Black neighborhoods underwater, "Sinners" streaming, RIP Niko McKnight
Thanks for reading!
What I’m Reading
Why are Black neighborhoods underwater? Science points to the wealthy, Capital B News
65 percent of global warming is caused by the wealthiest Americans, but it’s Black neighborhoods that are losing their homes, livelihoods, and lives, Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B.
Wildfires destroyed a historically Black town. These artists won’t let its legacy disappear, The Guardian
The Guardian profiled “Ode to ’Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena,” a California African American Museum exhibit that runs through October. The exhibit showcases Black visual artists with connections to Altadena in the wake of the wildfires that destroyed the historically Black town.
The Black hair industry imports products from China. Here's what tariffs mean for braids and wigs, AP News
President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China are driving up costs for products Black women use in hair care. Some stylists are beginning to raise prices as their clients disappear.
Black families are leaving New York. Can a pastor’s plan end the exodus? The New York Times
Black families are struggling with the rising costs of living in Brooklyn, with many making the difficult decision to leave New York altogether. A local pastor is pushing forward a plan to build affordable housing to keep his congregation together.
What’s In The News
Across America
California: Authorities are investigating after a 17-year-old boy was attacked and called racist slurs at a rock concert...
Georgia: “The Wire” star Tray Chaney lost his Atlanta home in a tornado that also left his teenage son seriously injured…
Illinois: A new analysis shows campus cops at public state universities are pulling over Black drivers at higher rates…
Indiana: Indiana Bible College is suing renowned composer Rosephanye Powell, claiming defamation over copyright infringement claims…
Louisiana: The skulls of 19 Black people have been returned to the U.S. and memorialized in a sacred ceremony in New Orleans more than 150 years after their heads were severed and shipped to Germany…
Massachusetts: Regie Gibson has been selected as the state’s first Poet Laureate…
Michigan: For Bridge Detroit, Yusef Bunchy Shakur penned a timely op-ed about why the city’s next mayor needs a Black agenda…
Mississippi: Kaychia Bell accepted a posthumous diploma for her son, Kadarius Smith, who was killed by a Leland police cruiser…
New Jersey: The Echo Press, the state’s oldest Black-owned newspaper, has endorsed Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for governor…
North Carolina: A new report in the Charlotte Observer finds suicides in prisons have been linked to solitary confinement…
Oklahoma: Tulsa’s first Black mayor Monroe Nichols has launched a $105M trust to establish a reparations plan for survivors and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre, reports…
Tennessee: The NAACP has called for the emergency shutdown of Elon Musk's supercomputer in Memphis due to the project’s pollution…
South Carolina: Democrat Keishan Scott is now one of the youngest members of the state House of Representatives after trouncing his GOP opponent…
Virginia: A historical marker honoring a Black man whose heart was taken without his family's consent for the first heart transplant ever performed in the state has been unveiled...
What’s Happening
Texas has joined the hotly contested race to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. Read ’s dispatch on the high-profile race…
The power of Black media: Shoutout to Aallyah Wright for helping bring Ryan Coogler and a special screening of “Sinners” to her hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Read how she did it here…
NBC BLK: Black students are planning their own celebrations as colleges work to halt affinity graduations…
is launching a new video podcast beginning June 9, called “The Joy Reid Show”…
12-year-old Ramir Parker is being hailed as a hero after he rescued his grandmother and infant siblings from their burning home in Virginia…
Several foundations have donated $1.5 million to help rebuild after arson destroyed a historic Black church in Memphis…
For the New York Times, Jordyn Holman chatted with the powerful CEO that other CEOs turn to for advice — Steve Stoute…
Former LSU football star Kyren Lacy's death is the latest in a troubling rise in suicides among young Black men, Janell Ross reports for Capital B…
The FBI has joined the investigation into the beating of a Black man by multiple white men in Indiana…
Entertainment News
“Sinners” is now available to stream online. Here’s how…
Trump said that no one has asked him to pardon Sean "Diddy" Combs but that he would look at the facts of the disgraced hip-hop mogul's case…
Longtime ESPN anchor Jay Harris revealed he has prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week…
NPR Music is celebrating Black Music Month 2025 “with a month-long tribute honoring the anniversaries of landmark albums that have shaped the course of music and culture”…
TIME has published a profile of Audra McDonald: "Audra McDonald is our greatest living stage actor”...
Brandon Hammond, who played Ahmad in "Soul Food," shared that he met up with his co-star Irma P. Hall, who played Big Mama....
Get ready for more SZA and Keke Palmer: A “One of Them Days” sequel is reportedly in the works…
Marie Claire has an interview with , who noticed Black female directors were being overlooked so she decided to change that…
Currently incarcerated artists in Florida came together to create an original hip-hop album to help support each other…
“Living Single” stars Kim Coles and Erika Alexander talked with Jasmine Browley about their new podcast, “ReLiving Single”...
A fourth grade student from Detroit has gone viral for her spectacular singing skills…
Matthew Cherry, NFL player turned film director, spoke with Creative Bloq about his journey and his next animated project…
Shannon Sharpe is postponing his upcoming “NSFW Tour,” scheduled to begin on June 13 in Baltimore…
Byron Allen is putting his local TV stations up for sale in an effort to reduce debt…
The Washington Post: Is Branden Jacobs-Jenkins the best playwright in America?...
Obituaries
Niko McKnight, a talented guitarist and estranged son of Brian McKnight, has died of cancer. He was 32…
Anna Mae Robertson, who served in the “Six Triple Eight” all-Black woman unit deployed overseas during World War II, has died. She was 101…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 29 seconds!!...
E-40 dropped his NPR Tiny Desk Concert this week…
Roy Wood Jr. announced his debut book, “The Man of Many Fathers” on Monday…
PBS profiled photographer Gioncarlo Valentine about documenting tender moments in Black life…
Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life is hosting a virtual panel, “What Happened to America’s Racial Reckoning?” on June 10 at 6 pm EST. RSVP here…
If you’re in the DC area next week, author A’Lelia Bundles is sharing the story of her trailblazing ancestor during a book talk at the MLK Library on June 11 at 7 pm…
NPR's Juana Summers chatted with author Damon Young about his new humor anthology, “That's How They Get You”...
I just watched the PBS doc about Giancarlo Valentine, thank you so much for sharing that. I'm a big fan of Reginald Betts and Freedom Reads, what a cool collaboration.