As the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony unfolds this week, a controversial law that disproportionately affects Black and brown youth accused of serious crimes remains at the center of the case. Anthony, now 19, is facing first-degree murder charges in the April 2025 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf. The incident occurred after a seating […]
Texas
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Voters in the South Want Leaders Who Fight but Also Deliver
Farmer Jeremy Peaches spends his days thinking about food: not only how to grow it and where to send it — but also whether people can afford it. The owner of the Fresh Life Organic Produce Co., he manages 25 acres of vegetables for restaurants, food banks, and residents in the largely Black community of […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Politics & Policy
An Oil Explosion in a Black Texas Town Traces Back to Trump’s Iran and Venezuela Crises
John Beard takes no pleasure in being right. In January, he told Capital B that he feared U.S. military action in Venezuela, which ultimately gave America preferential access to the South American nation’s vast oil reserves, would lead to disaster in southeast Texas. “The chickens have come home to roost,” Beard said over the phone, […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy
For Black Texans, Primary Election Results in High Stakes for November
Texan Algenita Davis headed into her state’s primaries Tuesday with a clear sense of what she wanted the outcome to be. “You want to make sure that you put people in office who are going to make the most difference — who are going to fight,” said Davis, 75, a retiree who lives in the […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Black Texans Head to the Primaries With More Than Just Ballots on the Line
Texan Algenita Davis isn’t just talking about the candidates as she heads into the March 3 primaries. She’s also talking about voting maps. From her home near the Old Spanish Trail and Cullen Boulevard in the Third Ward of Houston, she describes congressional lines that curve and stretch north and south across the city and […]
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 inClimate Change, Extreme Weather, Public Safety
A Storm Is Coming for the South’s Most Vulnerable Black Communities
For millions in the South, an impending storm could become unforgettable. “I can’t stop watching the forecasts,” said Shemekia Stringer, speaking by phone Thursday afternoon as she moved through near-empty aisles at a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi, just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. “I’m trying to make sure we’re fully prepared. In my area, the map […]
Posted inMaternal Health
This Texas County Is the Deadliest Place in the U.S. for Black Mothers to Give Birth
This article was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s National Fellowship Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism and the Fund for Reporting on Child Well-being. HOUSTON — By the third trimester of an already difficult pregnancy, Moriah Ballard faced two new complications: relentless headaches and dizziness. Over the […]
Posted inPartner Content, Politics & Policy
Rep. Jasmine Crockett Enters Texas Senate Race as Allred Exits
This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th. Meet Grace and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. A barn-burner of a race for U.S. Senate is underway in Texas. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a firebrand progressive Democrat who represents a Dallas-area district, filed paperwork to enter the race Monday, […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Reproductive Health
‘Ticking Time Bomb’: A Pregnant Mother Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
This story was originally published by ProPublica. Tierra Walker had reached her limit. In the weeks since she’d learned she was pregnant, the 37-year-old dental assistant had been wracked by unexplained seizures and mostly confined to a hospital cot. With soaring blood pressure and diabetes, she knew she was at high risk of developing preeclampsia, […]