Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery believed they had moved to greener pastures after being displaced by a hurricane. They moved to Yoder, Colorado, an unincorporated town where they could nurture their animals and grow food on their 1,000-acre ranch. What the married couple say they’ve encountered, however, nearly cost them their lives. During Easter weekend, […]
racism
Posted inNews
Racist Doll Thrown at Mardi Gras Parade Ignites Citywide Backlash
During what should have been a joyful 7th birthday at a Mardi Gras parade, a young Black girl in New Orleans caught a gift that stopped her family cold. The child was tossed a Black doll with noose-like beads around its neck from a parade float adorning the phrase “crack pipe,” the child’s mother, Shayna […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Black Residents Win Key Ruling in ‘Cancer Alley’ Environmental Racism Case
In a pocket of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley,” Black residents bear the generational toll of “plantation country” becoming “pollution country.” Now, a federal district court has given those residents something they almost never get: a chance to put the whole system on trial. On Feb. 9, a judge in New Orleans ruled that groups […]
Posted inHistory, Politics & Policy
100 Years After a Black Family Was Forced Out, a Descendant Sues a California City
Sidney and Iréne Dearing, along with their two small children, faced lynching and bomb threats after they settled in a “sundown town” in California in 1924. As the first Black homeowners in Piedmont, a wealthy white suburb of Oakland, they endured a racial terror campaign that included a mob of 500 people showing up on […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Texas Senate Primary Erupts After ‘Mediocre Black Man’ Remark
The Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas has been jolted by fresh controversy, one that has revived debates over race, power, and perceived political legitimacy in the Lone Star State and beyond. The flare-up began on Sunday. A TikToker posted a video in which she says that Democratic Texas state Rep. James […]
Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy
A Growing Warning From Black Veterans: The Military Isn’t Safe for Us
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. ARLINGTON, Virginia — “Not right now, baby girl. Now’s not the time for you.” That was the advice that Tavorise Marks, who served in the U.S. Army for 15 years, recently had for […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Partner Content
30 Years After Chicago’s Deadliest Heat Wave, Systemic Racism Is Still the Root Problem
Originally published by Inside Climate News CHICAGO — Cheryl Johnson was watching the news during the worst heat wave in her city’s history when she learned that a man she’d known since she was a child had been found dead on the steps of a church downtown. She’ll never forget the moment. Her friend — […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, History
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth
CENTER, Texas — As Delbert Jackson turned right onto the clean, sandy-paved stretch of Martin Luther King Drive, his chin lifted with quiet pride. The road’s upkeep is due in large part to Jackson, who leads regular community cleanups in the city. On this humid and sunny morning in early June, something felt a bit […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Some Mother Emanuel Families Say the Focus on Forgiveness Has Cost Them Justice
Malcolm Graham says that his sister’s body was still in the morgue when he noticed that people were rallying around the importance of forgiving her killer. A librarian who loved her community, Cynthia Graham Hurd was one of the nine Black worshippers who were fatally shot on June 17, 2015, at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal […]
Posted inHistory
Stolen Black Remains Return Home After 150 Years in European Vault
Underneath oak trees and Spanish moss from Texas to the Carolina coasts, the remains of Black Americans lay in unmarked graves across roadside cemeteries and backyards. While some graves now remain hidden beneath highways and shopping malls, others have been stripped of their dignity in an even more insidious way. Nowhere is this more painfully […]