Friends of Olivia, a growing support network for children and adults with developmental disabilities, is kicking off a busy season of community events.Â
The 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival in Gee’s Bend generated more than $700,000 in visitor spending and drew attendees from more than 25 states and several countries to the annual event in rural Wilcox County.
Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) has announced that her offices are taking submissions for the 2026 Congressional Art Competition after announcing the winners of last year's contest.Â
The Black Belt News Network has launched its first high school journalism class at Keith High School in Orrville, marking a pilot program designed to expand student voices and strengthen the future of rural journalism across Alabama’s Black Belt.
Samuel Cornelius Green, who is the former chief of the Brundidge Police Department, has been ordered to forfeit several rental properties and pay restitution as part of a wire fraud case that he pled guilty to in October 2025.Â
Multiple schools in the Black Belt are among a list of 500 to be designated Semiquincentennial schools by the USA Alabama Semiquincentennial Commission and American Village.Â
Advocacy groups supporting child abuse victims benefitted from a round of grants from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA).Â
The Selma City Schools District will host a meeting on Feb. 24 to discuss combining Clark and Payne elementary schools, as well as opening the new School of Discovery.Â
The Black Belt News Network is hosting its first Best of the Black Belt competition to determine the best retailers and more in the region. Voting is open now at https://bestof.blackbeltnewsnetwork.com/ so participate now!
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) has awarded $17 million in Community Development Block Grants or CDBG funding to 44 communities, including those in the Black Belt.Â
A three-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been approved by the House of Representatives, said an announcement from Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) on Monday.Â
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) has granted an estimated $2.3 million to organizations supporting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.Â
The City of Aliceville will partner with the Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF), New Wright MBC, and the Tombigbee RC&D to hold its Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service parade on Jan. 19.Â
The 2026 Distinguished Young Women of Alabama competition is coming up Jan. 23-24 in Montgomery and high school seniors from 42 counties, including several in Black Belt counties, will be there.
The Black Belt News Network is looking for the Best of the Black Belt - the best retailers, auto dealers, realtors and more! Cindy explains the contest that gives Black Belt businesses a chance to shine in this segment of the Black Belt Newscast.
Several shelters that serve victims of various types of abuse, including those who live in the Black Belt, were awarded more than $1.5 million in funding from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.Â
