Alarm bells in Alabama, My chat with Black and Missing, Bronny's stable
Friday, July 28, 2023.
What I’m Reading
The Carlee Russell saga is over, but there’s something much more alarming brewing in Alabama. Alabama Republicans ignored a Supreme Court order by passing a new congressional map that includes only one majority-Black district, a move Democrats say continues the state’s racist history of voter suppression. The fight over the map now shifts back to federal court.
Kyle Whitmire, an opinion writer for Al.com, explained how the new congressional map is a feat of Republican cowardice.
Janai Nelson, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, wrote a thread about how the move is a “threat to the rule of law.”
Alabama Republicans refuse to draw a second Black congressional district in defiance of Supreme Court, NBC News
This is likely not surprising to anyone, but diversity and inclusion roles are under threat. Thousands of diversity, equity and inclusion-focused workers have been laid off since last year, and some companies are scaling back racial justice commitments, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Rise and Fall of the Chief Diversity Officer, The Wall Street Journal
Samuel L. Jackson is one of one. He talked with Vulture about his 51-year acting career, getting kicked out of Morehouse, his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, getting an honorary Oscar, and much, much more.
I Can Do Things to You With My Voice, Vulture
In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, The New York Times interviewed 50 rappers across generations about their personal stories, what influenced them, and their careers. The project makes it clear upfront: “This isn’t a ranked list, or a compilation of the best, most influential, most popular or most provocative rappers of all time,” so don’t be upset if you don’t see your favorite rapper.
50 Rappers, 50 Stories, The New York Times
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Carlee Russell, the woman at the center of a mysterious 48-hour disappearance, admitted that she was not kidnapped and has apologized…
California: Oakland’s oldest Black theater company has secured a home downtown…
Connecticut: A judge dismissed hate crime and other charges against a white woman who spat on a Black woman during competing protests at the state Capitol…
District of Columbia: A historic university for deaf students in Washington held a graduation ceremony to honor Black students and teachers who were forced to attend segregated schools on their grounds…
Florida: Public officials in Miami have been managing defendants with mental illness very differently. A lot of places are paying attention…
As demand for AP African American Studies curriculum surges across the United States, it is still off-limits in the Sunshine State. Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state’s new Black history standards are "rooted in whatever is factual”...
Georgia: A mistrial has been declared for Maurice Jimmerson, the Georgia man who has been behind bars for *10 years* while awaiting trial…
Kansas: A Black man is one of five motorists to argue that the Kansas Highway Patrol violated their Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. A federal judge agreed…
Massachusetts: Camp Atwater, the oldest Black-run summer camp in the nation, has resumed operations…
Michigan: Filmmaker Dream Hampton explores water as a force of harmony and devastation as climate change affects her home city of Detroit…
Missouri: Two officers from a St. Louis suburb have been charged in the kidnapping of a man who was driven to a secluded area and beaten until his jaw was broken…
A majority white school district in Missouri passed an anti-racism resolution in 2020. Now, the conservative-led school board has revoked that resolution and will remove copies of it from school buildings…
New York: An eyewitness to Malcolm X’s assassination spoke out for the first time and said what he observed proves that the federal and city governments were involved in the killing…
North Carolina: More than a week after Allisha Watts vanished in Charlotte, her family is desperate for answers…
Ohio: A police officer who let a police dog maul a Black man during a traffic stop after he surrendered with his hands raised in the air has been fired, officials said…
Oklahoma: Decades after a chilling racist massacre, Tulsa’s Black Wall Street was bulldozed for I-244. A new plan aims to reverse its punishing effects…
Pennsylvania: Read about 23 exceptional young Black men who are being recognized by a local nonprofit for “doing the right thing”…
South Carolina: A prison unit where older men with lengthier sentences mentor young adults preparing to reenter society is giving officials hope that a different approach to living conditions will reduce violence behind bars…
Residents in Sandridge, South Carolina, are pushing back against a proposed highway that would destroy their homes…
Texas: Texas A&M University announced that its president will "retire immediately" amid controversy over the mishandling of a Black journalist's hire…
The largest public school district in Texas is eliminating librarian positions and converting the libraries into 'discipline centers' at 28 schools this upcoming year…
Features
ICYMI: I talked to Natalie Wilson, the woman who has dedicated her life to finding missing Black persons…
An amazing story: People are searching for the remnants of a secret fortress near Savannah, Georgia, that was built in the 1780s by Maroons — people who had escaped slavery to live in the wilderness…
From Joyann Jeffrey for NBC News: For generations, Black Barbie has been a symbol of power, upward mobility and imagination…
For The New Yorker, Clarence B. Jones wrote a personal essay about his life in the aftermath of his friend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination…
Are we ready for the new minstrels?...
For Truthout, labor activist Zara Jemuel argues that militant Black unionism offers the best resistance to growing white nationalism…
A legacy of segregation, the privatization of pools, and starved public recreation budgets have led to the decline of public places to swim in many cities…
From NPR’s Mycah Hazel: In July 1963, during a march to desegregate a theater in Americus, Georgia, a group of Black girls was arrested — and for the rest of the summer, their parents had no idea where they were…
In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white…
What’s Happening
LeBron James' son, Bronny, suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout at USC. He is in stable condition, according to a statement from the family. The Lakers star shared an update Thursday…
The U.S. Department of Education has officially opened an investigation into the use of donor and legacy preferences in Harvard University’s admissions…
A bill that would broadly ban the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons was introduced by a coalition of House Democrats...
Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest intercollegiate Black fraternity in the country, is moving its 2025 conference from Florida, calling the state "hostile" to the Black community…
The body of Tafari Campbell, personal chef to the Obamas, was recovered in the waters near their Martha’s Vineyard estate, authorities said…
President Joe Biden signed a proclamation designating locations in Illinois and Mississippi as a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie…
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, now an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, gave a statement to CNN about her induction…
Family members of the Black U.S. Army private who sprinted across the border into North Korea said that he may have felt overwhelmed as he faced legal troubles…
Entertainment
Musical icon Tony Bennett has died at 96. He’s best known for his singing prowess, but did you know he used his celebrity to promote the fight for civil rights?...
After “Black Lady Sketch Show” ended, Robin Thede donated all of the show’s wardrobe to a nonprofit for homeless women…
After comedian Jess Hilarious compared trans people to mental patients, actress Ts Madison explained she's fighting back for her community…
Emmy-nominated actor Marla Gibbs is coming out with a memoir titled "It's Never Too Late" in the fall of 2024...
Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson are divorcing after eight years of marriage…
Jamie Foxx spoke out for the first time after being hospitalized for a “medical complication” back in April…
Nas is having the greatest comeback in rap history, according to Mark Braboy for Okayplayer…
Monica stopped her concert mid-song and hopped off-stage to confront a man in the audience she says hit a woman…
Reggie Bythewood, showrunner of the Apple TV hit “Swagger,” responded to one of my tweets about the show…
Jason Aldean is facing backlash over the lyrics and music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town.” African American studies professor Karlos K. Hill explained to Rolling Stone what’s wrong with the country singer’s vision for America…
Latest on the Hollywood strike: “Abbott Elementary” star William Stanford Davis took to social media to reveal he received a recent residual payment for three cents. Kendrick Sampson also spoke with Raquel Harris about why he’s on the picket line…
NPR examined how Chicago rap became a home for controversial and visionary stars…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 31 seconds!…
The trailer for “Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop” is out. The docuseries will premiere on Netflix on August 9th…
The Bitter Southerner has launched the first installment of a video series on figures across the South building a more equitable and inclusive future. Meet the solicitor of second chances…
Julieanna Richardson, the founder of HistoryMakers, is determined to document the Black experience in America, one story at a time…
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced that the free streaming digital platform HBCU GO will broadcast five games in the 2023 football season…
I watched “They Cloned Tyrone” on Netflix and loved it! That movie is destined to become a classic…