wants to Raze Black Properties, at the Cost of Generational Wealth.
On the east side of Kinston, North Carolina, historic buildings still bear the original architecture. Whether it’s on Queen Street, where formerly enslaved people became entrepreneurs, or Gordon Street, the neighborhood’s significance is clear. The rural North Carolina town was once known as a thriving tobacco and textile manufacturing industry and the birthplace of funk […]
Posted inEconomy
These Charts Show How Black Americans Are Navigating the Economy
Nearly 4 out of 5 Black people in America say that economic inequality is a very big problem in the United States. It’s an issue that Capital B has reported on extensively, from how it has stunted health outcomes and access to health care for Black folks, increased rates of incarceration, and led Black communities to be oversaturated […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
The Quiet Toll of Oil Drilling on Black Los Angeles
When Dominic Gibbs’ family moved to the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles in the 1990s, the young child had a lingering question for his mother: What is that massive 20-foot-tall pump next to our house? “I always think about when I first saw the pump, because I thought it was just something that happened […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Housing and Homelessness Are on the Ballot. Will Unhoused People Have a Say?
Most Americans across racial and ethnic groups say affordable housing is a serious problem where they live, according to an August 2022 poll. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates the nation has a shortage of 7 million affordable and accessible rental units, made worse in recent years by the convergence of the coronavirus pandemic […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
In Fort Myers, Black Residents Fear Hurricane Aid Will Bypass Their Neighborhoods
Editor’s note: Following Capital B’s story, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Jaclyn Rothenberg tweeted on October 3 that the agency is providing resources to the Dunbar neighborhood. “We are aware of the needs in Dunbar and sent teams to the area yesterday. Our @FEMA disaster survivor assistance teams are going door to door again today […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
Meet the Reluctant Politician Fighting to Save Black Families’ Homes
Black candidates have thrived in recent elections, helping to fuel a blue wave that put reformers at the head of local governments and delivered both houses of Congress to the Democratic Party in 2020, for the first time in a decade. Progressives hoped the wave would bring change on major issues that disproportionately affect Black […]