Big HBCU news, the Grio layoffs, Kendrick responds
Friday, May 3, 2024.
What I’m Reading
Is new AP African American Studies course too woke? We attended class to find out, USA TODAY
With all of the fake concern of “critical race theory” spreading across the United States, USA TODAY interviewed students and teachers directly involved in the AP African American Studies course — many of whom described it as “transformational.” According to the outlet, roughly 370 campuses based in nearly 200 school districts offer the course.
Vegas showgirl Anna Bailey broke barriers. At 97, she’s still got it, The Washington Post
Anna Bailey was the first Black woman to integrate an all-White chorus line on the Strip in Las Vegas. She helped transform the city during the struggle for civil rights. At 97 years old, she’s still performing. “God bless everybody, because people always ask me, ‘What did you do?’ I really didn’t do anything but just live, day by day,” she told the Washington Post.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Taste in Food Shows Us Who He Was, Food & Wine
For Food & Wine, Nneka M. Okona wrote about Dr. Martin Luther King and his love of food, his eating habits, his tastes and what these things said about him as a person. Sunday suppers at home and simple meals in restaurants provide insight into the legendary civil rights leader.
An Enduring Race Tax, The New York Times
Black Americans remain the only racial group with a homeownership rate below 50 percent. University of Virginia professor Andrew W. Kahrl spoke with the New York Times about his new book, “The Black Tax,” and his research.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: A woman arrested at her Andalusia home by police on video because she refused to show her ID is now demanding justice in court…
Colorado: The former Aurora paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with the ketamine that ultimately killed him was sentenced to 14 months with work release and four years of probation. The practice of sedating people during police encounters has quietly spread across the country…
Georgia: In this battleground state, some Black entrepreneurs are frustrated over the impact of higher interest rates…
Louisiana: For many of the mostly Black cyclists who show up every Tuesday night, Get Up N Ride's circuit through New Orleans is a joyful healing space…
Maryland: Police have arrested and charged a high school athletic director with using AI to impersonate and frame a principal accused of making racist and antisemitic comments behind closed doors…
Michigan: The National Park Service awarded $23.4 million to projects preserving civil rights history, including a survey on historic African American tourism in Michigan…
Minnesota: The Minneapolis City Council has agreed to pay a $150,000 settlement to an eyewitness who tried to prevent George Floyd's murder…
Missouri: A federal investigation concluded that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings…
Mississippi: Columbus has opened its Civil War-era homes to visitors. Some say the event should reflect more the oppression behind the architecture…
New York: One year after Jordan Neely was choked to death on the subway, homeless advocates are pushing to revive a bill that could make targeting homeless people a hate crime…
Tennessee: In a big defeat, the state’s GOP-dominant House has spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to study or dispense money for reparations…
What’s Happening
Big HBCU news: Alabama A&M University is planning to purchase the campus of Birmingham-Southern College and operate it as the Birmingham branch of the Huntsville-based university. And Xavier University has formally signed an agreement with Ochsner Health to establish a medical school in the Gulf South…
In a historic shift, the DEA is reportedly moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug…
Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a national tour in Atlanta that aims to highlight how the Biden administration is trying to help Black Americans economically…
From Gerren Keith Gaynor, for The Grio: A first-of-its-kind racial discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has the potential to set the course of justice for generations of Black veterans…
A new congressional district map giving Louisiana a second majority-Black House district was rejected by federal judges, fueling new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections. Also happening in the state: The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled a predominantly White area can form a new city separate from Baton Rouge, raising concerns of segregation…
College students and a nun united for a special book club inside one of the nation’s largest jails…
Detroit’s only Black-run grocery co-op has opened, and anyone can own a piece of it by becoming a member…
“The mysterious deletion of a recording of the Rev. Gina M. Stewart’s history-making sermon before a joint session of Baptist groups in her hometown crystallized the movement for gender equity’s moment of progress and peril in the Black church universal,” Darren Sands writes for the Associated Press…
Tyson Foods dumped millions of pounds of toxic pollutants directly into American rivers and lakes over the last five years, a new investigation reveals…
The family of Ralph Yarl, the Black teen who was shot by a white homeowner when he mistakenly went to the wrong address, has filed a lawsuit…
Entertainment
Kendrick Lamar dropped “Euphoria,” a scathing 6 minute response to Drake’s “Push Ups.” Andre Gee for Rolling Stone and Alphonse Pierre for Pitchfork have differing takes on the track…
The Grio, Byron Allen’s media outlet catering to Black Americans, has laid off its podcast and video teams…
From Connor Garel, for The Cut: Five years after releasing her first solo single, Normani’s debut album is finally coming on June 14. Normani is on her own time…
Halle Berry joined with a group of bipartisan senators to announce new legislation to promote menopause research, training and education…
Jordan Peele is producing a “Nope”-inspired documentary series that “dismantles the whitewashed mythology of the cowboy” for Peacock…
A federal appeals court ruled that R. Kelly was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison on child sex convictions in Chicago…
ESSENCE Festival has announced that Cash Money Millionaires will reunite for this year's fest…
Willow Smith stopped by the NPR Tiny Desk to show off her range of musical talents…
Candace Parker, an icon for women’s basketball, announced her retirement this week…
Keke Palmer and SZA are set to star in an Issa Rae-produced buddy comedy from TriStar Pictures…
Evan Narcisse is on a mission to make video games a little less white…
Olympic champion Gabby Douglas is shaking off the rust after she recently competed for the first time in eight years at the American Classic…
Commencement news: Angela Bassett will speak to the Spelman College Class of 2024, while Wanda Durant will give the speech to Bowie State University’s graduates…
The first trailer for Barry Jenkins’ “MUFASA: THE LION KING” has been released, featuring the voices of Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter…
The July 20 bout between YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will be classified as a sanctioned, professional fight…
Obituaries
Archie Cooley, the coach of the 1980s Mississippi Valley State University football team that featured Jerry Rice, has died. He was 85…
Rev. Cecil Williams, a charismatic minister “who turned a fading church in the gritty Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco into a vibrant hub of worship, activism and social services,” has died. He was 94…
Dallas Penn, writer and co-host on the iconic “The Combat Jack Show,” has died. He was 53…
For Hyperallergic, Jasmine Weber remembers the legacy of Faith Ringgold, and how the late artist left the “art world better than she found it through a rich legacy of Black feminist activism and artmaking”…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 37 seconds…
Quinta Brunson curated a playlist for Spotify, check it out…
NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute” host Brittany Luse chatted with “We Are the Culture: Black Chicago's Influence on Everything” author Arionne Nettles about how Chicago's Black press shaped America…
If you’re in the Detroit area, sports talk show host Martin Weiss is set to host a new live show Monday through Friday from noon to 3 on 1270AM starting May 16…
LinkedIn for Journalists is accepting applications for free access to LinkedIn Premium until May 23…
Attention HBCU alums: Applications for The 19th’s Frances Ellen Watkins Fellowship are open! Work in reporting, audience engagement, or product and technology. The deadline is May 31…
Great news roundup, Phil. Excited to find your newsletter