Allensworth rises again, Keke's a mom, Howard's swim team wins
Allensworth rises again, Keke's a mom, Howard's swim team wins
Friday, March 3, 2023.
What I’m Reading
Allensworth is California’s first town that was founded, funded and governed by Black Americans. This thriving community spanned 2,700 acres, had the first free-circulation library in Tulare County, and built a two-room schoolhouse in 1912. However, a series of racist actions disrupted Allensworth’s transportation and water supply, causing the town’s decline. Brennon Dixson went to Allensworth to see how the community today is trying to fix the actions of the past.
“It is simply amazing to think that people came from all over to this little place, and they found happiness, economic opportunity; they found peace,” said Sasha Briscoe, a resident of nearby Bakersfield. “There was no racism. Everybody got along.”
Allensworth, a onetime Black utopia, could rise again from the Central Valley dust, The Los Angeles Times
Zak Cheney-Rice explained how prosecutors made one of the hottest rap stars the face of urban crime. The YSL case in Fulton County, Georgia, that revolves around rap superstar Young Thug highlights how RICO laws have transformed into a useful tool for prosecutors to broadly criminalize Black and brown youth, Cheney-Rice wrote.
"The prosecution of Young Thug is not just about law enforcement criminalizing rap music. It is about how Atlanta eats its own to keep the sunny vision of the Black Mecca alive.”
How Young Thug Trial Turned Him Into the Face of Urban Crime, New York Magazine
When white representatives in the Mississippi House approved a bill to reshape Jackson’s criminal justice system, it also approved the idea that the solution to every political problem is to disempower Black people and put white people in charge, Kali Holloway wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Beast.
“But it’s not just the top-down white supremacist power structure the bill proposes that begs the Jim Crow comparisons. It’s also the overtly racist subtext needed to justify the idea that white power is the natural ‘solution’—an assumption so frequently made, it’s recognizable between all those lines of ‘racially neutral’ language,” she wrote.
Jim Crow Is Resurrected in Mississippi, The Daily Beast
In Barbie’s 64-year history, the doll has been the ultimate career girl: She’s been an astronaut, a major league baseball player, and much more. But for some Black women, having a Black Barbie doll made them feel less alone.
“Playing with my Black Barbies in the ’90s allowed me to feel proud in my skin as I imagined myself in Barbie’s ‘career’ and having the lifestyle that I created for her,” Ebony Oliphant said. “I didn’t grow up seeing Black women in my community as my doctor, dentist, business executive, but Barbie could do all that.”
The Power Of A Black Barbie, HuffPost
Will Ketchum spoke with famed celebrity trainer Mark Jenkins about how he helped Diddy shed some of his party-going antics and get his body in shape in six weeks to run the 2003 New York City marathon.
“To this day, it's one of the highest turnouts for the New York City Marathon because the ‘hood came out to see Puff run,” Jenkins said. “I was very intent on getting people in my culture in shape, so they could then affect change and motivate all Black people to get in shape.”
When P. Diddy Ran a Marathon, a Generation of Black Men Got Healthier, Men’s Health
What’s In The News
Zandra Flemister, the first Black woman to have been hired by the U.S. Secret Service, has died at the age of 71…
Los Angeles County will pay Vanessa Bryant and three of her daughters nearly $30 million to settle a lawsuit over the sharing of graphic photos of the crash that killed Kobe and Gianna Bryant…
Wayne Shorter, an iconic saxophone player whose career spanned bop, fusion, and more, has died at 89…
The share of colorectal cancer diagnoses among people under 55 has nearly doubled over the past three decades, a report showed. Doctors are trying to understand why…
Lori Lightfoot’s time as mayor of Chicago is over. Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson are headed to the Windy City’s mayoral runoff…
Black women are often stereotyped and face racist beliefs when seeking medical treatment. But don’t doubt your experiences. Here’s what to say if you're a Black woman and your doctor won't listen…
Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an Orlando organization that spearheaded the campaign to restore voting rights to felons in Florida, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize…
Despite his long — long — list of offenses, Black women continue to be Chris Brown's strongest support system, Hanna Phifer writes. Why do so many Black women continue to work with him?
Aaricka Washington wrote about April Valentine, a Black woman who died while giving birth at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, California. Her friends and family are fighting for accountability…
Citing costs, many rural hospitals are shuttering labor and delivery wards, expanding so-called maternity care deserts — even as maternal deaths increase at alarming rates in the United States…
For years, many community violence intervention programs have struggled to obtain stable funding, making it harder for them to deliver results. But what happens when community violence intervention gets the support it needs to thrive?
Former President Barack Obama is launching a new leadership program to build a national network of young leaders from diverse backgrounds focused on local civic engagement…
HBCUs are working to solve the nationwide teacher shortage, playing an outsize role in producing teachers of color in the U.S…
What’s Happening
Baby, this is Keke Palmer's baby. Keke Palmer is officially a mother of a baby boy…
TikTok users have turned Hogwarts from the Harry Potter Universe into an HBCU: Hogwarts Agriculture and Magic University. Check out this Twitter thread…
“Decades of federal, local, and state housing legislation undermined housing and economic opportunities for Blacks and Latinos. Racist transportation policies and infrastructure limited mobility for people of color,” reads an excerpt from “Justice and the Interstates: The Racist Truth about Urban Highways.”
A white student expelled from Howard University’s law school is suing the historically Black university, alleging “race discrimination and creating a hostile environment”…
Chaka Khan unloads on Rolling Stone’s “The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time” list, going after Adele, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey…
The number of formerly incarcerated people heading to college is sure to grow. The California State University system is providing a model for what supportive housing for these students can look like…
The Howard University men’s swim team won the Northeast Conference championship, marking the team’s first conference title in three decades…
Quavo confirms Migos is done in his new song “Greatness”...
Megan Piphus Peace grew up watching "Sesame Street." She later joined as a full-time cast member, becoming the first Black woman puppeteer in the show's history…
Kevin Hart’s show in Egypt was canceled due to “local logistical issues,” but some believe it may have been related to comments that have been attributed to Hart asserting ancient Egyptians were Black…
For Akuna Robinson, the first Black man to wear the “triple crown” for completing three of the most challenging U.S. trails, the trails are a place for healing…
In The New Yorker, Doreen St. Félix spoke with Danielle Deadwyler about her role in “Till,” her approach to art, ego death, and the retrograde values of the Hollywood system...
Kaitlyn Greenidge for Harper's Bazaar: A tantalizing photograph of literary superstars before their ascent, including Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, evokes the dream of artistic community…
A Georgia woman intentionally crashed her SUV into a Popeyes after her order was missing biscuits, authorities said…
Meet Caitlin Gooch, a Black woman helping to preserve the rich legacy of Black equestrian culture as “The Black Cowgirl”...
Keivonn Woodard, a young deaf actor who plays Sam in "The Last of Us" TV series and who also hopes to play in the NHL one day, got the opportunity to meet his idol: hockey star Alexander Ovechkin…
A boxing gym in Detroit is making a difference in the lives of the city’s youth…
Philly rapper Freeway’s debut album is turning 20. Feel old yet?
Jason Reid for Andscape: The Washington Commanders hiring Eric Bieniemy is a great move, just not for him…
What I’m Watching
February marked the 55th anniversary of the historic Memphis sanitation strike. AFSCME, the largest trade union of public employees in the United States, launched a new five-episode podcast that tells that story.
Chris Rock will perform a live standup special on Netflix on March 4…
De La Soul's full catalog is now available on streaming platforms…
Drake and Lil Yachty sat down for an extensive conversation recently…
Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors duke it out as “Creed III” hits theaters on March 3…
What happens if you make Black folk the center of a horror flick? The trailer for the horror-comedy “The Blackening,” is out…
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 18 seconds!