This is the first story in Capital B’s “Gatekeepers of the Land,” a multipart series that explores a small but powerful county committee system and its role in diminishing Black political power and resources for Black farmers. This project is a result of the Investigative Reporting and Editors Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Fellowship. It is […]
Rural Issues
Posted inCulture, Economy, Employment, Equity, History, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Mississippi Delta Is a Testing Ground for the Nation
The majority-Black Mississippi Delta region is shrouded in both magic and myth for many outsiders, writer and essayist W. Ralph Eubanks says. Dubbed the “Most Southern Place on Earth,” the Delta’s rich culture and blues music brings millions of tourists to the region every year. The Magnolia State broke records in 2024 when about 44 […]
Posted inCourts, Economic Development, Eminent Domain, History, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Georgia Is Letting a Railroad Seize Land a Black Family Has Owned For 100 Years
SPARTA, Ga. — In 1850, Andrew Benjamin Tarbutton enslaved 25 people in central Georgia. A year later, he purchased more than a dozen additional people off the docks in Savannah and marched them toward his home, setting the foundation for his family’s generational wealth. Four generations later, a railroad company owned by one of his […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
The Alabama Town That Blocked Its First Black Mayor Now Has Another
Read Capital B’s continuous coverage on Newbern, Alabama, and the first Black mayor’s fight to serve. The rural Alabama town that once ousted its first Black leader has now appointed its second Black mayor and first woman to hold the office. The historic appointment of Barbara Patrick in Newbern on Feb. 1 comes after Patrick […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Colorado Ranchers Prevail After Attempts to Run Them Off the Land
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. They faced being […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Voting
Sapelo Island’s Gullah Geechee Community Fights Back and Wins
In a win for Gullah Geechee residents on Georgia’s sea islands, voters this week rejected an ordinance that doubled the allowed square footage for homes in Sapelo Island’s Hog Hammock district. Many Black residents feared the change would lead to higher property taxes, gentrification, and displacement. Unofficial results on Tuesday showed 19% of 10,000 registered […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Eminent Domain
Mississippi Residents Say City Quietly Marked Their Homes for Takeover
Greg Gipson walked out of a federal appeals court in Louisiana last week feeling a bit more hopeful about a case that was dismissed in Mississippi over his historic neighborhood’s designation. Gipson and other residents drove 93 miles from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to New Orleans to persuade a panel of federal judges to reconsider whether their […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area
In December, on a two-lane road not far from the ACE Basin, a protected ecosystem and wildlife refuge in South Carolina, Paul Black drove past St. Paul AME Church and the cemetery where his wife’s grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-grandmother are buried, then slowed as the trees opened onto the piney tract. Black is an environmental […]
Posted inClimate Change, Housing, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues, Wealth Gap
This Mississippi Delta Home Could Collapse Before Help Arrives
SIDON, Mississippi — Malissa Whitehead is known for making tea cakes and blueberry pies during the holidays — but as Christmas approaches, she’s uneasy about baking anything in the house she’s lived in for 40 years. The kitchen ceiling wood is peeling, revealing small holes and chipped paint. On the outside, the roof is covered […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
This Alabama Cattle Rancher Is Ready for a Legal Battle to Protect His Land
SELMA, Alabama — On a sunny, humid summer afternoon, Willie Palmer Jr. gathered his cows under a tree for feeding time. He watched as they roamed the grounds, passing by a slew of vehicles, a shed, and barn on his 20-acre property. As the animals feasted, Palmer stood quietly for a moment, taking in the […]