The claim that Black voters are bolting to President Donald Trump’s Republican Party seems premature — and fuels a narrative that places the responsibility for the presidential election outcome on Black voters. This notion of realignment has gotten more attention in recent months, as political observers try to make sense of polls showing that some […]
Joe Biden
Posted inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
Everything’s Political, Including a Promise
Welcome back to Everything’s Political, Capital B’s news, culture, and politics newsletter! Every Thursday, I’ll take a look at recent stories that seem particularly noteworthy. Here’s what I’ve got for you this week. Biden’s Promise to Black America Janet Jackson put it best in 1986: What have you done for me lately? Today, Black voters […]
Posted inEconomy, Money
How ‘Bidenomics’ May Not Be Adding Up for Some Black Americans
Tyler McFadden hoped a college degree would help her land a well-paying career in politics, but the 31-year-old didn’t expect it would come with hefty debt, poor credit, job instability, and anxiety, she says. After earning a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from George Washington University in 2014, McFadden became a bartender. With limited income, […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Transportation
Will the Electric Vehicle Push Bring Black Americans Along on the Ride?
Americans love their cars more than practically anyone — only New Zealand has more cars per capita. So, when President Joe Biden announced in 2021 that he wanted to speed up the transition from gas-guzzling vehicles to electric ones, the push drove debate among state leaders, city planners, and everyday people alike. Over the past […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
How Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Created a ‘Climate Time Bomb’ in Black Neighborhoods
Nearly 45 years ago, the Acres Homes area north of Houston was the largest unincorporated Black community in the South, a thriving 9-square mile area where homeownership was the norm. That was until the city of Houston annexed it, and the Interstate 45 highway was built through its heart. In the aftermath, the community’s poverty […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
The Fight for Democracy and Black Votes Loomed Large in Biden’s Speech
Among the many special guests at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday was the jazz singer and civil rights legend Bettie Mae Fikes. Beloved as the Voice of Selma, Fikes is known for having led protests in song. She often changed the lyrics of Black standards to match the movement: “Tell […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Biden, Bloody Sunday, and the Ongoing Fight for Black Votes
Fifty-nine years ago on Thursday, white state troopers brutalized voting rights protesters as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Footage of the carnage — one officer cracked 25-year-old John Lewis’ skull with a billy club — enraged the country, and galvanized widespread support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
Why Super Tuesday Is a ‘Dress Rehearsal’ for the General Election
Kristin Powell vividly remembers watching the Super Tuesday returns in February 2008 and being consumed by a single question: Can he actually make it? A college student spending a semester in Italy at the time, Powell was referring to Barack Obama, the youthful U.S. senator from Illinois who was challenging the establishment darling Hillary Clinton […]
Posted inHealth
Pressure to Ban Menthol Cigarettes Intensifies for the Biden Administration
The outrage over the Biden administration’s attempt to quietly delay the highly anticipated ban on the menthol cigarettes has transformed into intense pressure on the White House to take action. For years, throughout multiple administrations, the potential of a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco has loomed. As evidence has mounted outlining the public […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
The Black-Led Movement to Stop ‘New Cancer Alleys’ From Being Built in Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS — Weeks before Mardi Gras, hundreds two-stepped and wobbled to the beat of a full jazz ensemble through the city’s historic French Quarter. Mixed among them were signs reading “Resist The Fossil Fuel Death Cycle” and “No More Blood For Oil And Gas.” Climate and environmental activists gathered to protest Louisiana’s newfound designation […]