Clarence Thomas in hot water, Angel Reese and double standards, Bowie State honors Dionne Warwick
Discover more from What I'm Reading
Clarence Thomas in hot water, Angel Reese and double standards, Bowie State honors Dionne Warwick
Friday, April 7, 2023.
What I’m Reading
In December 2020, The Proud Boys desecrated several historic Black churches in Washington, D.C. Now, a historic Black church hopes its $22 million lawsuit against the far-right street gang will neutralize the hate group for good.
With a lawsuit, a Black church aims to bring the Proud Boys to an end, HuffPost
Jemele Hill wrote a thoughtful column about the double standards that have become apparent in the discourse about LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese. “The criticism of Reese is an old but consistent story in sports. When white athletes are demonstrative, they’re playing with passion and showing their love of the game. When Black athletes reveal their feelings, they’re disgraceful and ‘classless.’”
Angel Reese can shine as brightly as she wants, The Atlantic
In 1998, Clarence Jones was convicted of killing his infant son. He served 18 years in prison before he was later exonerated. Now, he is essentially being tried again while he’s seeking compensation for a wrongful conviction. “You’ve got to fight. You’ve got to clear your name, you know?” Jones told The Daily Record. “Or you’ll never be nothing.”
25 years after ‘shaken baby’ conviction, Baltimore County man once again tries to prove his innocence, The Daily Record
For Rolling Stone, Mankaprr Conteh spent six weeks digging into Chris Brown’s past and his more than 20 acts of aggression, violence, or crime — and found that the singer has consistently remained incredibly popular.
For this reported essay, she sought out experts who could help answer the question: “How can the singer, his detractors, and his supporters — at every level — serve to push pop culture into healthier territory?”
What do we really want from Chris Brown?, Rolling Stone
What I Saw
I sat down with the iconic Dionne Warwick before her theater-naming ceremony at Bowie State University over the past weekend. I wrote about it for HuffPost…
I attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ talk at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture on Wednesday, where she reflected on her trip across Africa…
What’s In The News
For decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has secretly accepted luxury trips from a billionaire Republican donor, newly obtained docs show…
Republicans voted to expel two Democrats from the Tennessee state House for speaking at a gun control protest after a Nashville school shooting. Notably, Rep. Gloria Johnson, a white woman, kept her seat. Read my thread on Twitter…
Paul Rusesabagina, a political prisoner depicted in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda,” has been reunited with his family after years of pressure for his release…
Brandon Johnson has been elected the new mayor of Chicago…
CDC investigators studying the potential health impacts of chemical exposures in East Palestine, Ohio, got sick with similar symptoms as those reported by residents…
Tennessee is attempting to use eminent domain to take land that has been in Black families for generations so Ford can build electric vehicles. The families just want a fair deal…
In The Washington Post: Their enslaved ancestor’s pottery sells for over $1 million. They get nothing…
A 74-year-old Fargo man who assaulted two Black girls, called them "niggers," and told them their "skin was the color of shit," has been sentenced to two years…
The body of a 2-year-old Florida boy who had been the subject of a frantic search after his mother was killed was found in a lake in the jaws of an alligator…
Flint residents will have to wait months longer to receive their shares of a $626.25 million settlement stemming from the water crisis…
A federal jury has awarded nearly $3.2 million in damages to a Black former Tesla worker over allegations of racism…
The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously approved a sweeping plan to reform policing after George Floyd’s 2020 murder…
A rapper who gave an interview to popular blogger DJ Vlad about a prior killing he was involved in was killed in a drive-by shooting…
The Virginia teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student has filed a lawsuit seeking $40 million in damages from school officials…
In 2022, Cassandra Jones was shot in broad daylight. Her ex still hasn’t been charged in Jones’ death, and her three daughters want to know why…
A new report alleges that Don Lemon has displayed misogynistic and unprofessional behavior through malicious texts, mocking female co-workers, and "diva-like behavior" for over a decade…
Howell Wayans, the patriarch of the famous Wayans family, has died at 86 years old…
Residents of a majority-Black town in Georgia are trying to prevent a railroad and its influential owners from seizing private land for a new train line they say will cause environmental and economic harm…
From my colleague Nathalie Baptiste: Missouri Republicans are upset about a lawsuit. They retaliated by proposing that the state defund all of its public libraries…
Johnson & Johnson agrees to pay $8.9 billion to settle “all current and future” claims alleging their talc products caused cancer…
Four Black Harvard students woke up to rifles in their faces by campus police after someone made a false 911 call…
A horrifying video circulating on social media in Burkina Faso showed men in military uniforms killing seven boys, which may constitute a war crime. The Associated Press geolocated the killings and interviewed families to capture the boys’ final moments…
What’s Happening
Erykah Badu popularized the word “woke.” She now believes the word has become a put-down toward Black people…
A $400,000 grant will help preserve the legacy of Black dolls and the Philadelphia Doll Museum…
Clarissa Brooks for Teen Vogue: Black queer musicians are pushing the music industry forward — and proving they can exist outside of it…
Leroy Chapman, the first Black editor-in-chief of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, talked with
about what his position means for the outlet’s journalism in the Southern city…LeBron James opened a Starbucks in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, that employs students and their families from his I Promise school. It seeks to award employees job-training certificates in addition to their hourly wages…
In the Mississippi Delta, low-income parents are going to “Baby U” — a free eight-week parenting class for families with kids under three years old — and the program is providing them with the support system they’ve never had…
Quinta Brunson took a shot at “Friends” while she hosted “Saturday Night Live”...
I’m one of the “world’s most engaging journalists” this week…
I never knew how much I needed to see Snoop Dogg hitting The Miz with a People’s Elbow…
From Mike Freeman in USA TODAY: Former NBA great Spencer Haywood, in helping ravaged hometown, is the anti-Brett Favre…
Drake brought everybody out for his set at the Dreamville Festival, including GloRilla, Lil Wayne, and others…
A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs that resulted in the death of Michael K. Williams…
A YouTuber was recording a prank video for social media when he was shot by a man inside a Virginia mall…
Teyana Taylor says her starring role in an upcoming Dionne Warwick biopic is underway…
Stacey Abrams has been appointed the inaugural Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics at Howard University…
For Okayplayer, Hanna Phifer wrote about how Michael B. Jordan is carrying the mantle of Black leading men…
The Atlanta rap duo Earthgang wants to do more than make music. They’ve unveiled a new community garden that will “teach students about agriculture while offering fresh food that they can take home to their families”...
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 36 seconds!
I’ll be headed to the theater to see “Air,” a movie about Nike founder Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) and his efforts to sign Michael Jordan. Here’s my colleague Candice Frederick’s review, and Mariel Turner’s interview with Chris Tucker is worth reading too…
Hulu announces the documentary “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” is in the works…
VICE News’ Alexis Johnson went to Memphis, Tennessee, after the brutal beating and death of Tyre Nichols to find out how some residents are re-imagining public safety…
“My Name is Mo'Nique,” the comedian’s long-awaited comedy special, is now streaming on Netflix…
Clarence Thomas in hot water, Angel Reese and double standards, Bowie State honors Dionne Warwick
“I believe that for the small numbers of Jewish people in the United States, they exercise a tremendous amount of influence on the affairs of government...Yes, they exercise extraordinary control, and black people will never be free in this country until they are free of that kind of control.” — Louis Farrakhan