Race

Jarvis Jones and John Knight help distribute free bottled water at the Sykes Park Community Center in Jackson, Mississippi.

Avoiding the tap water in Jackson, Miss., has been a way of life for decades

11:47am September 04, 2022

Residents accuse the largely white state government of neglecting the needs of a city that's 82% Black. White flight in the 1970s devastated the tax base, posing a major challenge to any solution.

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Environment

The link between water quality and social inequality

5:29pm September 03, 2022

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Kristi P. Fedinick, Executive Director of the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy, about her research into water violations in predominantly communities of color.

Alice Dearing, Great Britian's first Black swimmer at the Olympics, called the news of Soul Cap's approval "exciting."

A swimming cap made for Black hair gets official approval after previous Olympic ban

6:35pm September 02, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

FINA, the governing body for international swim competitions, had rejected the design of Soul Cap's head covering ahead of last year's Olympics.

A new Minneapolis teachers' contract is the center of a debate over diversity

4:16pm September 02, 2022

by Elizabeth Shockman

A Minneapolis school district contract drew a storm of conservative media coverage. A lawsuit alleges the district is racially discriminating against white teachers to protect teachers of color.

Brigham Young University officials say they have no evidence that a man whom the university had banned from entering its athletic facilities had used a racist slur during a recent women's basketball game against Duke University.

BYU says it has no proof that the fan banned over racist slurs said them

6:33am September 02, 2022

by Bill Chappell

The slurs marred a high-profile volleyball match between BYU and Duke last Friday. Duke sophomore Rachel Richardson says players were "targeted and racially heckled."

1992: A young Serena Williams practices on a tennis court.

Serena Williams is a tennis great, and so much greater than that

9:03am September 01, 2022

by Kelly E. Carter

Serena Williams says she is close to retirement. We take a look at her life and career from Compton to Wimbledon, and the impact she has had on athletes, particularly African American women.

A longtime pastor at Vision of Abundant Life Church in Sylacauga, Ala., Pastor Michael Jennings recalls the moment the Childersburg Police Department arrived at his neighbor's house and arresting him while watering his out-of-town neighbor's flowers.

National

Watering flowers while Black: A pastor shares his story of wrongful arrest

5:00am September 01, 2022

by Jonathan Franklin

A Black pastor in Alabama says he was wrongfully arrested and charged with a crime while he was watering his neighbor's flowers, per their request. He shares his experience with NPR.

Ty Carter fills containers with nonpotable water on Aug. 31 in Jackson, Mississippi. The state's capital is struggling with access to safe drinking water after historic rain and flooding led to a drop in pressure at Jackson's main water-treatment plant on

National

Jackson residents face long lines and short supply in a frustrating search for water

7:03pm August 31, 2022

by Jennifer Ludden

Some 180,000 people in and near Mississippi's capital have not been able to use their tap water since Monday. It's the latest in a string of crises due to the city's aging water infrastructure.

Debt relief for Black farmers shows challenges of pursuing racial equity with policy

4:16pm August 31, 2022

by Adrian Florido

A federal program to forgive loans for many Black farmers was ensnared in lawsuits. It speaks to the Biden Administration's challenges in pursuing racial equity through federal policy.

A special commission is reviewing military assets with names tied to the Confederacy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as well as other properties across the country.

National

A plaque with the words 'Ku Klux Klan' still hangs on a building at West Point

3:07pm August 31, 2022

by Joe Hernandez

The marker, depicting a hooded figure, was highlighted in a recent report by a special commission looking into U.S. military assets with names tied to the Confederacy.