Alecia 🌻

My First Byline: Aallyah Wright Rural issues reporter, Capital B

Capital B reporter Aallyah Wright is featured in the newest edition of @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social's Your First Byline. yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/my-first-b...

What a beautiful face behind those beautiful words 🥹🤩

The Black Women Driving a Food Revolution in Rural Mississippi From grocery stores to food distribution services, Black women are leading efforts to feed their communities.

From opening grocery stores to launching online delivery services, I traveled to rural Mississippi to highlight the work of two Black women who are reimagining how their communities eat and thrive.

This is part of the RNN's "Sowing Resilience" series.

capitalbnews.org/black-women-...

This high-stakes Johnson County trial could reshape abortion access in Kansas In a trial that started Friday in Johnson County, abortion providers are challenging Kansas laws that they say are designed to scare and shame women out of terminating pregnancies.

In a trial that started Friday in Johnson County, abortion providers are challenging Kansas laws that they say are designed to scare and shame women out of terminating pregnancies.

Black Students Confront Right-Wing Visitors as HBCU Security Tensions Grow Tennessee State University said students were respectful and the group, ‘Fearless Debates,’ did not provide advanced notice of their arrival.

Some of you may have seen the news about the MAGA group that tried to debate Tennessee State students early this week.

I wrote about the incident, the uni’s history of being underfunded and the calls to protect HBCUs from the far-right.

capitalbnews.org/maga-protest...

Black Professors on Turning Point’s Watch List Face Harassment On and Off Campus Black professors open up about being on the Professor Watch List started by the organization Charlie Kirk co-founded.

Black professors have been a target for the far-right since before Charlie Kirk’s death. I spoke to a few professors about their experiences being on Turning Point’s Professor Watch list.

capitalbnews.org/black-profes...

Newsletters We write the untold stories of Black America. Sign up now for Capital B's national, Atlanta, Gary and Everything's Politics newsletter emails.

I traveled across rural MS to learn how Black women are feeding their communities. The story is part of a series in collaboration with 8 other newsrooms and the Rural News Network.

My story publishes on Monday, but you can catch a preview in tomorrow’s newsletter.

capitalbnews.org/newsletters

In This Black Louisiana Town, Forests are Browning and Animals are Dying After the industrial explosion in rural Louisiana town, the EPA still says there is no health threat.

NEW: The trees in Roseland are turning brown. A month after an oil plant explosion coated this small Black town in toxic soot, experts say the forests are sick. If the land is poisoned — what about the people who call it home? capitalbnews.org/roseland-oil...

Chicago’s Black Immigrants Face New Wave of ICE Arrests and Uncertainty Nearly 70,000 immigrants from African countries live in the city, making up 5.2% of the population according to 2023 U.S. Census data.

Black Chicagoans are divided on how to respond to Trump’s renewed immigration crackdowns.
Some see echoes of overpolicing in their own communities.
Others say: “It’s not us against them.”
Here's what’s happening when I went on the ground to Chicago last week: capitalbnews.org/trump-ice-ra...

Trump Shifts $435M to HBCUs As Other Minority-Serving Colleges Lose Funding The Department of Education announced the funding boost just days after cutting $350 million from other grants.

The DOE will shift millions of dollars from MSIs to HBCUs + tribal colleges.

The UNCF said HBCUs are deserving of the money because they educate Pell grant-eligible students more than any other group in higher ed.

capitalbnews.org/trump-hbcus-...

At South Florida’s Only HBCU, a Leadership Feud Ends in Court Florida judge sides with board of trustees of Florida Memorial in fight over selecting the university’s next president.

South Florida’s HBCU drew some attention to itself when the Board of Trustees made their disagreements over the interim president public. A local judge put an end to it this week.

capitalbnews.org/florida-memo...

How a $5 Billion Federal Project Could Sink the Lower Ninth Ward For Good Decades after Betsy and Katrina, the community faces another threat — a canal proposal promising “progress” that could threaten its survival.

I spent six months walking the Lower Ninth Ward, speaking w/ dozens of neighbors, + combing through 6,000 pages of FOIA docs. My latest reveals what recent documentaries left out. If Katrina’s legacy moved you, don’t miss what’s happening to the community now capitalbnews.org/katrina-anni...

HBCUs Remain on Lockdown After Terrorist Threats Hampton University and Virginia State University were the first to report Thursday, but the list grew quickly.

Several Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country were on lockdown Thursday after a series of “terrorist threats.”

capitalbnews.org/hbcu-receive...

Talks of a Royals stadium in North Kansas City stir hope, doubt in Clay County North Kansas City is back in the conversation for the new home of The Royals, but officials aren’t in the conversation.

The Star's @aleciareports.bsky.social on how people in Clay County feels about the renewed prospect of landing the Royals. In short, it's complicated.

www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

Platte County residents sue officials over refusal to enact voter-approved sales tax In November, 56% of voters approved the quarter-of-a-cent-sales tax to expand mental health services in Platte County. Despite the election results, the commissioners then refused to levy the tax.

Platte County residents are suing the county's commissioners and the Missouri Department of Revenue for refusing to enact and collect a voter-approved sales tax to support youth mental health initiatives throughout the county. From @aleciareports.bsky.social: www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

Kansas City IRS workers brace for mass layoff. Union fears 1,000 workers will be cut A union representing IRS workers in Kansas City was preparing for the layoff of potentially hundreds of probationary employees.

IRS employees in Kansas City are bracing for upwards of 1,000 layoffs this week, a mass termination that would rock a major employer in the metro.

Struggling JoCo, WyCo homeowners await property tax relief as KS Republicans remain divided House and Senate Republicans who vowed to deliver property tax relief have yet to agree on a tax reform proposal to bring to the voters.

Many homeowners across Wyandotte and Johnson Counties are struggling to pay their property taxes.

And as residents urge lawmakers for relief, a divide within the Kansas GOP is threatening to derail any meaningful reform.

Clay County detective under investigation for social media post after ICE detained workers “We strongly condemn any actions by our employees that have the potential to erode public trust in our agency,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.

A Clay County, Missouri, detective is on leave after he is alleged to have posted “Time to put the ‘panic’ back in Hispanic” after an ICE raid in the KC metro last week

From @aleciareports.bsky.social

www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

KC Pet Project CEO steps down as city seeks to take over animal control KC Pet Project’s board of directors announced CEO Teresa Johnson left the position Friday, amid concerns over how the nonprofit handles animal control services in Kansas City.

KC Pet Project CEO steps down as city seeks to take over animal control
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

Park Hill unanimously approves new school boundary lines after months of parent pushback Park Hill’s boundary advisory team has met for several months to draw new boundary lines to accommodate growing enrollment numbers.

Park Hill Schools has finalized its redistricting plan to ease overcrowding and prepare for the new elementary school opening next fall.

Curious about how they made the decision? Read my story:

www.kansascity.com/news/local/e...

Platte County voters passed a tax for youth mental health. Commissioners refuse to enact it “The commissioners have decided our voice doesn’t matter, and this should bother everyone,” one resident said.

Despite voter approval of a sales tax to expand youth mental health services in Platte County, the county commission rejected the measure, citing state statute language around 'may' and 'shall' as the basis for their decision.
Read my latest for the KC Star:

www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

*taps mic* is this thing on????