What I’m Reading
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th Annual Legislative Conference kicked off this week in Washington. There are a variety of events surrounding the conference, from informative panel discussions to lively receptions and parties. For the Afro, Alexis Taylor set the scene for the opening day of ALC, reporting on one of the first panels of the conference focused on civic engagement and voter turnout.
There are over 100 panels taking place during this week, with topics ranging from election integrity, the economic state of Black men, health disparities, and much more.
My organization, the Washington Association of Black Journalists, teamed up with URL Media for a productive conversation about the importance of Black-owned independent media and the upcoming midterm elections. You can watch the full discussion on CSPAN.
Will Ford for Maryland Matters is reporting from the conference: Voting rights advocates regroup as Callais decision threatens Black representation
The Black Information Network is sitting down for interviews with key figures during the conference for its Our Voices segment.
Several performers were spotted out and about during ALC, including Rick Ross, Mya, and Method Man. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, actor Gail Bean, and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr, were also spotted.
This city led the way on reparations for Black people. Trump is trying to stop it, NPR
There have been several interesting stories on reparative justice this week. Evanston, Illinois, is the first U.S. city to make an attempt to compensate Black people for historical racism and discrimination. The Justice Department is trying to kill the program before other cities follow suit.
Related: California could put money directly into the hands of Black families harmed by oil drilling, Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B News…
A Philadelphia family just bought their first home with a $10,000 first-time homebuyer grant funded by a group of Quakers, as part of a reparations effort…
Biddy Mason, mother of Black Los Angeles, finally gets her due, Zocalo Public Square
Have you ever heard of Biddy Mason? The Los Angeles City Council recently chose to rename Pershing Square after the often-overlooked founding mother of Black Los Angeles. She escaped slavery and became one of the wealthiest Black women in America.
He was a bank security guard. Now he helps moms as a birth doula, TODAY
Teddy Gant Jr once worked up to 70 hours a week as a bank security officer. Now he is a certified full-spectrum doula and advocate for labor and delivery in Houston.
What’s In The News
Across America
California: When a Latino running club tried to host an event at Leimert Park, the heart of Los Angeles’ Black community, a social media firestorm ensued…
Colorado: Lincoln Hills was once a haven for Black Coloradans. A descendant hopes to help revive what was once “Martha’s Vineyard of the West”...
District of Columbia: Howard University is currently on the hunt for its 19th president…
Florida: A GOP nominee for Florida House marched in the 2017 neo-Nazi “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville…
Georgia: The state’s most prominent voter mobilization groups are sounding the alarm about emerging threats to voting rights, which is fueling a sense of urgency among Black voters…
Illinois: The exhibition “If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago is open until December…
Massachusetts: A Black father and his teenage son have filed a federal lawsuit against the Nauset Regional School District, alleging the district failed to stop racist bullying…
Missouri: Kansas City PBS is welcoming submissions to the third annual Reel Black Film Fest…
Mississippi: Police have arrested a man in the case of Tasia Fortune, the Black woman found hanging from a tree in Jackson…
Pennsylvania: Matt Brown visited a Philadelphia barbershop to see how some Black men are thinking about their political past and future…
South Carolina: A collection of nearly 6,000 historic pictures of South Carolina’s Black families and community is now available to the public for the first time…
Texas: Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Venton Jones made a surprise appearance at Usher and Chris Brown’s concert to give the two artists congressional recognition…Chris Brown chided Jones for apologizing for doing so…
What’s Happening
Rep. Joyce Beatty said Trump “went into a tantrum” following a vote to close the Kennedy Center after a judge ruled that the president’s name can’t appear on the building or its grounds. Watch above…
Kiara Bowling suffered a traumatic brain injury after being struck by a car driven by two young boys, and is currently learning how to walk again. Authorities have gone silent about the status of the investigation, and it is unclear what will happen next…
HBCUs are thriving while other institutions struggle to enroll students. However, leaders say that growth comes with growing pains,…Meanwhile, a task force is quietly working in Oakland to bring a historically Black college or university to the California city…
Keisha Lance Bottoms and David Crowley “could show that anti-Black, anti-urban sentiment is no longer a barrier to Black candidates in swing states,” Perry Bacon Jr writes for The New Republic…
The Stockbridge, Georgia, City Council voted to remove Jayden Williams after accusing him of misuse of funds and inappropriate texts. Residents are questioning his removal…
Capital B’s Alecia Taylor reported on the slow disappearance of Black studies on college campuses…
WBUR: The oldest institution in New England dedicated to preserving Black history and culture cut its workforce by a third…
The Emancipator Senior Correspondent Chandelis Duster visited Confederate sites while reporting on Richmond, Virginia’s history as a human trading hub…
Lonnie Bunch spoke with The Guardian’s Charles Blow about his tenure as Smithsonian chief and the White House’s interference…
A federal appeals court has used a decades-long water crisis in one of the Blackest cities in America to rule that the Constitution does not guarantee Americans the right to clean and safe drinking water…
For URL Media, Jonathan Franklin explored the hidden cost of being a loyal voter while aging in Black America…
Michelle Obama will be at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Oct. 7 for the National Juneteenth Museum’s Uniting Voices Speaker Series in honor of Opal Lee’s 100th birthday…
Entertainment News
A jury found rapper Lil Durk not guilty on all counts for the murder of Saviay’a Robinson…
After the groundbreaking director William Greaves convened living legends from the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s home, it took 50 years and his family to create a documentary about the moment…
Attorneys for Sean Combs filed a motion to drop him as a client on Monday over unpaid legal fees and a lack of cooperation…
Jerry Brewer spoke with Ryan Clark about his life after ESPN, his new show and what’s next…
Michael B. Jordan is Vogue’s latest cover star. Check out the full interview here…
Kevin Powell, who interviewed Tupac many times, remembered his late friend and provided a portrait of the complex man and artist he knew for Newsweek…
Danielle Brooks recently appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air to discuss her new indie film, “If I Go Will They Miss Me”...
For the Chicago Sun-Times, Erica Thompson spoke with the legendary Chaka Khan about her new album, “Chakzilla,” which comes out today…
Meet the 5 actors who have been cast in Starz’s highly anticipated upcoming Black rodeo drama…
With Taylor Townsend’s triumph at the US Open women’s doubles final, her road has come full circle, Andrew Lawrence writes for The Guardian…
Jourdain Searles reviewed “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” in which Mahershala Ali plays a devout Muslim and contract killer forced to care for his three kids…
The Guardian: John Coltrane turned his back on fame to embrace free jazz. Caught on a tape machine hidden in an overcoat, newly revealed recordings show how he did it....
Chief Keef’s highly anticipated homecoming concert was abruptly canceled and rescheduled for a later date due to travel delays…For the Chicago Sun-Times, Mark Braboy spoke with the rapper about his return…
Obituaries
Iris Baez, a powerful voice against police misconduct following her son’s 1994 killing by chokehold, has died. She was 80…
Cat Frazier, who found a future in the internet’s past with a Tumblr blog of animated texts, has died. She was 35…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 41 seconds!...
The Chocolate City Market, an all-Black farmers and vendors market, will take place on Sept. 20 in Southeast DC…
The third annual Black Girl Book Fair is in Charlotte on Sept. 20…
Applications are open for the Fresh Voices Fellowship, which supports an early-career writer of color who does not have, nor is currently pursuing, an advanced writing degree…
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is celebrating its 10th anniversary from Sept. 24 to 27…