Mustafa Ali, Author at Word In Black - Page 2 of 3

Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett speaks in front of Democratic members of Congress and Texas House Democrats during a news conference, after they left their state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, at IBEW Local Union 701 on August 4, 2025 in Warrenville, Illinois. Dozens of Democrats in the Texas legislature faced threats of legal action Monday after they fled the state to block a redrawing of districts in Republicans' favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The Republican-controlled state, following a push by President Donald Trump, are seeking to shift congressional district borders such that five seats flip from Democratic control. The contentious but legally permitted move, known as partisan gerrymandering, seeks to prevent Republicans from losing control of the US House of Representatives in next year's midterms, when the opposition party usually does more favorably.

Invisible Red Lines: Gerrymandering and the Black Community

by Mustafa Ali August 6, 2025August 6, 2025

Traffic warden Rai Rogers mans his street corner during an 8-hour shift under the hot sun in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 12, 2023, where temperatures reached 106 degrees amid an ongoing heatwave. More than 50 million Americans are set to bake under dangerously high temperatures this week, from California to Texas to Florida, as a heat wave builds across the southern United States.

Scorched by Design: Extreme Heat, Redlining, and Neglect

by Mustafa Ali August 1, 2025August 1, 2025

A house in Baton Rouge sits along the long stretch of River Road by the Mississippi River and the many chemical plants in Cancer Alley, one of the most polluted areas of the United States along the once pristine Mississippi River that stretches some 80 miles from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, where a dense concentration of oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and other chemical industries reside alongside suburban homes.

The Endangerment Is Us

by Mustafa Ali July 29, 2025July 29, 2025

Oil and chemical refinery plants cover the landscape, next to African American communities along the Mississippi River, October, 1998, south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

When Science Is Silenced, We All Breathe the Consequences

by Mustafa Ali July 25, 2025July 29, 2025

Jeffrey Epstein Appears In Manhattan Federal Court On Sex Trafficking Charges

What Ida B. Wells Would Say About Trump and the Epstein Files

by Mustafa Ali July 17, 2025July 29, 2025

We Carry on: Black Family Reunions in a Time of Erasure

by Mustafa Ali July 15, 2025July 15, 2025

KERRVILLE, TEXAS - JULY 05: Flood waters left debris including vehicles and equipment scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported.

Are We Willing to Evolve to Save Lives From Floods?

by Mustafa Ali July 9, 2025July 10, 2025

he dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible in reflection on July 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. House Republicans began work on final passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" yesterday, less than two hours after the Senate passed its version of President Donald Trump's signature domestic agenda legislation.

The Big Lie of the Big Beautiful Bill: A Death Sentence Disguised in Patriotism

by Mustafa Ali July 2, 2025July 3, 2025

A man drinks water at Time Square in New York City on June 24, 2025 as temperatures reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

Heat Is a Warning: What We’re Losing and Who We’re Leaving Behind

by Mustafa Ali June 30, 2025June 30, 2025