This story has been updated. Sharon Jenkins received a late-night call at home in The Woodlands, Texas, from a Lubbock County officer the week of Thanksgiving 2024. She was told there had been a “horrible accident” involving her son. The words hit hard. Although she understood them, she couldn’t quite process the reality. She never […]
Texas
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
EPA Rollbacks Mean More Pollution, Less Justice for Black Communities
For a quarter of a century, a Black neighborhood in Beaumont, Texas, where Chris Jones lives has been the subject of two federal civil rights investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency that explore the role of race in his community’s disproportionately high levels of air pollution. In San Francisco, Kamillah Ealom’s neighborhood has been the […]
Posted inUncategorized
One Family’s Journey to Reclaim Their Ancestral Land Gains Lawmakers Support
This holiday season, Candice Hammons is grateful for one of the greatest gifts she received this year: unwavering support for her family’s pursuit of their land. For the past two years, Hammons and her immediate and distant relatives have organized to take back land near Jacksonville, Texas. In 1855, her great-great-great grandfather, Albartis, or Albertis, […]
Posted inMaternal Health, Partner Content, Politics & Policy, Reproductive Health
A Third Woman Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban
This story was originally published by ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Wrapping his wife in a blanket as she mourned the loss of her pregnancy at 11 weeks, Hope Ngumezi wondered why no obstetrician was coming to see her. […]
Posted inRural Issues
Locked Up and Locked Out
Pamela Barnes never thought she and her sisters would be sitting in a cold, dirty holding cell for trying to protect her family’s land. Just before sunset around 6:30 a.m., the 63-year-old gazed at the white walls’ chipped and peeling paint. Her eyes moved to the rusty, mold-covered vent above her. Her discomfort was eased […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather, Technology
Crypto-Mining Creates New Environmental Injustices for Black Texans
Bitcoin is more than just a shiny new way to lose money. It’s also fueling Texas’ energy struggles as the state prepares for another year of record-breaking heat. And Black communities are caught in the crosswires of climate change, those booming data centers, and the power plants needed to meet both demands. Last year, during […]
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 inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
Everything’s Political, Including the Name of a School
Welcome back to Everything’s Political, Capital B’s weekly news, culture, and politics newsletter! In this edition, learn about two Virginia schools renamed after Confederate generals, a Texas county’s fight for a fair voting map, the killing of a Black airman in Florida, a Black mayor’s fight to govern his Alabama town, and the Trump campaign’s […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice, Land Pollution
This Environmental Victory May Reinforce Injustices in Black Communities
While virtually every environmental group across the nation celebrated the Biden administration’s historic steps to lower pollution last month, John Beard sat patiently. After years of advocacy and hundreds of scientific studies, the federal government designated two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances. This move makes it easier to mandate the removal of these man-made compounds […]
Posted inEverything's Political, Politics & Policy
Everything’s Political, Including This Holiday
Welcome back to Everything’s Political, Capital B’s news, culture, and politics newsletter! Every Thursday, I’ll take a look at recent stories that seem particularly noteworthy. But before we dive into this week’s roundup, I first wanted to let you know that Capital B has released a mission statement and FAQ explaining how our national newsroom […]
