Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 5d

I remember it like it was yesterday: my professor nudged me to reply to an email from Mississippi Today. The org was looking for someone to cover education based in Clarksdale.

Thanks @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social for including me in Your First Byline!

yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/my-first-b...

My First Byline: Aallyah Wright

Rural issues reporter, Capital B

yourfirstbyline.substack.com

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 5d

No knock to J-schools, but it’s what I’ve learned.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 7d

After 30 years of tracking food insecurity, the USDA discontinued a federal report that monitors level of hunger in U.S. households.

The USDA labeled the report as “redundant, costly, politicized."

capitalbnews.org/usda-ends-fo...

USDA Pulls Plug on Report That Measured Who Goes Hungry in America

LaPorchia Collins, an agricultural economist, professor and researcher, answered five questions on the agency’s decision to halt data collection.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 9d

Awww thank you 🥰

Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 9d

Across the country, rural families are navigating a food crisis exacerbated by rising costs and dwindling resources. But instead of just spotlighting the struggle, I wanted to focus on solutions.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 9d

This summer, when the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Rural News Network called for pitches on food insecurity in rural America, I immediately thought of home — the Mississippi Delta.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 9d

From opening grocery stores to launching online delivery services, I traveled to rural Mississippi to highlight the work of two Black women who are reimagining how their communities eat and thrive.

This is part of the RNN's "Sowing Resilience" series.

capitalbnews.org/black-women-...

The Black Women Driving a Food Revolution in Rural Mississippi

From grocery stores to food distribution services, Black women are leading efforts to feed their communities.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 9d

just a woman showing up, for herself 🌱

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 12d

We do! We have newsletters for all of our newsrooms.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 12d

I traveled across rural MS to learn how Black women are feeding their communities. The story is part of a series in collaboration with 8 other newsrooms and the Rural News Network.

My story publishes on Monday, but you can catch a preview in tomorrow’s newsletter.

capitalbnews.org/newsletters

Newsletters

We write the untold stories of Black America. Sign up now for Capital B's national, Atlanta, Gary and Everything's Politics newsletter emails.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 19d

Attorney Ben Crump issued a statement and said the family and their civil rights partners will commission a separate, independent autopsy to verify the findings of the state medical examiner and "ensure no question goes unanswered."

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 19d

The death of Demartravion “Trey” Reed has been ruled a suicide by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office, consistent with findings from the county coroner, which found no evidence of foul play.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney will review the case.

UPDATE: capitalbnews.org/trey-reed-de...

Black Student Found Hanging at Delta State. Police Say No Foul Play.

The university’s chief of police and director of public safety said that investigators found no evidence he had been attacked before his death.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · 20d

The news can feel heavy. At @capitalb.bsky.social, we’re building something different — journalism that points to solutions and reminds us that change is possible.

Help us raise $6,500 to keep doing this work: capitalbnews.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...

Join | Capital B

Capital B is supported by people like you. Support Capital B today.

capitalbnews.fundjournalism.org

Reposted by Aallyah Wright

Rachel Jones @rj4real.bsky.social · 28d

Watch @capitalb.bsky.social journalist @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social tell @nationalpress.bsky.social Widening the Pipeline fellows about how sustained community engagement helped get the Hollywood blockbuster "Sinners" screened in her hometown of Clarksdale, MS.
nationalpress.org/topic/sinner...

'Sinners' Came to Clarksdale Thanks to Years of Community Journalism - National Press Foundation

Aallyah Wright of Capital B News used her reporting to amplify the cultural and economic paradoxes of the setting for the movie "Sinners."

nationalpress.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 5

As aging musicians pass on and juke joints continue to close their doors, Red Paden, famed juke house owner in Clarksdale had a vision to pay homage to elders at his Old Timers Blues Festival.

Red died in 2023, and now his son is carrying on that legacy.
capitalbnews.org/blues-reds-o...

Mississippi Blues Elders Are Still Here. This Festival Is Making Sure You Hear Them.

In the birthplace of the blues, Clarksdale Mayor Orlando Paden keeps his father’s legacy and festival alive.

capitalbnews.org

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Reposted by Aallyah Wright

adam mahoney (he/him) @adamlmahoney.bsky.social · Sep 4

A Gullah Geechee community made home on a set of marshes & estuaries in Coastal Georgia. The land still holds their graves, but in 1942 the federal government seized the area for 'national security.'

83 years later, the fight for it back continues.

capitalbnews.org/harris-neck-...

The Army Took Their Land. Decades Later, This Black Community Still Wants It Back.

Harris Neck’s residents confront the legacy of federal land grabs and the struggle for reparative justice under the threat of climate change.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 4

Absolutely! I’ll never forget it.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 4

He's been featured in the news before, but he said my story was the best representation of his story.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 4

One of my sources told me how amazed he was by a story I wrote that featured him. He said I told the complete truth, captured his words accurately, and somehow managed to express what he couldn’t say. “It was like you were writing with the feeling from the ancestors." 😭

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 3

When the Hollywood production of Sinners came to Clarksdale, it gave new life to an idea that had floated around for years: Clarksdale Day, a weekend to celebrate culture, community, and unity.

On Labor Day weekend, the Clarksdale Day Fest came to fruition.
capitalbnews.org/clarksdale-d...

'Sinners' Put Clarksdale on the Map. Locals Used It to Build Unity.

Black residents in Mississippi's home of the blues hold a festival and put African American culture on display.

capitalbnews.org

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Sep 2

It’s great to see outlets like the AP & Times covering Mayor Braxton’s story out of Newbern, AL. I was the first national reporter to cover it — going back to '23 — and the only reporter on the ground on Election Day. Grateful for our work at Capital B for elevating this injustice.

Black Alabama Mayor Once Blocked by White Town Leaders Wins Reelection

For the first time in the majority-Black town’s history, residents got to participate directly in the democratic process.

capitalbnews.org

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Reposted by Aallyah Wright

Noelle Maxwell @noellem1.bsky.social · Sep 2

Beyond impacting funding for schools, law enforcement and local government, the passage of SEA 1 is expected to impact funds for local libraries. Learn more in my latest for the Indiana Capital Chronicle - and if you're one of those who thinks libraries are just books you might be surprised!

Indiana Capital Chronicle @indianacapitalchronicle.com · Sep 2

Libraries prepare for financial hit

indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/09/02/l...

Libraries prepare for financial hit • Indiana Capital Chronicle

Libraries are also in line to see impacts from Senate Enrolled Act 1 – legislation passed in April cutting property taxes.

indianacapitalchronicle.com

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Aug 27

I was the first national reporter to cover Patrick Braxton’s struggle and the only reporter that showed up yesterday to cover the town’s first election. What a full circle moment.

I’ve been to Newbern since 2023, and multiple times this year. They’ve really embraced me.

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Aug 27

UPDATE: Patrick Braxton won re-election.

Rather than the courts demanding he’s in office, “the people put me there this time,” he told me after his victory.

(Braxton viewing results on the window at town hall.)

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Aallyah Wright @aallyahpatrice.bsky.social · Aug 26

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...

Black Mayor in Rural Alabama Once Denied His Seat Faces Opponent

For the first time in the majority-Black town’s history, residents on Tuesday get to participate directly in the democratic process.

capitalbnews.org

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