“What is Black August?” — Black August Turns Study, Fasting and Activism Into a Month of Black Liberation

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Good morning, BFA Fam! Target pulled a children’s Halloween clown costume after backlash that its black gloves, exaggerated grin and presentation resembled racist minstrel imagery. The retailer apologized, calling the costume “offensive” and saying it should never have been sold. Target says it is reviewing how the product was approved and what needs to change.

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MAIN STORY

🔥 WHY DO BLACK CITIES KEEP GOING DARK AFTER MAJOR STORMS?

⚡ THE SPARK

A storm knocked out power in Memphis. Nearly two weeks after another storm hit Gary, Indiana, thousands there were still waiting for the lights to come back on.

In Memphis, more than 140,000 MLGW customers lost power after winds topping 70 mph tore through Shelby County. By Monday, nearly 100,000 had been restored. In majority-Black Gary, the situation became far more extreme: more than 38,000 locations initially lost electricity, and some residents were still without service 13 days later.

The storm explains why the lights went out. How long people stay in the dark exposes something bigger.

🧠 THE LAYER BELOW

Power outages look equal on an outage map. They aren’t equal in real life. The longer electricity disappears, the more the emergency becomes a story about money, infrastructure and who can afford a backup plan.

A blackout becomes expensive very quickly. Four hours without power is annoying. Four days can mean spoiled groceries, missed work, closed businesses, hotel bills, lost medicine refrigeration and dangerous summer heat. In Gary, residents spent days searching for food, fuel and places to charge phones while schools remained closed.
The storm is only the trigger. Gary’s mayor has publicly criticized the restoration pace, Indiana’s governor has called for an investigation, and a proposed lawsuit accuses NIPSCO of inadequate vegetation management—claims the utility disputes. Gary has also spent decades dealing with population loss and economic disinvestment. Severe weather doesn’t create every weakness in a city; sometimes it simply reveals them all at once.
Preparedness is becoming another form of wealth. One family has a generator, portable battery, full gas tank and enough savings to leave town. Another loses a refrigerator full of groceries and has nowhere else to go. FEMA recommends keeping several days of supplies, charging devices before storms and running generators outdoors at least 20 feet from buildings. A refrigerator generally keeps food cold for only about four hours without power.

🎯 THE REAL QUESTION

When churches and neighbors repeatedly become emergency infrastructure, is that community resilience or evidence that something upstream has failed?

🔮 WHAT’S NEXT

Memphis and Gary will eventually get their lights back. Crews will clear trees, replace poles and reconnect neighborhoods. Then the urgency will fade. Families shouldn’t wait for the next storm to remember how dependent everyday life has become on electricity. Keep flashlights, batteries, water, shelf-stable food and necessary medications together. Maintain charged power banks. Keep some cash available. Fill your gas tank when serious weather approaches. Know which relatives, churches, cooling centers or community spaces you could reach during a prolonged outage. And if your household depends on electrically powered medical equipment, build the backup plan before you need it.

None of that replaces accountable utilities or resilient public infrastructure. It simply recognizes reality:

The storm may decide when the power goes out. Preparation helps decide what happens to your family next.

CAST YOUR VOTE

72.73% of you voted “Much more” in last week’s poll: Are you more cautious now than you were 5 years ago?

“I barely survived a Mass Shooting at 33 years old on Passover Sunday. It was a white man who was raised up in a white Jesus church.”
“I feel statistically & realistically that these types of things are less likely to happen. Ex: plane accident, snake bite, police beating, etc. The movie Jaws pushed the fear of sharks to an all-time high. It’s the emotional aspect attached to the news stories that hypes up the fear. This can easily be spun into something like “availability cascade” where (internally) something is feared because it’s repeatedly reported in the news. It was always happening; it’s just being reported more at this time. The real questions are: “Why this?” and “Why now?” They are constantly attempting to run game on us… these are the questions/things we need to be more diligently aware of & constantly asking. Don’t get it twisted, I’m no fool nor naive & I know things can happen. I’m also quite upset about what happens to us in this country & the lack of accountability that comes with it. I’m just not overly fearful or emotionally over-exaggerated about their stories or reports. In other words: I’m not drinking the Kool-aid they’re serving! ”
“We live in a world where political and racial bias is encouraged and celebrated. To not acknowledge these facts and not move accordingly could be a grave mistake.”
“As a black woman my life is in danger due to the racist white supremacist in office ”
“Americans are under siege by the far right.”

Got thoughts? Don’t just vote and disappear. After you answer the poll, drop your real opinion in the “Additional Feedback” box on the next screen. We’ll anonymously feature some of the best responses in the community so your voice can actually be part of the conversation.

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THE FLIP SIDE

🤬 Another Black Man Found Hanging in North Carolina — Police Say Death Remains Under Investigation. Another Black man has been found hanging in North Carolina, and this time investigators say they still don’t know exactly what happened. Demetrius Fleming, 38, was found Aug. 21 in Roanoke Rapids connected to a ligature. Police Chief Lawrence Wiggins called the case “equivocal,” saying authorities are not yet classifying it as either suicide or homicide. The case comes just six days after another Black man was found hanging from a tree less than 100 miles away in Raleigh. Police there say surveillance evidence points to suicide and no outside involvement. Authorities have not presented evidence linking the two deaths. (Baptist News)

🐎 Wild Horses Sold for Just $25 — Then Shipped Toward Slaughter. America’s wild horses are reportedly being sold for less than the price of dinner, and some are ending up in the slaughter pipeline. A New York Times investigation found that hundreds of federally managed mustangs have allegedly been resold to livestock auctions and Canadian slaughterhouses under the Trump administration. The Bureau of Land Management says it does not knowingly sell horses to slaughter buyers, but critics say a loophole allows middlemen to step in after purchase. One buyer reportedly paid just $25 per horse before reselling them, with slaughter-bound animals potentially fetching hundreds of dollars each. (WCAX)

📨 Supreme Court Lets Trump Move Forward With Mail-In Voting Restrictions for Now. The Supreme Court just handed President Trump a major temporary win on mail-in voting. In a divided emergency ruling, the justices allowed his administration to keep moving forward with an executive order that would create federal “state citizenship lists” and give the U.S. Postal Service a role in determining who receives mail ballots. The ruling does not decide whether the plan is ultimately legal, and lower-court challenges are still active. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned the move could inject “chaos and uncertainty” into the midterms, while voting-rights groups say they’ll keep fighting the order in court. (NY Times)

👎🏾 Trump Administration Tells Schools Not to Change Discipline Rules to Close Racial Gaps. The Trump administration is telling schools they can’t change discipline policies simply to reduce racial disparities — even though federal data shows Black students are punished at significantly higher rates. The Education Department says altering rules with the goal of narrowing racial gaps can amount to illegal “racial balancing.” Critics say the move makes it harder for schools to address a long-documented problem: Black boys are nearly twice as likely as white boys to be suspended or expelled, while Black girls also face disproportionately high suspension rates. The guidance is part of the administration’s broader rollback of diversity and disparate-impact policies. (Reuters)

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga | Official Trailer

FX’s new spinoff, The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, follows Wanda and Leon into the ’90s as they navigate the West Coast rap scene. Wanda pursues the music business, while Leon tries to leave the streets. The show retains the ambition, money, and danger of Snowfall, with record deals replacing drug deals. The Drop premieres Sept. 8 on FX and Hulu.

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Why Do Black Cities Go Dark?