Don’t Sleep! 13 Things Black Folks Must Know About What’s Happening in Our Communities and Around the World
We’re tracking the world news so you don’t have to. Here’s what matters for our community right now.
As we move through the fifth month of the year, the national landscape for the Black diaspora is shifting with a speed that demands more than just casual observation. From the Voting Rights Act being uprooted (no pun intended), to Black women being three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, these issues are no longer just headlines, but our reality.
Overseas, the mounting humanitarian crisis in Sudan to Africa fighting for sovereignty in a rapidly digitizing world, our story in 2026 is no longer domestic—it’s a worldwide movement to reclaim equity, land and the right to a future built on our own terms, regardless of where you are.
We gathered 13 things you must know about what’s going on in and around our world you need to know.
Dismantling Tennessee’s Only Black-Majority District
Following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened the federal Voting Rights Act, Tennessee Republican lawmakers passed a new congressional map that dismantled the state’s only-majority Black district in Memphis Thursday.
By repealing a long-standing state law that prohibited mid-decade redistricting, Governor Bill Lee successfully carved up the 9th District, a move civil rights advocates call a blatant attempt to dilute Black political power before midterm elections. In response, the NAACP Tennessee State Conference announced an immediate lawsuit to block the map.
The Empty Desk Era
A bombshell report released by The New York Times Friday confirmed that U.S. public school enrollment has plummeted to its lowest level in two decades. For the Black community, the consequences are dire.
State funding formulas, which are tied to average daily attendance, triggers proposed school closings and layoffs in majority-minority neighborhoods. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), if these trends hold, urban districts face a permanent downsizing and the elimination of vital extracurricular programs and special education services by the 2027 school year.
Crisis in Sudan
The war in Sudan has displaced some 14 million people, with mass killings, famine conditions and refugee camps overflowing into neighboring African countries, UN News reported.
A quarter of the population have been forced to flee— with nine million remaining displaced inside Sudan and 4.4 million across borders, primarily in Chad, South Sudan and Egypt—as airstrikes hit civilian infrastructures and women and girls remain increasingly at risk of conflict-related sexual violence when trying to run for safety.
The Exploitation of Congo
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rages on around cobalt, coltan and lithium mining—minerals used in phones, electric vehicles and AI infrastructure.
Over 100 armed groups, foreign interests and political instability are all tied to control of these resources, fueling the complex crisis driven by competition over rich natural resources.
Africa Becoming the Center of the World’s Young Workforce
By 2050, Africa will experience the world’s fastest labor force expansion with a net increase of roughly 740 million working-age people, according to reports.
With 12 million young Africans entering the labor market each year—compared with only three million new formal wage jobs, Africa will become one of the most important economic and political regions of the future.
To read the full article, go to The Root
By Angela Wilson on May 8, 2026
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