What I’m Reading
Residents of Eatonville, Florida, one of the U.S.’s first all-Black towns, are fighting for 100 acres of land sold in 1951 for $16,000 and worth well over $20 million today. The primary issue is that the town doesn’t “own” the land, and never has. The Orange County School Board owns the land and is set to sell it to a developer.
"This is economic justice that we're fighting for," said Eatonville resident Julian Johnson, who believes the school board should give the land back to the town. "Land is economic justice. It's about demanding it back. You've done the people wrong, over and over."
A Black community's history up for sale, CBS News
Elsewhere, in Florida: A publisher created multiple versions of its social studies material, softening or eliminating references to race — even in the story of Rosa Parks — as it sought to gain approval in the state. A chilling excerpt from the article is as follows:
“In the current lesson on Rosa Parks, segregation is clearly explained: ‘The law said African Americans had to give up their seats on the bus if a white person wanted to sit down.’
But in the initial version created for the textbook review, race is mentioned indirectly.
‘She was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin,’ the lesson said.”
Florida Will Review Social Studies Textbooks for ‘Prohibited Topics,’ The New York Times
A Mississippi woman's life has been transformed by a treatment for sickle cell disease with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. All her symptoms from a disease once thought incurable have disappeared.
Note: “Sickle cell affects an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S., many of whom are Black, along with an estimated 20 million people worldwide.”
Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions, NPR
A Black family from Georgia was driving up to Chicago for a family funeral when they were pulled over in rural Tennessee. Police arrested the father for possession of 5 grams of marijuana.
Hours after the arrest, the mother sat on a bench in the criminal justice center with her children. Without the parents’ knowledge, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services got a court order to put their five kids in state custody, where they remain — a month later.
A Black family fights to get their kids back from Tennessee Department of Children's Services, Tennessee Lookout
What’s In The News
Lance Reddick, a prolific actor who starred in “The Wire” and “John Wick,” has died. He was 60. His death is yet another sign Black men are dying too young…
An African American history trail in Delaware was vandalized weeks after it opened, causing thousands of dollars in damage…
People affected by a toxic fuel leak in Hawaii are now receiving tax bills for the emergency aid they were sent…
Silicon Valley Bank earned mostly good reviews from Black entrepreneurs who recalled strained alliances with the financial industry. The collapse has struck some as a potentially lasting setback….
By revealing social inequities and making urban dysfunction visible, sanitation strikes like the one now roiling Paris can be effective tools for change — and signs of larger discord…
A Michigan judge has granted final approval of a $626 million settlement, putting Flint residents one step closer to being compensated for harm caused by the city’s drinking water crisis…
Seven officers and three hospital workers are facing murder charges after being accused of smothering a Black man to death at a Virginia state psychiatric institution…
Drugs, cash and razor blades are flowing into New York City’s juvenile detention centers through a network of employees supplying teenagers with contraband, according to current and ex-employees…
A newly surfaced internal Veterans Affairs report shows Black veterans were more often denied benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder than their white counterparts…
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is reportedly considering a run for mayor of Houston…
In the past two years, people have brought at least 189 book challenges to North Carolina school districts. The most challenged books are on topics about race and racism, or coming-of-age books that include characters with LGBTQ identities…
A 57-year-old Black man who served more than 30 years of a 400-year prison sentence has been freed after he was exonerated for armed robbery charges…
A Michigan judge has granted final approval of a $626 million settlement, putting Flint residents one step closer to being compensated for harm caused by the city’s drinking water crisis…
A Florida English professor whose lessons about racial justice put him at odds with his university's administrators has been fired, the professor said…
Xochitl Gonzalez, a staff writer at The Atlantic, describes what it’s like for librarians on the front lines of the censorship war. "Although books don’t have feelings, the librarians forced to remove them from the shelves definitely do”...
After a Phoenix police officer killed a 19-year-old, prosecutors charged his three friends—aged 20, 19, and 14 at the time—with his murder. They’re serving decades in prison. The cop who killed the teen remains on the force, cleared of any wrongdoing…
After 50 years, the government hasn’t developed water infrastructure owed to a Navajo Nation farm. Now the Supreme Court is set to weigh in on the government’s water obligations to tribes…
The CBC has released two reports about mortality rates for mothers and babies in America, and the data shows a rise in maternal mortality and deaths of Black infants...
What’s Happening
This was my favorite video of the week, and almost made me miss teaching. Almost…
For The New York Times, Caleb Gayle examined the lives of Black folks who grew up as evangelicals and now find themselves torn between their faith and the long history of race in America…
Jelani Cobb wrote an essay honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and how the oppression that helped form the genre is killing its founders early…
Beyoncé and Adidas have reportedly mutually agreed to part ways…
The competition to buy BET — and its streaming service — has the TV industry talking…
Dr. Tamia Potter has become Vanderbilt University’s first Black woman neurosurgeon resident in its 148-year history…
For ELLE, Kayla Greaves asks if the beauty industry is finally beginning to play fair with Black-owned brands…
In GQ Magazine: How Abbott Elementary's Tyler James Williams made Gregory a stealth heartthrob…
Nobody wins when the family feuds: Rudolph Isley sues brother Ronald Isley for over the rights to ‘The Isley Brothers’ trademark…
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld Cardi B’s $4 million defamation verdict against gossip blogger Tasha K…
Sheryl Lee Ralph alleged she was sexually assaulted by a “famous TV judge” at a business event years ago, claiming network executives asked her to stay silent to avoid “bad press”…
Just 1.3% of public school teachers were Black men in the 2020-21 school year, according to a survey. Black men are needed in the classroom more than ever…
Savannah James spoke with Vogue about her hair journey, her beauty rituals with her daughter, and how she stays true to herself…
A white couple wanted to change the world by adopting two children of every race. It didn't end well…
Actor Djimon Hounsou explained that he feels “tremendously cheated” regarding the pay and workload he’s received in his career: “I’m still struggling to try to make a dollar!”...
Gina Prince-Bythewood shared a behind-the-scenes video of “The Woman King” that showed the beauty of shooting in Africa…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 58 seconds…
It wasn’t just Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat. On NPR Code Switch, listen to the women behind the Montgomery bus boycott tell their story in their own words…
Raphael Saadiq teased a Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion tour later this year…
A new four-part docuseries on recently retired NBA player J.R. Smith, who is pursuing golf and a degree at North Carolina A&T University, is coming to Amazon Prime. It will premiere on April 4…
Legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter is coming out with a book! It publishes May 23…
Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, is publishing her memoir, "Don't Let Them Bury My Story." It will hit shelves on May 30…
Criminal justice correspondent Josie Duffy Rice hopped on the “You're Wrong About” podcast to talk about America’s obsession with prosecuting children…
Jordan Peele’s fourth movie is in the works, and set for a Christmas 2024 release…