Update: As of 2025, 13 states have enacted Clean Slate laws, extending eligibility to over 5 million Black Americans to have their records cleared. Click the link to learn more about Clean Slate law initiatives: capitalbnews.org/clean-slate-...

An update from one of Rev. Jesse Jackson's longtime friend, S. Todd Yeary: capitalbnews.org/rev-jesse-ja...

Before Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, there was the Rev. Jesse Jackson. His push for proportional representation changed how Democrats nominate presidents — and helped open doors for the leaders who followed. Click the link for more: capitalbnews.org/rev-jesse-ja...

Former DOJ prosecutors say the agency that once protected Black communities now works against them. “It's a sobering experience to compare the Justice Department of today, from what we were hoping it to be,” one told Capital B.

In Saturday’s @capitalb.bsky.social newsletter, I wrote about two Black women at the center of a Virginia school shooting case — Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher, and Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal now facing eight felony child abuse charges.

“I thought I would die.” A former Virginia teacher was shot by her 6-year-old student in 2023. A jury has now awarded her $10 million — but the case continues to raise questions about who’s held responsible when tragedy strikes. Click the link to find out more: capitalbnews.org/virginia-mom...

Black Lives Matter isn’t one organization. Some chapters split off, while the DOJ investigates how millions in donations were spent, according to the Associated Press. Click the link about the movement’s complicated history: capitalbnews.org/black-lives-...

A Peoria County, Illinois, jury has found former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson guilty in the killing of 36-year-old Sonya Massey.

Jury deliberations are expected to begin today for Sean Grayson, the former Illinois officer on trial for killing Sonya Massey. The jury will deliberate first-degree murder charges with instructions for second-degree murder to consider.

🚨UPDATE! A juror’s letter. A family’s last hope. A clemency system few understand. After serving 31 years of a 240-year sentence, Kofi Modibo Ajabu will appear before the Indiana Parole Board next week, seeking a rare act of mercy. Click the link for more: capitalbnews.org/clemency-kof...

Letitia James. Fani Willis. Lisa Cook. Marilyn Mosby. Different roles. Same pattern. Black women professionals are being targeted in a wave of legal, political, and institutional retaliation. Here’s what’s happening — and why it matters: capitalbnews.org/trump-target...

Britt White did 5 years for marijuana. Bryan Reid watched from prison as Virginia legalized the plant that put him there. Now, as cannabis becomes big business, they're asking: Who really benefits? 🔗 capitalbnews.org/marijuana-po...

4 attorneys general. 5 cities. National Guard troops are being deployed in Trump’s continued immigration and what he calls a crime crackdown. We break down what’s happening — and who’s being targeted. Click the link for more: capitalbnews.org/trump-nation...

Two weeks ago, I went to Chicago, where I spoke with Black residents about concerns over a possible federal takeover. Reporting like this — centered in community — is only possible with your support. Help @capitalb.bsky.social keep going: 🔗 capitalbnews.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...

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...

“I should have gotten it.” After surviving a brutal attack, Yolanda Carter was left with permanent injuries — and zero financial help from Illinois’ victim compensation fund. Here's why the system is failing survivors: capitalbnews.org/crime-surviv...

Remember Newbern, Alabama — the rural town where a Black man was blocked from serving as mayor and where elections had never been held? Today, voters are making history as they cast ballots in the town’s first-ever municipal election. NEW: capitalbnews.org/newbern-alab...

Hey y’all hey! Quick 🧵🚨 The federal takeover of D.C.’s government has been kicked up a notch with President Trump’s executive order that threatens to take away funds from the district if it doesn’t end its cashless bail policy.

In Saturday's @capitalb.bsky.social newsletter "Seen & Heard," I wrote about a nostalgic weekend that made me wonder what’s next for “sanctuary jurisdictions” during this administration, the 2003 blackout, and Amadou Diallo. Sign up here to read it tomorrow morning: capitalbnews.org/newsletters

Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi released an overlapping list of cities, counties, and states accused of defying the administration’s mass deportation efforts through sanctuary policies. (Quick 🧵🚨)

Supporters of Tyesha Long said she is the “poster child” for the state’s Survivor’s Act because of her documented history of abuse. But one advocate said it’s “hard to imagine more Black women benefiting” from similar second chance laws. To learn more about her case: capitalbnews.org/tyesha-long-...

President Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., and its police department. Click the link for more: capitalbnews.org/dc-police-fe...

🔈 Choosing to drink shouldn’t disqualify someone from being believed or protected after a sexual assault. A NY bill —reintroduced 6 times — aims to close the legal loophole around voluntary intoxication. Learn more: capitalbnews.org/bill-a101-ne...

One day. capitalbnews.org/breonna-tayl...

This ruling allows Marilyn Mosby to keep the $476,000 condo the government tried to force her to forfeit after her conviction, according to the decision. capitalbnews.org/marilyn-mosb...

Since Sandra Bland’s death 10 years ago, advocates have called on the authorities to look into other killings of Black women in which police have been accused of using excessive force, including Breonna Taylor, Sonya Massey, Jada Johnson, and Niani Finlayson. capitalbnews.org/saniyah-chea...

In Saturday's @capitalb.bsky.social "Seen & Heard" newsletter, I shared a trip to Center, Texas, where I met relatives of Leonard McCowin — a 21-year-old WWII vet killed by the city marshal in 1947 — and a distant cousin fighting to preserve the truth about Shelby County’s Black history.

“We don’t know how we are going to go on without Jabari, but we are going to fight for Jabari,” Williams Peoples, Jabari Peoples' dad, said at a presser. Peoples was killed by a Homewood, AL, officer on June 23. Activists said there are "serious issues in Homewood." capitalbnews.org/jabari-peopl...

Quick 🧵🚨: Delbert Jackson has launched a campaign to relocate a historic marker and add a second — honoring his distant cousin Leonard McCowin, a 21-year-old Black veteran who witnesses say was killed by a Center, Texas, city marshal in 1947.

“Go to hospitals and talk about hospital-based violence intervention programs, talk to victims of gun violence and prove that no, this is not solely about police courts and crime."

A federal judge ruled that the DHS can't end protected status for thousands of Haitian migrants this fall. This is a win for immigrants' rights.

Quick 🧵🚨 For generations, people from the Caribbean have migrated to the U.S. — some directly from their home islands, others through countries like Canada or the United Kingdom.

Quick🧵🚨 Civil rights organizations, including those led by justice-impacted Black women like Desseray Wright, argue that these covert tests have fueled a long-standing pattern of criminalizing Black and brown women in family courts and separating families under the guise of child protection.

Update on Javion MaGee's case. capitalbnews.org/javion-magee...

Guilty! capitalbnews.org/sade-robinso...

Verdict watch today in the Maxwell Anderson first-degree intentional homicide trial. The prosecution and defense rested their cases on Thursday. capitalbnews.org/sade-robinso...

Remembering Tom Robbins, Journalist Who Crusaded for New Yorkers in Need www.thecity.nyc/2025/05/28/r...

A jury has been selected, according to multiple local reports. Opening statements start on Wednesday. capitalbnews.org/sade-robinso...

“I just miss her being present. I miss her — her life, her spirit, her calls. Just her," Sheena Scarbrough, mother of Sade Robinson. capitalbnews.org/sade-robinso...

Just days after the controversial acquittal of three former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers in the death of Tyre Nichols, his family is condemning the "wanted" posters showing the men involved in his brutal beating that are appearing across the city. capitalbnews.org/tyre-nichols...

Today we’re kicking off our Spring Campaign. We’re working to raise $2,000 to fund reporting that listens to, reflects, and serves Black communities. If you believe in that mission, we’d love your support. capitalbnews.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...

Since the May 14, 2022 attack, residents’ hopes for a second grocery store in Buffalo’s Blackest community remain unmet. Abandoned homes still line Jefferson Avenue, and grassroots groups continue to be a main resource for essential services, including health care. capitalbnews.org/buffalo-mass...

In Saturday's @capitalb.bsky.social newsletter, I wrote about reporting on Buffalo after the massacre and why I still can’t look away from the people I met, and continue to meet, from the community. Sign up here to read it tomorrow morning: capitalbnews.org/newsletters

Three of the five ex-Memphis officers convicted in federal court for Tyre Nichols’ death were just acquitted in state court by an all-white jury. This case shows why federal oversight in police brutality cases is crucial — without it, all five could’ve walked free. capitalbnews.org/tyre-nichols...

Three former Memphis officers are now on trial for second-degree murder in Tyre Nichols’ fatal 2023 beating. A jury from outside Memphis was selected to ensure fairness. The trial is being aired live via Fox13 Memphis: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGf...

The 17-year-old suspect said he was acting in self-defense; if convicted of first-degree murder, he could be sentenced to life in prison. capitalbnews.org/karmelo-anth...

🚨🧵 Brittany Martin walked out of prison in Nov. 2024 — but 3 weeks later, she was rearrested. The charges? Two counts of threatening a public official in connection with an incident in 2023 where prison guards cut off her locs. She was already disciplined for this incident, her records show.

🚨Quick 🧵 A fatal altercation at a Texas track meet has left 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony — not NBA star Carmelo Anthony — facing a first-degree murder charge. He claims self-defense. He’s Black. The victim was white.

After decades in prison for crimes committed as teens, John Pace and Eddie Ellis Jr. are using their voices to push for juvenile justice reform. They say their story shows the power of growth and transformation. #SecondChanceMonth www.capitalbnews.org/juvenile-lif...