DeSantis defunds diversity college programs, Graduation season, Beyhive swarms Europe
DeSantis defunds diversity college programs, Graduation season, Beyhive swarms Europe
Friday, May 19, 2023.
What I’m Reading
All criminal charges against Courtney "CW" and Nicole Mallery, two Black ranchers in rural Colorado whose story of racism and murdered animals on their ranch garnered national attention, were dismissed after prosecutors determined there was "no likelihood for success at trial."
Charges dropped against Black ranchers whose story of racial discrimination garnered national attention, Denver7 News
Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” world tour has begun. For the Washington Post, Janay Kingsberry spoke to the Queen Bey superfans based in the United States who opted for the European leg of the world tour that launched in Stockholm, Sweden.
Bedazzled and jet lagged, the Beyhive swarms Stockholm for 'Renaissance,’ The Washington Post
The GOP-controlled Louisiana state legislature has approved a bill making some juvenile criminal records public but only in the state’s three most-populous and majority-Black areas, an effort critics have called blatantly racist.
Louisiana House votes to make youth crime records public, The Advocate
Zolan Kanno-Youngs spent some time with Howard University students in the days leading up to President Joe Biden’s commencement address to learn about their views, how their opinions differ from their parents — and what they want for the future.
Biden Is Talking to Howard University Students. But Does He Speak to Them?, The New York Times
What I Saw
I was in the room for Kamala Harris’s small business roundtable for men of color which was aimed at offering resources and strategies for minority entrepreneurs. You can listen to the conversation on the Morgyn Media podcast. Gerren Keith Gaynor covered the talk for The Grio as well.
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What’s In The News
Heads up: I have a big feature publishing in the newsletter on Monday…
Black residents in Buffalo are still trying to move on after a white supremacist terrorized their community a year ago…
More: A sprawling lawsuit that hit the owners of Facebook, Google and more says a slew of social media companies fed the convicted Buffalo supermarket shooter "white supremacist propaganda”...
Ron DeSantis has signed a bill into law barring Florida’s colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and limiting how race can be discussed in many courses…
A heartbreaking, but important read: What it’s like to be homeless in San Diego…
A Black mother from the Bronx had her baby taken from her because she smoked marijuana shortly before giving birth — but she smoked in August 2021; marijuana had been legal in New York for months…
The Internal Revenue Service said Black taxpayers have been far more likely to be audited than others and that it is “considering changes to its case selection process to address discrimination in how the tax code is enforced”…
There’s a movement to stop Dollar stores, which critics say stifle economic growth and job creation in Black areas, from suffocating those communities…
A study has revealed the staggering toll of being Black in America: 1.6 million excess deaths over 22 years…
Black lung is an entirely preventable occupational disease. And it’s back with a vengeance, killing younger miners, faster…
Homeless services workers in Los Angeles County can’t afford housing themselves, a study found…
Black people are disproportionately denied aid from state programs that reimburse victims of violent crime, an AP investigation found…
A Missouri high school teacher who was videotaped repeatedly using a racial slur in class has resigned from the district. The student who recorded the video was suspended…
Jordan Neely was a homicide victim, killed by a man who put him in a chokehold. But the media quickly turned him into the villain of his own story…
More from Elie Mystal: ”Days after Daniel Penny was charged with killing Jordan Neely, a pro-vigilante crowd has emerged to defend his actions. But what are they really saying?”...
Jamie Foxx’s daughter set the record straight on his recovery after a recent hospitalization, saying that her father is now “recuperating.” The actor is undergoing medical treatment at a physical rehabilitation facility in Chicago, CNN reports…
Local historians in Indianapolis are calling on the city to stop the bulldozing of a historic Black cemetery...
The Wall Street Journal: The tightest job market in generations is transforming the employment prospects for Black Americans in ways that could be more long-lasting than in past economic expansions…
The death toll linked to a doomsday cult in Kenya surpassed 200 after a pastor allegedly ordered his congregants to starve to death in order to meet Jesus…
Mike Freeman for USA TODAY: “Ja Morant is unflinchingly and embarrassingly American in one huge way: he has an apparent gun fetish”…
In Chicago, Black women are almost six times more likely to die during or after pregnancy than white women. Doulas working on the West Side are trying to change that…
An mRNA vaccine that programs the body to fight pancreatic cancer shows early promise, a great sign for Black Americans…
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor wrote about how Brandon Johnson went from former union organizer to the mayor of Chicago and the challenges he will face leading the Windy City…
What’s Happening
KevOnStage isn’t just a comedian, he’s an investigative reporter as well. He made a video to find out just who is behind one of the largest hip-hop social media pages…
A group of D.C. community organizers are using nature to help kids heal from trauma and help clean up the District's parks and rivers…
San Francisco has proposed the nation’s most ambitious reparations plan, including $5 million cash payments and housing aid. But can it bring Black residents back?...
Sha’Carri Richardson is back in the news for her dominant performance at Nairobi’s Kip Keino Classic…
Where does the time go? Sasha Obama has graduated from the University of Southern California. Usher, Roberta Flack, Jalen Hurts, and E-40 were just some of the other celebrities to receive degrees…
Cherelle Parker is well-positioned to be the first woman mayor of Philadelphia, one of only a few major American cities that has only ever elected men…
The development of baseball programs at HBCUs is leading to a new generation of U.S.-born Black baseball players...
Men at Mississippi's Parchman Prison are exploring the themes of blues lyrics through a college-level course called The Blues Tradition in American Literature…
The late Tupac Shakur will have a stretch of an Oakland street renamed for him after a unanimous vote by the city council…
Dancers at a Los Angeles strip club have successfully gained union recognition after more than a year of tense negotiations with management, making them the country’s only strippers in an official bargaining collective…
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation really, really, really wants to open a casino in Times Square…
Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey has become a viral sensation after cooking nonstop for 100 hours, in an attempt to set a Guinness world record…
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good's friendship turned romantic as she supported him amid his assault charges and allegations, PEOPLE reports…
Dwayne Johnson opened up about his battle with depression, and encouraged others to seek help…
Boot Baby and Boot Sheisty have built a large following through their boot removal business in Atlanta — and they may help shape Georgia law…
Nike founder Phil Knight ponied up $400 million to help historically Black areas of Portland. Meet the woman investing it…
Black creators say Hollywood’s shift toward streaming has helped improve representation in writers’ rooms and on screens, but at the expense of good pay and job stability…
Naomi Osaka clapped back at all the haters commenting on her pregnancy: “There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead”...
Beans are protein-rich, sustainable, and delicious. Why doesn’t the U.S. eat more of them?...
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 24 seconds…
The Assignment host Audie Cornish spoke with academic and author Ibram X. Kendi about the backlash around “wokeness” and antiracism…
The Black Queer Everything fellowship is seeking applicants whose research engages queer studies, Black studies, trans studies, Black feminism and more. Details here…
“In the Arena: Serena Williams” is a new ESPN docuseries about the tennis legend coming soon...
NPR's Michel Martin chatted with Dee Barnes, who chronicled the rise of hip-hop in the 1990s on the influential TV show Pump It Up!...
The African Poetry Digital Portal Project is calling for proposals from scholars and researchers for $15,000 African Poetry Digital Humanities grants. The deadline is June 16…
Gabrielle Union sat down with Bloomberg to discuss her journey from a struggling actor in Los Angeles to becoming a movie star, film producer and author…
Poet, author, and Prince fan Nichole Perkins is honoring Prince through the CNN podcast “The Prince Mixtape”...
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