Editorial

AL.com: Alabama congressional delegation unites to crown Mobile the ‘Birthplace of Mardi Gras’

February 27, 2026

Mardi Gras in Mobile has always been about more than moon pies, mystic societies, and the sounds of bass drums echoing down Royal Street.

It’s a season when the city gathers residents and visitors alike to revel in tradition, spectacle, and the kind of communal joy that feels stitched into the Gulf Coast’s DNA.

This year, it’s also celebrating something far rarer: bipartisanship.

NPR: Civil rights leaders say the racial progress Jesse Jackson fought for is under threat

February 27, 2026

Editorial

NPR

The public begins paying respects to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday. The civil rights icon will lie in repose in his hometown of Chicago through Friday before events next week in Washington, D.C., and in his native South Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures speaks on Feb. 6, 2026, about a $2.5 million allocation that will fund the work of the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation.

AL.com: Africatown gets $2.5 million in federal dollars for redevelopment

February 27, 2026

Editorial

AL.com

A campaign of new construction and historic renovation in Mobile’s Africatown community will receive a $2.5 million federal allocation to continue its work, U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures announced Friday.

To make the announcement, Figures and other state and local officials gathered on the front porch of one of three brand-new “forever homes” that the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC) is about to put on the market.

WALA Mobile: Congressman Figures touts federal boost for affordable housing in Africatown

February 27, 2026

Editorial

WALA Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - U.S. Representative Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) came to the historic Africatown community to announce $2.5 million in federal funding to support affordable housing.