Nolan Wells’s mother Christine Wonsley held a press conference on July 10, 2026, in New York City after her son’s mysterious death over the Fourth of July off the coast of Mississippi. Photo: Steve Sanchez/Sipa USA via AP Images
Alain Stephens is an investigative reporter covering gun violence, arms trafficking, and federal law enforcement.
There is a tangible heat to being Black in America this summer.
Every morning starts the same. A jolt of coffee and nicotine as my thumbs scroll a daily intake of Black death and indignity.
It mostly comes dosed in tears. Tears of Black moms and aunties, projected behind stone-faced fathers and grandpops trying to hold it together behind press podiums.
