This fall will mark 18 years since a New York judge sat at her bench with a clear view of two Black families whose lives had been ravaged by gun violence. On her right of the full courtroom sat supporters of Ronnie Wright, who faced being separated from his young daughter for the rest of […]
New York
Posted inPublic Safety
East Coast Earthquake Reveals Holes in Disaster Preparedness
In New York, a city of 8 million people, daily exposure to a cacophony of sounds and shakes is the norm. So, sitting in her apartment in Brooklyn, Nichole Jenkins thought it was just a big truck driving down her street. Elsewhere in Brooklyn, roommates Sannah Boyd and Imiyah Weatherspoon swore construction work was being […]
Posted inLGBTQ, Partner Content
Leaving the Church Isn’t So Simple for LGBTQ+ Black Christians
Originally published by The 19th When Karmen Michael Smith moved to New York City in 2003, he joined a new progressive Baptist church. He was raised with the understanding that if he wanted to find community in a new place, he needed to find a “church home.” But in a city known for progressive views, […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
New York Could Elect the Second Black Republican Woman to Congress
Originally published by The 19th Mazi Melesa Pilip, a Jewish, Ethiopian-born immigrant and mother of seven, is campaigning to keep New York’s swingy 3rd Congressional District red in a special election on Tuesday. If elected, she would be the second Black Republican congresswoman. The relative newcomer is facing Democrat Tom Suozzi — who previously represented […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Partner Content
Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ celebrates Black queer joy. O’Shae Sibley’s killer tried to strip that away.
Originally published by The 19th, your trusted source for contextualizing LGBTQ+ news. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Since its release last year, Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” has been celebrated as a love letter to Black queer dance culture.For an hour and two minutes, the album offers listeners a chance at freedom of expression, a brief respite […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
What the Road to Redemption Looks Like for Incarcerated People
A weekend visit to family on Long Island, New York, turned into Kenneth Hogan’s last days of freedom. At 20 years old, Hogan was a father of two and his mother’s main support system. Hogan says he sold drugs in Albany, New York, to financially survive and yet he aspired to break his family’s generational […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Man Who Fatally Choked Jordan Neely Arraigned on Criminal Charge
The man who used a lethal choke hold on Jordan Neely inside a New York City subway car is facing a felony charge of second-degree manslaughter — but the Neely family’s attorneys say the charge doesn’t go far enough. Daniel Penny has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New York Family Seeks Justice in Their College Student Son’s Death
Roquishia Lewis is still shell-shocked after a grand jury voted to not press charges against the white man who fatally stabbed her 19-year-old son on a college campus — and she’s even more confused by how her son has been portrayed by the Erie County district attorney in New York. “I’m devastated by how they […]
Posted inHousing, Money
How These NYC Public Housing Residents Became Models for Tenant Rights Activism
This story was published in partnership with The City. Sign up for their newsletter here. The coronavirus pandemic laid bare the critical need for affordable housing across the United States. As millions lost their jobs, many Americans were only able to remain housed thanks to the advent of COVID-19 housing policies, including eviction moratoriums and rent freezes. […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
In Brooklyn, Public Housing Tenants Struggle Against the ‘Slow Violence’ of Industrial Pollution
This story was published in partnership with The City. Sign up for their newsletter here. Elisha Fye jokes that he was a member of the “true little rascals” while growing up in the New York City Housing Authority’s Cooper Park Houses in North Brooklyn’s industrial corridor. The expansive 700-apartment housing project was erected in 1953, and Fye’s […]