Capital B reporter Aallyah Wright reported on the explosion of dollar stores in Black communities and what happens when those stores move into the neighborhood.
“They’re like an invasive species,” one source said. “They overpower all the resources and make the businesses in those neighborhoods vulnerable. That’s where dollar stores can thrive. No matter what community, the cause of food deserts stem from one route, and that’s economic disinvestment in vulnerable communities.”
Wright’s work, which you can see here, shows the approach of the nonprofit, Black-led national newsroom with local newsrooms in Atlanta and Gary, Indiana.
Chief audience officer and co-founder Akoto Ofori-Atta described the work as a window and a mirror in the latest episode of the WriteLane Podcast. Capital B won the Robert G. McGruder Award for Diversity Leadership in the 2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes.
The response to Wright’s reporting, Ofori-Atta said, was “‘yes. Oh my gosh. This is a thing that I always think about. My city has like eight Dollar Generals. Like what is up with that? I knew there was something up.’ And to be able to bring clarity to something that we see and feel and understand and be able to bring that information that helps to connect the dots is something that’s really important.”
That affirmation is an important part of Capital B’s work, Ofori-Atta said, “but we’re also a window. Black communities across the country are not at all the same. And Black people also want to understand the struggles of other Black people across the country.”
Coverage of the hottest neighborhood in the country, a Black neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona, helps people understand the climate crisis.
“That is a real value,” Ofori-Atta said, “being able to both affirm and give insight into a way that other people, other Black people, around the country are dealing with some of these issues.”
You can listen to the full episode, including about how Capital B chose its name, wherever you listen to podcasts, and watch it on YouTube.
