Shomari Figures made history - then the Supreme Court changed its mind - BBC News

Residents say they're afraid that if Shomari Figures loses his seat, their federal-funding could disappear with him.

Image source, Getty ImagesByBrandon DrenonReporting fromAlabamaPublished18 July 2026When a glass door shattered on the arm of 19-year-old De'Mari Benham, with blood running down his limb and with few other options, he was rushed to the fire department in a friend's car.

Firefighters bandaged him and encouraged the Tuskegee University student to go to a hospital the next town over to receive stitches and medicine.

"I decided not to go," he said. "Both because it's far and because I just simply don't have the funds."

Image source, Brandon Drenon/BBCImage caption, De'Mari Benham believes the state is trying to curb black Alabamians voting rights. "This means a lot," he says.

It's a common problem. In Tuskegee, a rural Alabama city with less than 9,000 people, over 80% of them African American, nearly one in three people live in poverty. There's no general hospital. No 24-hour emergency-care clinic. The fire department is where many people go, but the building is not fit for purpose.