‘A double-edged sword’: The Gullah Geechee people in a complex struggle over land
10-26-2024
I traveled to South Carolina to write about a contentious plan to build a golf course on a 500-acre property on St Helena Island, where zoning laws expressly ban the development of golf courses and gated communities. Some residents say it will bring needed jobs to the rural island, while opponents argue it will threaten the way of life for Gullah Geechee people, the descendants of formerly enslaved west Africans who remained in the area following the Civil War.
These Native tribes share a history. A conflict steeped in colonialism is tearing them apart
10-9-2024
I wrote about a decades-long dispute between the Muscogee Nation and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians over a casino development on a sacred site. The complicated case illustrates how the continued effects of colonialism and forced removal have disrupted historic and current connections among Indigenous communities.
‘Dirt bike culture is Black culture’: the organization fighting to legalize the sport
8-25-2024
I traveled to Chicago to see a dirt bike demonstration and to learn how the criminalization of urban dirt biking parallels the war on drugs in the spring of 2024. The organization B-360 is fighting to legalize the sport by teaching youth STEM skills and pushing for policy changes throughout the nation.
Ron DeSantis banned lessons on racism in Florida public schools. ‘Freedom schools’ fill the gaps
08-24-2024
In the summer of 2024, I visited a freedom school in St. Petersburg, Florida to see how Floridians are fighting back against Ron DeSantis’s assault on Black history. Drawing upon the history of freedom schools from the 1960s, modern day extracurricular classes in Florida teach ‘the majesty and value of Black history’ from the origins of Africa to Jim Crow policies.
The rockers putting their Blackness at the fore of hardcore and punk
3-16-2025
This in-depth article looks at the roots of African spirituality within rock music. It highlights the growing movement of hardcore punk musicians who are bringing Black culture and aesthetics to the forefront of a scene that has long centered whiteness.
‘I don’t have to code-switch’: how Black and brown rock climbers are revamping the sport
1-25-2024
In recent years, Black and brown athletes have been changing the face of rock climbing by offering safe spaces for underrepresented climbers to learn, heal from discrimination and participate in community. This story also delves into the exclusionary and discriminatory policies that barred people of color from national parks and recreational sites in the past.
Award Winning
The long struggle over taxing the rich
08-23-2023
A solutions-based investigation into efforts to tax the wealthy. The article shows how the vestiges of American slavery are present in state tax codes today. It was part of a series that won a national AAJA award.
Award Winning
How state taxes make inequality worse
09-14-2022
I was the lead reporter and writer for this in-depth look into how the burden of state taxes disproportionately falls on the poor and people of color. It was part of a series on state taxes that won a national SABEW award.
Redistricting: Tribes fight for an equal voice
03-16-2022
An in-depth look into the drawing of political maps on reservations. On tribal lands where 75% of roads that qualify for federal funding remain unpaved and 12% of homes do not have access to sufficient sanitation facilities, the stakes are high.
Award winning
A renewed cultural focus in White Center bolsters sense of Khmer community
04-30-2021
This article looks at the history of the Khmer community in King County, Washington. It won second place in arts and culture reporting in the 2022 regional Society of Professional Journalists contest.
Award Finalist
Zoom bombings that target marginalized people spark demands for legal protections
04-18-2021
An in-depth story into zoom bombings that target people of color. This story was a finalist in the National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence award.
A tale of two AI cities: The Seattle connection to Israel’s surveillance network
04-18-2020
For this in-depth story, I traveled to Israel to examine the global surveillance network developed from watching Palestinians, which has raised concerns among human rights activists.
Magnolia residents’ AI-powered surveillance camera tracks people, cars at entrance to neighborhood, experts caution bias
12-07-2019
This investigation on a neighborhood surveillance system showed that wealthy residents monitor who enters and leaves their neighborhood from anywhere with an internet connection.
The Seedy Side of Seadrunar
02-13-2019
Thanks to a tip from Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, I investigated a Seattle drug rehab center that was accused of neglecting children and clients in its care. Public records revealed that the center recently paid a minor $1 million to settle allegations of sexual abuse.
Award Winning
Incarcerated and Infirmed: How Northwest Detention Center Is Failing Sick Inmates
10-10-2018
This long-form investigation reveals the state of medical care at Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center. While ICE claims that people in their custody receive adequate care in a timely manner, some immigrants detainees fear that they could draw their last breaths there.
Immigrant Youth Vulnerable to Abuse in Centers
09-12-2018
This investigation draws on hundreds of public records to show that federally-funded facilities struggle to maintain the health and safety of minors awaiting immigration proceedings.
The Last Stop Before Homelessness
05-23-2018
An investigation that examines how the odds are stacked against low-income tenants in the County’s eviction court system.
Award Winning
Phnom Penh Noodle House’s Closure and the Loss of Cultural Flavor
05-08-2018
This narrative long-form story looks at the impact of the restaurant’s closure, and what it reveals about representation in the local dining scene. Phnom Penh Noodle House’s end may be a loss for Seattle foodies, but it’s devastating for the local Cambodian community.
Forfeiting Rights: Mutual Termination Agreements Gone Wrong
04-07-2018
An investigation into the use of contracts that tenants’ rights advocates say landlords are using to exploit and expel vulnerable residents.
They Rode Horseback to Deliver Babies. A Century Later, Midwives Are Still Crucial
09-07-2017
In Kentucky, these health care professionals still struggle for acceptance—even in areas that need them most.
This is Part 3 of a series on the people working to improve access to reproductive health care there. Read Part 1 and Part 2.
The Women Ministers of Kentucky Preaching Abortion Rights
09-07-2017
As the state’s last abortion clinic is at risk of being shut down, some religious leaders step up against Gov. Matt Bevin’s anti-abortion policies.
This is Part 2 of a series on the people working to improve access to reproductive health care there. Read Part 1 and Part 3.
The Volunteers Protecting Kentucky’s Last Abortion Clinic
09-07-2017
Access to reproductive health care in Kentucky has reached a critical moment. All but one abortion clinic has been shut down, and a lawsuit going to trial September 6 could make Kentucky the first state without a legal abortion provider. The walk from the parking lot, past protesters, to the embattled clinic’s front doors can be a difficult journey. Meet the escorts making sure women don’t have to face it alone.
This is Part 1 of a series on the people working to improve access to reproductive health care there. Read Part 2 and Part 3.
Award Winning
Defunding Police—How Antiracist Organizers Got Seattle to Listen
03-19-2017
A long-form story about an unprecedented grassroots coalition that drew attention to the racially disproportionate effects of police spending and that persuaded city officials to change course. By halting a proposed $150 million police precinct, Seattle activists have made headway in redirecting funding toward services like affordable housing and education.
This Town Adopted Trauma-Informed Care—And Saw a Decrease in Crime and Suspension Rates
02-22-2017
A YES! Magazine long-form story about the trauma-informed care movement that is sweeping the nation.
Women’s Wear Distracts State Lawmakers
1-26-2016
Although women only fill 24.5 percent of the state legislature nationwide, lawmakers have proposed dress codes for female colleagues, interns and conferees.
Developmentally Disabled People Face Losing Access to Services as Closures Hit
KQED (republished by NPR on 12-04-2015)
11-27-2015
California was once known as a pioneer state for spearheading community-based alternatives to state run institutions for people with developmental disabilities. But in the wake of The Great Recession, more than $1 billion in state budget cuts and frozen provider rates has threatened the system. Now California spends less on services for the developmentally disabled than any other state in the nation.
Dark corner of China’s rise: A surge in trafficking of children
The Christian Science Monitor
07-28-2015
Some 250 million Chinese who work in distant industrial cities often entrust their children to relatives. Child traffickers have exploited their vulnerability, leading to calls for further reform of China’s rigid household residency system.
Hong Kong’s Marking of Tiananmen Is a Rallying Cry for Chinese Democracy
06-05-2014
China’s freest city marked the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre with a solemn and dignified vigil that reflected the continued resonance of the student protesters’ original aims.
The Writing on the Wall: It’s Graffiti Versus Murals in San Francisco and Oakland. Either Way, Street Artists Win
02-26-2014 (Cover story)
Oscar Davalos began tagging when he was 12 years old. He and his friends would sneak out at night armed with cans of spray paint, scrawling their names on walls throughout East Oakland.
Breaking the school-to-prison pipeline: examining arrests among black male students in OUSD
Oakland North
12-11-2013
An investigative piece about the school-to-prison pipeline in Oakland, California. It also features an infographic that breaks down the race of arrestees in 2013.
Ceaseless Exploration: The Skateboarding Scene in Shanghai
WHOA Magazine
10-2013
Whether it be a new construction zone, the smell of meat barbecuing on the street corner or the bright neon lights that illuminate the marble plazas beneath them- the combination of sounds, sights and smells in Shanghai define its urban life. Skateboarders are granted a view of the city that is imperceptible to most.
Melissa Hellmann 
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