From This Collection

Public pools used to be everywhere in America. Then racism shut them down.

Feb 15, 2021
In her new book, "The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together," Heather McGhee looks at how racism drained not only public pools, but also public support for universal healthcare and other "big government" policies.
A child holds a sign at a Black Lives Matter protest in New York City on June 9, 2020.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Aunt Jemima rebrands as Pearl Milling Company

Feb 10, 2021
It's part of a reappraisal of brands long criticized for their demeaning or racist roots.
Aunt Jemima has rebranded itself as Pearl Milling Company.
PepsiCo

The California shutdown drove some salons underground

Feb 3, 2021
California salons are reopening after months of lockdown. But some never closed down completely.
A client gets a haircut at a barbershop operating outdoors last summer in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

New generation is helping to revive Black-owned farms

Feb 2, 2021
Black farmers have struggled, but young entrepreneurs are finding ways to support them.
Gabrielle E.W. Carter and Derrick Beasley of Tall Grass Food Box, which strengthened Black growers' supply chain to get fresh food to customers.
(Photo by Leoneda Inge)

Biden orders push agencies to reckon with their roles in systemic racism

Jan 27, 2021
Economic policies have long excluded entire communities. The Biden administration is putting special emphasis on reviewing housing policy.
Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as President Joe Biden signs executive orders related to his racial equity agenda.
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.'s fair housing legacy

Jan 18, 2021
Amid the public outrage that followed King's assassination, President Johnson pushed Congress to pass the legislation in King's honor.
Congress passed the Fair Housing Act after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968, as a way of honoring him. Above, King addresses a meeting in Chicago in 1966.
Jeff Kamen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

How baby bonds could help close the racial wealth gap

Jan 13, 2021
A proposed $1,000 savings account for every baby born in the U.S. could improve future outcomes for an entire generation of families.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, above, and Sen. Cory Booker are pushing for baby bonds to help close the racial wealth gap.
Tom Williams/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Black farmers face a slew of systemic challenges

Jan 12, 2021
Unfair pricing and land loss are just a few reasons the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund formed decades ago.
"We've had co-ops in Mississippi that knew they got less for their collard greens then their neighbor did," Cornelius Blanding says. "So they had to form a cooperative so that they can ship their products to Chicago to get a better price. That's been a reality for Black farmers for centuries."
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"The past couple of months have been pretty crazy": How one clothing business grew in 2020

Dec 28, 2020
As her collections continue to sell out, Wanek is adjusting to increased demand for her clothing.
MoiseXVII via Getty Images

Small company puzzles out delivery logistics with sudden demand

Dec 25, 2020
How 2020 created a thriving market for one Black-owned company in Washington, D.C.
Puzzle Huddle founder Matthew Goins in his family’s living room, which currently doubles as a warehouse.
Tyrone Turner/DCist/WAMU