Black men and the election, Tyron McAlpin, RIP Wanda Smith
Friday, October 18, 2024.
What I’m Reading
Trump has been courting young Black men, but data suggests it won’t work, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Black men and our voting habits have taken center stage in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election, but there are a lot of conflicting narratives taking place online and over the airwaves. For the Philadelphia Inquirer, Layla Jones talked to political experts and organizers — who are also Black men — about the “hysteria” that our demographic is defecting to the Republican party. Figures like Elie Mystal, Nina Turner, Astead Herndon and Bakari Sellers also weighed in on the conversation.
Related: Two recent polls from Howard University found that more than 80% of Black respondents plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Far-Right Candidates Are Trying To Take Over Public Schools Across The Country, HuffPost
While all eyes are focused on the presidential race, far-right extremists have another target this election: school board races. My colleague Nathalie Baptiste reported on this effort and how, over the past several years, elections for public education officials have become hotly contested races.
WWE’s uneven attempts at reaching Black fans, Andscape
Andscape’s David Dennis Jr wrote about the WWE’s bumpy efforts to reach its Black fanbase, and how the wrestling company has a long way to go despite how far it has come.
The fight for reparations in California continues, Los Angeles Standard Newspaper
For the Los Angeles Standard Newspaper, Jason Lewis detailed how grassroots organizations continue to push forward on reparations after two key bills failed in the California State Assembly.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: A few stories out of Alabama I noticed — The state can’t remove thousands of people from its voter rolls before the presidential election, a federal judge ruled…A mortgage giant must pay nearly $10 million for alleged redlining in Black Birmingham neighborhoods…A suspect accused of a mass shooting in Birmingham has been arrested…
Arizona: Tyron McAlpin, a deaf man with cerebral palsy, is facing charges after he (!) was punched and tasered by Phoenix police officers. Local leaders are demanding the charges be dropped, and the body cam footage is out…
California: The only museum in Sacramento focusing on Black American history is in danger of closing after losing critical grant funding…
District of Columbia: The Washington Informer is celebrating 60 years of publishing news!...
Florida: Authorities in Sarasota have launched an investigation after a video of white men harassing a Black teen through a neighborhood went viral…
Louisiana: The family of Tyre Nichols and attorney Ben Crump are calling for a Department of Justice investigation into the death of Ronald Greene and the Louisiana troopers involved…
Michigan: An ad targeting Black voters from a mid-Michigan Republican running for Congress was printed with the wrong election date…
Minnesota: A substitute teacher at Woodbury High School is no longer an employee after he was accused of reenacting the murder of George Floyd in class…
New York: “An innocent man is free after spending years in prison for a murder the Brooklyn district attorney says he didn't commit”…
North Carolina: Mark Robinson filed a $50 million lawsuit against CNN after it reported on years of wildly racist comments the GOP gubernatorial nominee seems to have made on a porn site forum…
Oklahoma: Texas Rep Al Green said he would file legislation seeking $20 million for each of the two known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre…Here’s more from the Justice Department’s visit to Tulsa…
South Carolina: A family in South Carolina is pleading for help in finding Broadway dancer Zelig Williams, who disappeared nearly two weeks ago…
Tennessee: A new report finds that state policy makes voting much more difficult for Black and disabled voters…
Texas: An ex-Dallas police officer convicted of murdering Botham Jean in his apartment six years ago was denied parole, Jean's family said…
Virginia: “The Justice Department announced that it is suing Virginia over its efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, calling the state's actions a violation of federal voting laws”…
What’s Happening
Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with Charlamagne for a radio town hall, during which callers asked her questions about issues concerning Black voters. The full town hall can be found here. One point that I thought was interesting was when Charlamagne brought up a clip from theGrio that purportedly showed Harris saying she wouldn’t do anything for Black people. Natasha Alford wrote about how the clip from five years ago is still being taken out of context…
An excerpt from "John Lewis: A Life" tells the whole story of the late civil rights activist’s leadership in desegregating Nashville in the 1960s…
FDA's promised guidelines on pulse oximeters are aimed to help dark-skinned patients. However, they are unlikely to end decades of racial bias…
Black women are featured across three of Detroit’s major arts and cultural institutions…
From NBC News’ Marquise Francis: “Advocates say the Ebony Alert is critical to help police investigate the disproportionate disappearances of Black youths. But given early challenges, critics say it needs work”…
New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert has a plan to reconnect a historically Black neighborhood that was severed by a 1950s-era highway…
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Representative Colin Allred locked horns during a heated debate this week. Here’s how it went…
Carla Vinson, a longtime United States Postal Service worker, says she faced “intimidation and bullying” after reporting racism on the job…
Bath and Body Works has apologized for selling candles that some said looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods…
The Los Angeles Times: A federal civil rights complaint lodged by a conservative Virginia group has led the largest public school system in California to eliminate race as a factor in a program aimed at helping struggling Black students…
Sheriff’s elections aren’t generally considered the most interesting races, but sheriffs wield a surprising amount of power in their jurisdictions. Here’s why you should start paying attention…
A group of Democrats in Congress appealed to the largest companies in the country to keep their diversity, equity and inclusion programs…
Slate makes the case for Spirit Airlines, the most hated airline in America. But you won’t like what happens when it’s gone…
Entertainment News
R. Kelly’s daughter Buku Abi is speaking out publicly about the alleged abuse she suffered during her childhood at the hands of her father…
Kendrick Lamar left the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards as the night’s biggest winner, receiving eight awards, including hip-hop artist of the year…
T.I. announced that he would be retiring from performing, stating he “doesn’t need the money anymore”...
Six new accusers have filed new lawsuits against Sean Combs in New York, including one who claims they were 16 years old at the time of the alleged assault…
Lamorne Morris grew up idolizing the first Black “Saturday Night Live” star: Garrett Morris. Now, he’s playing him in a movie…
I saw “Albany Road,” starring Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lynn Whitfield, last weekend at the Sacramento Film Festival, and the theater was totally into it. It was an important reminder to support independent Black filmmakers…Reminder: I wrote about indie filmmakers in my first story for my newsletter!...
Anthony and Marlie Love, founders of the Traveling While Black social media platforms, are launching a TV show…
For Essence, Danyel Smith talked with Serena Williams about “retired” life and being a mom…
Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis has shared that her breast cancer reached stage IV after she decided to “keep her tumor,” but says she has been doing well since restarting treatment...
Fashion historian Shelby Ivey Christie, is launching a publishing company that she hopes will shake up the luxury fashion industry…
For Refinery29, L'oreal Blackett worries that Black women are losing hair and beauty “recipes” by embracing new modernized techniques…
Darren Walker has been elected president of the board of trustees at the National Gallery of Art…
In last week’s newsletter, I reported Allen Media Group had cut more employees at The Grio. It turns out it wasn’t just at theGrio — Deadline reports that the layoffs impacted HBCU Go, The Weather Channel and more…
In honor of the 30th anniversary of the cult classic “Pulp Fiction,” Samuel L. Jackson recited his most famous lines from the film: the full Ezekiel 25:17 Bible verse from memory…
Obituaries
Wanda Smith, a beloved Atlanta radio personality and comedian, has died. She was 58…
Ka, a Brooklyn rapper known for his lyricism and skills with the pen, has died. He was 52…
Warren Wilson, a trailblazing broadcaster who served the Los Angeles area for more than 40 years, has died. He was 90…
Ed Vaughn, the owner of Detroit’s first Black-owned bookstore that energized the Civil Rights and Black nationalism movements in the 1960s, has died. He was 90…
Toni Vaz, a “screen veteran who blazed a trail as an extra, stunt performer and actress before becoming an activist and founder of the NAACP Image Awards,” has died. She was 101…
The Source, alongside several other websites, incorrectly reported that DJ Clark Kent had died. Angie Martinez debunked the rumor, and The Source issued a correction…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 2 minutes, 55 seconds…
Congratulations to our friends at the Baltimore Beat and The Wall Street Times for receiving funding from Press Forward! I wrote about both newsrooms last year…
The launch event for the “1619 Project: A Visual Experience” will take place on October 22 at the Brooklyn Library at 6 pm…
Former President Barack Obama is set to campaign for Harris-Walz in Detroit on Oct. 22…Former first lady Michelle Obama will headline a rally in Atlanta on Oct. 29…
Shelby Stewart is accepting pitches on beauty and Black women in sports for ESSENCE…