ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Amari Marsh had just finished her junior year at South Carolina State University in May 2023 when she received a text message from a law enforcement officer. “Sorry it has taken this long for paperwork to come back,” the officer wrote. “But I finally have the final report, and wanted to see […]
Supreme Court
Posted inNews, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
What the Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Means for Trump’s Cases and, Potentially, Future Presidents
In a landmark ruling with potentially major impact on the 2024 presidential campaign, a U.S. Supreme Court majority ruled that presidents — including former President Donald Trump — have immunity from prosecution when carrying out “official acts.” “Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics & Policy, Reproductive Health
The Black Reproductive Justice Leaders in a Post-Dobbs Era
Unknowns loom, and uncertainty lingers. It’s been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, striking down the federal right to an abortion, limiting access in many states, and potentially exacerbating disparities in who’s most likely to suffer severe complications in maternal health and die. Women wonder whether their doctors should know […]
Posted inCourts
Your Guide to This Year’s Major Supreme Court Cases
Her words sounded ominous, like a warning. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the bench’s most senior liberal member, recently recalled that, on some days, she returns to her office after the announcement of a gut-wrenching decision, closes her door — and cries: “There have been those days,” she lamented. “And there are likely to […]
Posted inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
Everything’s Political, Including a South Carolina Map
Welcome back to Everything’s Political, Capital B’s weekly news, culture, and politics newsletter! In this edition, learn about the U.S. Supreme Court’s devastating decision on a South Carolina congressional map, the pardon of a man who killed a Black Lives Matter protester, voting rights in Louisiana, the search for a missing Black woman in Mississippi, […]
Posted inEducation, History, Politics & Policy
Revisiting Brown v. Board of Education’s Legacy in a New Era of Massive Resistance
Exactly 70 years after some of the greatest Black legal minds in the U.S. challenged racial segregation in public schools, the assault on diversity in the classroom and beyond is gaining fresh momentum. Black students have long been subtly pushed out of schools thanks to disciplinary policies with roots in widespread resistance to desegregation efforts. […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Reproductive Health
What Comes Next in the Battle for Emergency Abortion Care Access
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the media flooded with cases of women who had been denied abortion care during emergency situations, putting their lives at risk. Whether pregnant patients have the constitutional right to abortion care when their health is severely at risk is at the heart of Idaho […]
Posted inCourts
An Upcoming Supreme Court Case Threatens to Criminalize Homelessness
As America’s affordable housing crisis grows, especially for those of retirement age, Black folks continue to be pushed into homelessness at a disproportionate rate. Advocates argue that an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling may make it even more dire. Earlier this month, the court announced that it would hear a case that will essentially decide […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
The Case That Could Destroy the Voting Rights Act
A new federal court opinion in an Arkansas case that would restrict who can sue under the 1965 Voting Rights Act is one of the most alarming attacks on the law in recent years. It would effectively prohibit most efforts to protect Black people’s access to the ballot box and continue the long assault on […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Why Fair Voting Maps Could Be Good for the Environment
Gullah-Geechee Corridor resident Taiwan Scott is angry. The South Carolina real estate agent, who focuses on supporting Black property owners, is in a battle with legislators as rising sea levels and more intense and frequent storms imperil Black Americans’ land and heritage across the approximately 12,000 square miles extending from North Carolina to Florida. “Black […]
