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Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism

The 51st's Reporting on the Opioid Epidemic's Disproportionate Impact on Older, Black Men in DC Contributed to a Pulitzer-winning Series

"Between 2018 and 2022, D.C. saw 2,289 of these men die of overdoses," The 51st reported.
Sam Delgado, published 07/14/25
A photo of Lance Ward sitting at a round table with four other older Black men. He is wearing a red sweater and black pants.
(Shedrick Pelt)

In December 2024, SpotlightDC funded an examination by The 51st reporters Colleen Grablick, Abigail Higgins, and photojournalist Shedrick Pelt on how opioid deaths disproportionately affect the District’s older, Black male community. Expertly weaving together data, photography, and interviews, The 51st covered the history of overdose deaths in the District, the reality of the communities struggling with substance use, and the ongoing barriers to recovery.

The story was in collaboration with The Baltimore Banner’s and The New York Times’ series on the fentanyl crisis in Baltimore. In May, this series won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.

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Our Goal

SpotlightDC seeks to ensure robust, accountability journalism covering the nation’s capital city. An independent, non-profit based in Washington, D.C., we award grants for groundbreaking, original, fair-minded, investigative, accountability and explanatory journalism projects focused on the District of Columbia and its surrounding region. 

We will invest in high-impact, deeply reported projects that shed light on underreported subjects, hold the powerful to account and serve the public interest. We also aim to encourage and cultivate a diverse pool of journalists devoted to covering the national capital region. We will promote their work for maximum impact with a variety of print, broadcast and digital media partners who will publish their work.
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