It was nearly a quarter century ago when thousands of Black farmers filed a class action discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to receive financial compensation. More than 15,000 got $50,000 lump sum payments, and a small number were approved for larger payments. Some had hoped that it would finally help them get […]
Posted inThe Heist
The forever fight (transcript)
You know how, when someone is talking about something they really love, their passion comes through in their voice? How you can see in their eyes, their gestures, how important this thing is to them? That’s what it’s like to talk to Eddie Slaughter about farming. Eddie Slaughter: You know, it’s something about if you […]
Posted inNational Security
Visions of a new national security paradigm
More than 20 years after 9/11, Muslim Americans continue to face discrimination at U.S. airports, at banks and in the security-clearance process, says the Muslim Public Affairs Council. These actions fuel anti-Muslim animus throughout the U.S. and abroad, warns the council’s president and co-founder, Salam Al-Marayati. Created in 1988, the nonprofit works to improve public […]
Posted inThe Heist
In Oklahoma’s Black Belt, land ownership and power built Black wealth
BOLEY, Okla. The biggest weekend of the year in this tiny town kicks off with an hours-long parade. Cowboys and cowgirls trot their horses along downtown blocks lined with watchful spectators and vendors selling their juiciest barbecue meats. This story also appeared in Reckon Inside a squatty stone community center, a vintage photography exhibit documents […]
Posted inThe Heist
Boley was a rip-roaring place, honey (transcript)
Nate Bradford, Jr. is standing at a large round grill in his hometown of Boley, Oklahoma. It’s Memorial Day weekend, and he’s cooking up beef burgers. Not for your typical family cookout to celebrate the holiday, no. Nate’s cooking for hungry parade spectators. And he’s not the only one getting ready. Close by, there are […]
Posted inEducation
What’s the effect of school voucher programs on students with disabilities?
Several years ago, West Virginia parent Christy Black searched for an inclusive private school for her daughter Gracie, who has Down syndrome, but to no avail. “There wasn’t any in my area or a few counties over, even, that would accept my daughter,” Black recalled. So it concerned her when the West Virginia Legislature in […]
Posted inImmigration
How families fleeing violence won — then lost — the green card lottery
Osama Mohamed let out a sigh of relief as he and his wife stood at the steps of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the first day of September. Clutched tightly in his hands was the letter he’d been chasing for nearly a year and a half. “Congratulations!” its bolded words declared. “Your […]
Posted inThe Heist
Why is accurate data about Black farmers so hard to get?
As a third-generation Black farmer in Arkansas, Dewayne Goldmon understands the frustrations of Black farmers trying to get more aid for past injustices from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This story also appeared in Reckon But as the senior advisor for racial equity to the USDA secretary, he also understands why the agency has […]
Posted inThe Heist
Dancing With The Devil (transcript)
Nate Bradford’s relationship with the USDA started about two decades ago, when he was fresh out of college, and decided he wanted to be a rancher. He needed land and a loan to buy it. So he went to the branch of the USDA that deals with loans, the Farm Service Agency. He got one […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Reporting on workers who rebuild after natural disasters
I felt anxious asking disaster restoration workers to share their experiences with exposure to toxins such as asbestos, lead and mold on the job in New Orleans this past spring during a reporting trip. The trip was at the heart of our project, Toxic Labor, which documents the hidden health impact workers face after prolonged […]
Posted inThe Heist
‘Black farmers and ranchers, it’s a dying deal.’
The morning sun hugs the horizon just as Nate Bradford Jr. hops into his pickup truck to make the hour drive home. Many in this rural Oklahoma town are getting ready to go to work. Bradford is getting off. He works as a gas plant operator, earning around $70,000 a year. This story also appeared […]
Posted inThe Heist
The Cowboy Way and the Color Line (Transcript)
It’s a Saturday morning in eastern Oklahoma. The sky is clear and big…the air is sticky and hot — and the mosquitos are vicious. I’m here to meet a local rancher named Nate Bradford Jr. One of our producers, Camille, is with me. We’re at Nate’s corral: a cluster of pens on rolling, grassy land. […]
Posted inThe Heist
Heist Season 3: Who’s who
In Season 3 of The Heist, we dig into the long, documented history of government discrimination, and what the U.S. Department of Agriculture is doing to turn that history around. Along the way, we travel to eastern Oklahoma and hear from the following cast of farmers, advocates, government officials and subject matter experts.
Posted inWatchdog newsletter
Time for young migrants to ‘take the mic’ in U.S. immigration debate
In the past decade, more than half a million immigrant children have made the journey to the U.S. alone in search of their loved ones, refuge and a shot at their vision of the American dream. But once in the U.S., many of these children end up working hard jobs in exploitative conditions. In August, […]
Posted inImmigration
Es hora que jóvenes migrantes “tomen el micrófono” en debate sobre inmigración EEUU
En la última década, más de medio millón de niños inmigrantes han viajado a los Estados Unidos solos con el propósito de reunirse con sus seres queridos, en busca de refugio y en busca del sueño americano. Pero una vez en los Estados Unidos, muchos de estos niños terminan en trabajos duros y en condiciones […]
Posted inThe Heist
Eddie Slaughter, longtime advocate for Black farmers, dies
At six or seven years old, John Slaughter remembers getting up at night to use the bathroom and seeing his father, Eddie, asleep on the couch with his boots still on. “I took his boots off when he was still asleep, being exhausted all day, trying to farm and work the job that he had […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Florida’s anti-immigration law targets disaster relief workers
Hurricane Ian’s raging winds and nearly 13-foot storm tide moved like a “slow tsunami” as it overtook Sanibel Island, destroying everything in its wake. The worst storm in a century washed away sections of the three-mile causeway that connects this mostly wealthy community to Southwest Florida. This story also appeared in Columbia Journalism Investigations and […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Birth of an OSHA policy
John Henshaw didn’t know the legacy he would create in 2001, when he helped oversee the government response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Then the head of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which monitored disaster rescue workers’ exposures to dangerous toxins while toiling among the World Trade Center building debris, he made […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Inside an industry fueled by climate change
The headaches started within two weeks of their demolition and painting of dozens of mold-infested apartments. Then came the nosebleeds. Jenny and her 11 family members pooled their money to buy $30 protective masks and bottles of Advil and other over-the-counter medication to soothe the discomfort just enough to keep working. This story also appeared […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Toxic Labor
This story also appeared in Columbia Journalism Investigations and Futuro Media Standing before a two-story house on the coast of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, where Hurricane Ian unleashed a seven-foot storm surge two weeks earlier, Marcos looked at the structure, shredded beyond repair. Wearing a paper mask and gloves, the 54-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant walked inside. […]
Posted inToxic Labor
Trabajo tóxico
This story also appeared in Columbia Journalism Investigations and Futuro Media De pie frente a una casa de dos pisos en la costa de Fort Myers Beach, estado de Florida, donde el huracán Ian desató un oleaje de más de dos metro dos semanas previas, Marcos observaba la estructura, destrozada sin posibilidad de reparación. Portando […]
Posted inUnhoused and Undercounted
Homeless and suspended in California
Federal education law explicitly seeks to help homeless children and youth stay in school, in the hopes academic opportunity will allow them to break the cycle of housing instability. This story also appeared in Chalkbeat Taking them out of class could worsen their chances of success. But an analysis of data in California shows the […]
Posted inWatchdog newsletter
Where are the homeless children? This struggling city isn’t finding them
School districts nationwide underestimate the number of homeless students they serve, cutting children off from assistance meant to help. An award-winning Center for Public Integrity investigation revealed the depth of the problem: Hundreds of thousands of students experiencing housing insecurity each year are likely falling through the cracks. While the issue cuts across geographic and […]
Posted inHealth
‘Nobody really knows’ where to find the right care after a sexual assault
This story also appeared in USA TODAY In nursing school, Norah Lusk already knew she wanted to work with sexual assault survivors. She had seen how this part of the health care system was “sorely lacking” through victim-blaming, long wait times and a shortage of specialized practitioners. Now a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE, […]
Posted inHealth
Seeking care after a sexual assault
What should you do if you have been raped? Seek medical attention as soon as possible after being raped or sexually assaulted. Receiving care from a sexual assault nurse examiner is ideal. They can conduct a sexual assault forensic exam, which can result in more thorough evidence for law enforcement and better health outcomes. This […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity inks another milestone deal with union
The Center for Public Integrity and the union representing its newsroom and business-side staff today have signed the nonprofit organization’s second collective bargaining agreement. This unanimous ratification reaffirms a shared commitment by the union and Public Integrity to uphold the principles of fairness, inclusivity and transparency — values that guided our first collective bargaining agreement […]
Posted inThe Heist
The Heist: Season 3
Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 Subscribe on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google | Stitcher | Pandora Click transcript to read the trailer transcript.Nate Bradford, Jr. and other Black farmers and ranchers are fighting to preserve a type of rural, Black agricultural life. But the past keeps blocking their future. In the third season of The Heist, we follow Bradford’s fight […]
Posted inThe Heist
Season 3: The Heist trailer transcript
Listen to the trailer for Season 3 of The Heist. Subscribe on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google | Stitcher | Pandora(corral ambi comes up) It’s a hot Saturday morning in Eastern Oklahoma. This part of the country was once Oklahoma’s Black Belt — a historic center of Black ranching. I’m here with a local rancher named Nate Bradford Jr. at his corral: a […]