Amy Sherald on censorship, NAACP sues Texas, Funk Flex fake out?
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What I’m Reading
Censorship has taken hold at the Smithsonian. I refused to play along, MSNBC
Artist Amy Sherald penned an op-ed for MSNBC following her decision to cancel her "American Sublime" exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
“When a government starts deciding which stories museums can tell, it is not protecting history. It is rewriting it,” she writes.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Praises Donald Trump’s Police Takeover, HuffPost
I attended Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s press conference this week with my colleague Arthur Delaney, and we wrote about her praise of President Donald Trump’s surge of law enforcement into the nation’s capital — and her criticisms.
Related: Community leaders and residents in Chicago are preparing for Trump's possible deployment of National Guard troops and ICE agents.
GMU President Refuses to Apologize for Diversity Efforts, Lawyer Calls Ed. Dept. Claims ‘Absurd,’ The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has requested that Gregory Washington, George Mason University’s first Black president, apologize over the diversity initiatives he’s fought to put in place at the institution.
Washington has forcefully declined to apologize, and his lawyer called the claims “absurd.”
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Remember Patrick Braxton? He was prevented from becoming mayor by white leaders several years ago. Newberry held its first election this week and he won, Aallyah Wright reports for Capital B News…
California: The California Black Freedom Fund aims to expand to a $200 million endowment in the face of Trump’s efforts to eliminate “race-based grant making”…
District of Columbia: In neighborhoods grappling with gun violence, residents want help. But their views on Trump’s takeover are mixed…
Georgia: Chance, the baby whose mother — Adriana Smith — was kept alive on life support for months, is still fighting to survive…
Illinois: Generations of performers and dancers showed off their footwork at the Chicago House Music Festival and Conference this past weekend…
Massachusetts: New Edition will be honored this weekend in Boston…
Minnesota: City leaders and community workers have worked hard to reduce the amount of shootings. But a new contract negotiation may put all of that progress at risk, Josiah Bates reports for The Trace…
Missouri: Honesty Bishop spent over 2,000 days in solitary confinement — in a cell about the size of a parking space, after her cellmate tried to sexually assault her. After her release, she sued to force a change in policy…
Ohio: Even though the University of Cincinnati dumped "African American" from its cultural center, students and alumni plan to keep their traditions alive...
South Carolina: The Beaufort County School Board voted to restrict nine library books, including Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” The state has the most banned books in the country…
Tennessee: Memphis’ Chamber of Commerce has been heavily promoting Elon Musk’s xAI facility — even as residents say they had no input…
What’s Happening
Trump has revoked Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection, according to multiple reports…
The NAACP is suing Texas over the state’s redrawn congressional maps, stating they strip Black voters of political power…
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued Trump, arguing the White House has no authority to remove her from her position…Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc has also put out a statement of support for their sorority sister…
“Trump’s broadsides against cities like DC and LA are part of a pattern that’s eroding his support from Black voters,” Erika D. Smith argues in Bloomberg Opinion…
70 years ago this week, Emmett Till was kidnapped and brutally murdered by white men. His family, including his cousin who was with him at the time, recreated the train ride he took from Chicago to Mississippi in 1955 to mark the anniversary… Till’s family members say many questions about the murder remain unanswered… The Mississippi Department of Archives and History acquired the gun used to kill him...
Big story in ContrabandCamp: Guides for teaching Black history, profile of Black veterans and more are just some of the online resources that have disappeared from official government websites since Trump took office…
Ciara Smith has won the election for mayor of Anniston, Alabama. She is the youngest and first Black elected mayor in the town’s history…
The New York Times: “Trevis Williams is eight inches taller than a man accused of flashing a woman in Union Square in February. The police arrested him anyway”…
Ben Vinson III is stepping down as president of Howard University after just two years in the role…
Entertainment News
After Taylor Townsend defeated her U.S. Open opponent Jelena Ostapenko, the losing tennis player apparently said Townsend had “no class” and “no education”...
“I Will Survive” singer Gloria Gaynor has been donating thousands of dollars to Republican politicians, which may explain her recent honor from Trump…
Dramatic: Funk Flex announced that his last show on HOT 97 at 7 pm would be on Sept. 1, shocking longtime listeners. But it seems as though he’s only switching time slots…
Lil Nas X opened up about his “f**king terrifying” experience being arrested and hospitalized…
Evan Nicole Brown penned a profile on Eunice Johnson, co-founder of EBONY and JET Magazine and the founder of the Ebony Fashion Fair — an innovative traveling fashion show for Black people…
40 years ago, Eleanor Bumpurs was murdered by the NYPD for resisting eviction. Today, activists have introduced her story to a new generation of advocates. Read an excerpt from “Tell Her Story: Eleanor Bumpurs & the Police Killing That Galvanized New York City” by LaShawn Harris…
Precious Fondren wrote about rap's purported return to regional music for Type.Set.Brooklyn…
The exhibit “André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever” has opened at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah…
For Harpers Bazaar, Kaitlyn Greenidge spoke with "Baldwin: A Love Story" author Nicholas Boggs and James Baldwin's personal friend Jessica B. Harris about the icon's life and loves…
A film about how Kobe Bryant landed in Los Angeles to play for the Lakers is in the works…
Latorial Faison, a professor at Virginia State University, is celebrating her book, “Nursery Rhymes in Black,” being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize…
Devon Walker announced that he’s leaving “Saturday Night Live” after three seasons…
For Complex, Abe Beame spoke to collaborators and writers influenced by Sacha Jenkins about his legacy in hip-hop media…
Obituaries
Frank Savage, a trailblazing business leader who would find himself involved in the Enron scandal, has died. He was 87…
Sharon Chuter, founder of the inclusive beauty brand Uoma Beauty, has died. She was 38…
Celeste Wilson, a journalist who recently joined the Jackson, Mississippi news station WAPT as a weekend anchor, has died. She was 42…
Natasha Allen, a TikTok star who chronicled her battle with a rare form of cancer, has died. She was 28…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 49 seconds!...
Did you know that 83 percent of the country doesn’t have a single media subscription? I am grateful that you have chosen to subscribe to this one!...
The deadline for the First Gen Fellowship, a $1,000 grant for first generation college students, is August 29th at 11:50 pm PST…
Share this with a Black man you care about: For Black Men Health Inc empowers Black men to get healthy for themselves and their families…
Must-listen: Historian Gerald Horne interviewed Augustus Wood about his book "Class Warfare in Black Atlanta" and Eugene Puryear about his book “Black Belt Thesis: A Reader” for Freedom Now…
The Department of African American Studies at Princeton University is accepting applications for Postdoctoral Research Associates for the 2026–27 academic year…
Excellent work, thank you!