California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday that his office will investigate the Los Angeles City Council’s redistricting process following the release of an audio recording in which council members hurled racist insults about Black, Jewish, and Mexican indigenous communities. On Wednesday, City Council President Nury Martinez resigned her seat, three days after the release […]
racism
Posted inEducation, K-12
The Unintended Consequences of Brown v. Board of Education
When the U.S. Supreme Court deemed segregated schooling unconstitutional in 1954, the landmark decision become a symbol of racial progress. But the ruling came with a hidden cost: the dismissal of tens of thousands of Black teachers and principals as white school staff poured into previously all-Black schools and were promoted into leadership roles over […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Jackson’s Not Alone. Water Crises Are Plaguing Black Communities Nationwide.
JACKSON, Miss. — The historic floods that washed across southern Louisiana in 2016 left Joyce Turner Keller’s home so damaged she was forced to sleep in her car. The Baton Rouge native had no flood insurance to recover the belongings she lost in the floodwaters. Government officials were slow to respond as she struggled with […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Land Pollution
Across the Midwest, Counties Are Building New Jails on Toxic Land
This story was published in partnership with Truthout. Nestled in Cleveland’s Industrial Valley, the intersection of Transport Road and Rockefeller Avenue holds the story of the city’s toxic past — and potentially poisonous future. Once the home of a massive oil refinery, the plot is now the potential new home of a $700 million jail […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Clinicians Dismiss Black Women’s Pain. The Consequences Are Dire.
This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The bottle of vodka sat unopened. It was the largest one Cheryl McJoy could find. If she drank it, she thought, maybe the stabbing sensations in her body would stop. “I […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Police Keep Failing to Report How Often They Use Force Against Citizens
For generations, Black families have passed down cautionary tales about harmful encounters with police — stories of racial profiling, planted evidence and excessive force that goes unchecked. The warnings are largely rooted in the anecdotes and life experience of elders. But solid data on American law enforcement’s racial biases has remained elusive. The Federal Bureau […]
Posted inHousing, Money
A Sweeping Ordinance Would Make It Easier For LA to Target its Unhoused Residents
Since last fall, Lee has lived in a budding community on the southern edge of Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Residents of the once-majority Black area — the epicenter of the 1965 Watts Rebellion and the 1992 uprising following the police beating of Rodney King — have advocated for investments in Black life for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Gun Violence
The Buffalo Tops Supermarket Reopens 60 Days Later Despite Community Pushback
Tops Friendly Markets has reopened its Buffalo, New York, grocery store where 10 people were killed in a racist massacre in May, a decision that has outraged residents who hoped the location would be turned into a memorial. The predominantly Black community also has expressed dismay that the tragedy has not prompted officials to fulfill […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Mistrust of USDA Could Cause Black Farmers to Lose Out on Funding
For decades, the U.S. government has racially discriminated against Black farmers through federal agriculture programs, denied them loans and contributed to billions of dollars in lost land. One recent example: A $4 billion federal loan forgiveness program for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers — including those who are Black — has been halted, the result […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Do Police Really Treat White Mass Shooters With Kid Gloves?
The memes show up on social media whenever a white mass shooter is taken into custody. On one side of the image is the face of a Black person who was gunned down by police after being stopped on suspicion of a minor crime. On the other side is the face of a young white […]