Stories
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
A fun new game in Mississippi tests the voter education of young people
The sound of raised voices echoed through the lecture hall as a battle ensued on the stage. Opponents threw barbs and jabs, desperate to steal their rivals’ earnings in a winner-take-all game of wits. The subject? Government. “Explain the role of a sheriff and the level of government to which the sheriff belongs,” said Shonna…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Alabama Advocacy Institute fellows foster strength in their communities
Before 2005, Pearlington, Mississippi, wasn’t known for much — if at all. The small riverside town, population 1,153, hugs the southern corner of the state’s western border with Louisiana near the mouth of the Pearl River. When Warren Tidwell arrived that fall, it was mostly rubble. After Hurricane Katrina made its second landfall a couple…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
‘Whose Heritage?’ report spotlights ‘triumphs even in the darkest of times’
When Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, he made very clear that he would be fighting to overturn what he saw as injustices done in the name of “woke.” His executive orders, the fiat he has used to fuel a campaign of attacks on his perceived foes and their successes, are…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
School system in Louisiana still failing to educate students with disabilities
Terra Boyd, a former New Orleans-area teacher, has spent the past two years of her retirement fighting for her grandson against his public charter school. The school, she says, has failed to educate him under the terms of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) — a violation of federal laws for children with disabilities. Boyd even…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Federal budget cuts will hurt most Americans but make rich people wealthier
Editor’s note: This is the sixth story in the “Cuts & Consequences” series about the effects that federal spending reductions would have on people living in the Deep South. When Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term in office on Jan. 20, he immediately began taking an ax to the country’s regulatory agencies…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Farmers not feeling the love as federal program cuts, tariffs threaten income
Editor’s note: This is the fifth story in the “Cuts & Consequences” series about the effects that federal spending reductions would have on people living in the Deep South. Rafael Guerrero and his four brothers had worked as agricultural harvesters their whole lives. But as the world was coming out of its COVID-19 bubble in…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
HUD cuts terrify people struggling to afford housing, and their advocates
Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in the “Cuts & Consequences” series about the effects that federal spending reductions would have on people living in the Deep South. For 10 years, Amanda Smith bounced between friends’ living room couches, her mother’s home, apartments and prison. Suffering with substance use disorder for 25 of her…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Many will suffer, some will starve if SNAP federal food program is cut
Editor’s note: This is the third story in the “Cuts & Consequences” series about the effects that federal spending reductions would have on people living in the Deep South. There are days when Andrew Sanders walks miles for a hot meal from a soup kitchen. He walks throughout the summer months when temperatures begin their…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Head Start, a lifeline for families with children, faces federal funding cuts
Editor’s note: This is the second story in the “Cuts & Consequences” series about the effects that federal spending reductions would have on people living in the Deep South. The path Sanquinn Jackson and his daughter followed from day care to Head Start began as a “dark before the dawn” story. Jackson’s daughter came home…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Medicaid funding cuts may cause ripple effects on health care across the nation
Editor’s note: This is the first in the “Cuts & Consequences” series of stories about the effects that federal spending cuts would have on people living in the Deep South. During an annual exam last year, doctors spotted a mass on the abdomen of Angelica McCain’s 10-year-old daughter. They were sent immediately to the emergency…
