racial disparities

July 19, 2019 - The Emmy-nominated docudrama "When They See Us" sparked a national conversation about wrongful convictions and how they disproportionately steal the freedom of Black and Brown people. However, most exonerations don't come about by chance meetings but by the hard work of nongovernmental innocence organizations and a growing number of conviction integrity units in prosecutors' offices.  

June 4, 2019 - While the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among the developed nations, Southern states have the highest rates in the U.S. — and black women are at dramatically higher risk of complications than white women. A congresswoman from North Carolina is taking action to tackle the problem. 

April 22, 2019 - State regulators recently issued a new general permit for industrial hog farms, and it dashed the hopes of environmental advocates who say it represents a failure to address the unequal pollution burden borne by nonwhite communities. They're calling on the agency to take environmental justice into account in future permitting decisions.

February 8, 2019 - Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost way to meet people's energy needs, yet utilities in the Southeast lag behind the rest of the nation in efficiency performance. The federal Green New Deal plan released this week could change that, with its call to upgrade all existing buildings to meet efficiency standards.

January 16, 2019 - The federal shutdown ordered by President Trump in a bid to get congressional funding for a $5.7 billion wall at the Mexican border is now the longest in U.S. history. With 800,000 workers furloughed or working without pay, and millions of contractors idled, the economic pain is widespread — and disproportionately affects African Americans.

January 11, 2019 - In Florida, where a new constitutional amendment has restored voting rights to most ex-felons, organizers are planning a voter registration and engagement campaign to reach those with — and without — criminal convictions. Meanwhile, a lawsuit aims to expand voting rights to people with felony records in Kentucky.

October 26, 2018 - Voters in Southern states are weighing in on ballot measures to expand voting rights, raise the minimum wage, and protect the environment.