Over the years, Gabrielle Wyatt has heard directly from Black women nationally who described wealth as not only earnings, but about the conditions to live fully with financial freedom, abundance of choice, belonging, and thriving health. With the attack on Black economic and political power, Black women have been hit the hardest, disproportionately suffering from […]
voting rights
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Louisiana Republicans Cut Black Voting Power With New House Map
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Republicans on Friday approved a new congressional map that erodes Black voting power in the state — eliminating a majority-Black district established in 2024 that gave residents there an opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice. Friday’s move comes one month after the U.S. Supreme Court found that the lines of […]
Posted inCulture, News, Politics & Policy
‘We’re Not Going Back’: Black Voters March in Alabama Against Redistricting
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Roy Wilson remembers marching with his family before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. More than 60 years later, the 77-year-old answered the nationwide call to action this weekend as hundreds mobilized across Selma and Montgomery against the direct attacks on the voting protections he fought for as a teenager. […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Louisiana Exoneree Wins Election, Then Gets Blocked From Taking Office on First Day
Calvin Duncan was supposed to start on May 4 overseeing the criminal court in New Orleans after a federal judge blocked the state from eliminating the position. But less than an hour later, a higher court intervened, halting that decision at the state’s request. Five months after Duncan secured 68% of the vote to become […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Elders Without Birth Records Could Lose Vote Under SAVE America Act
When Courtney Patterson was born on his family’s farm in Lenoir County, North Carolina, 80 years ago, he was fortunate that a country doctor recorded his birth, ensuring that he would have a document later. “But many other people who grew up with me didn’t even have that,” Patterson recalled. Babies were usually delivered at […]
Posted inElections, Politics & Policy, Voting
‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Civil Rights Leaders Sound Alarm on SAVE America Act
Despite facing long odds, Senate Republicans on Tuesday voted to begin debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The bill, also known as the SAVE America Act, is a deeply controversial proposal that civil rights groups say could disenfranchise millions — particularly Black Americans — by creating new barriers to the ballot box. The […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Supreme Court Case Threatens Mail-in Ballots for Black Voters
For Mississippians, there’s been no escaping the attempts to dilute Black political power. Two Black Democrats won special elections on Nov. 4 to break the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate. Then, six days later, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to mail-in voting. Johnny DuPree and Theresa Gillespie Isom both […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy
This District Built On Civil Rights Legacy Has Gone Months Without Representation
Uncertainty continues to hang over Texas’ 18th Congressional District. No single candidate secured 50% of the vote in the Nov. 4 special election, meaning that the race is heading to a runoff. The top two vote-getters — Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards — will compete at a date […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
These Louisiana Voters Are Standing Up to Save Voting Rights Across America
WASHINGTON — Living in North Baton Rouge is like being on the wrong side of the tracks, Martha Davis said. There are potholes everywhere that make you feel as if you’re driving on a washboard, southeastern Louisiana residents are still reeling from the loss of medical facilities, and the area has some of the lowest-performing […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Why Voting Is Becoming Harder for Black Americans in Southern States
Rod Sias remembers how deeply hurt he was when Louisiana lost its second majority-Black congressional district in the 1990s. Because of a federal court ruling, the 56-year-old Opelousas resident said, Black Louisianans were denied an opportunity to elect another U.S. representative who might advocate for them in Congress. Cleo Fields, the representative who had been […]