Disgraceful Diddy video, DEI gutted in North Carolina, the Black cowboy story
Friday, May 24, 2024.
What I’m Reading
‘A history that’s been suppressed’: the Black cowboy story is 200 years old, The Guardian
For nearly 200 years, there have been two distinct stories about the cowboy — one Black and one white. These narratives have trotted side by side in the United States, and have rarely crossed paths. But according to historians, 20% to 25% of the people who settled the wild, wild west were Black. Schools don’t teach this, but it was enslaved Black men and women who tamed wild horses for white people to ride and herd cattle.
The Lynching That Sent My Family North, The Atlantic
This is a story that many Black Americans may find familiar. For The Atlantic, Ko Bragg examined how the lynching of her ancestor ushered her family’s exodus from the South, and what it means to return to Mississippi.
California’s first Black land trust fights climate change, makes the outdoors more inclusive, Los Angeles Times
Jade Stevens co-founded the 40 Acre Conservation League, California’s first Black-led land conservancy. The league recently purchased 650 acres of a former logging forest near Lake Putt, which will soon be adapted as a haven for experienced Black outdoor lovers and novices alike. The land conservancy has both an environmental and a social mission.
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools, ProPublica
After the Supreme Court ruled that public school segregation was unconstitutional, hundreds of private “segregation academies” opened across the South. One still exists today in Wilcox County, Alabama — a county where nearly all the schools remain segregated.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Mercedes-Benz workers have voted against joining the United Auto Workers, marking a setback for the union…
California: A Black dog walker’s home in San Francisco was set on fire weeks after he reported receiving racist packages. He said he will not run away…
Colorado: Colorado Springs has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought by a Black man who was punched and kicked by police during a traffic stop…
Connecticut: Richard A. Robinson, the first Black chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, is retiring in September…
Florida: Gregory Gerami is standing by the value of his purported $237 million donation to Florida A&M University despite mounting evidence that he and his donation are not what they seemed…
Georgia: The state has essentially outlawed community bail funds, making mutual aid a crime. Nia T. Evans spoke to Black mothers, pastors, and activists who are fighting back…
Illinois: Brandon Johnson promised to tackle Chicago’s legacy of environmental racism. Can he help close the gap?...
Massachusetts: GBH is laying off 31 staff members, and ceasing production of “Basic Black,” the longest running public TV show focused on people of color, according to WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka…
Michigan: A company owned by one of Detroit's most powerful families illegally built a concrete plant on the city's east side — and the city did not punish them. The family has been slowly taking over the 99% Black neighborhood for the last several decades…
Missouri: A candidate who said he had received a “honorary one-year membership” to the Ku Klux Klan can stay on the Republican ballot, a judge ruled…
North Carolina: Rajah Caruth, a student at Winston-Salem State University and NASCAR driver, sees the North Wilkesboro Speedway as a key venue for the sport…
Pennsylvania: The family of the youngest person ever executed in the state — a Black 16-year-old sent to the electric chair in 1931 — is suing the county that prosecuted him…
South Carolina: The Supreme Court allowed South Carolina’s racial gerrymander to stand, leaving what a lower court said amounted to a “bleaching” in place…
What’s Happening
The governing board of North Carolina’s public university system has voted to repeal its diversity, equity and inclusion policy, meaning its 17 schools will likely cut DEI programs and jobs…
Clarence Thomas issued a strong rebuke of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, suggesting the court overreached its authority in the landmark decision…
Edward Dwight was one of the first pilots that the U.S. was training to send to space in 1961, but due to racism and politics, he was skipped. Recently, however, he finally made it to space on a Blue Origin flight…
From NPR: Black men are a hidden segment of caregivers. It's stressful but rewarding, too…
Captain Theresa Claiborne — the first Black woman to fly in the US Air Force — is retiring from United Airlines…
Black organizers in the Atlanta area have announced that their “Summer of Resistance” campaign against Cop City, police violence, land displacement and more, will start on Juneteenth…
A state representative in Georgia has been misrepresenting herself as a member of Delta Sigma Theta for what appears to be years…
Ex-Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby avoided prison time, and was sentenced to a year of home confinement for perjury and mortgage fraud…
Learn more about a first-of-its-kind hearing that focused on missing and murdered Black women and girls in the Chicago area…
U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff is calling on young Americans to get out and vote. “Use the power that we have”...
Dr. Kenvi Phillips is set to serve as the inaugural Director of the Barack Obama Presidential Library…
The California State Senate passed three reparations bills that would create a reparations agency, and establish a fund (even though details are still very thin)...
According to a new study, hotter summers are deadlier for older Black people…What’s more: Another study found that older, non-white adults are more likely to live in areas with higher air pollution and near toxic disposal sites, likely affecting their cognitive health…
Descendants of people enslaved by Saint Louis University in Missouri are urging the administration to take formal steps toward acknowledging its history…
Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley believes that his new book, “Queering the Black Church,” can help other congregations learn to be “open and affirming” to LGBTQ people…
A Chicago chef who is expanding her restaurant empire is also financing scholarships for HBCUs, and helping students fulfill their college dreams…
The teacher who was placed under investigation after a viral TikTok showed students unbraiding his hair says he firmly believes “I was attacked because I’m a young, handsome, Black man”…
Entertainment
Disturbing video: Sean “Diddy” Combs is seen physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in a 2016 surveillance video. He will not be prosecuted, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Here’s why…More: Cassie addressed the video in a statement…Cam'ron went on CNN to talk about the incident and it was extremely awkward…
Unheard performances by Louis Armstrong in 1968 will finally be released…
Congrats, graduates! Jaycob Linsey, the kid went viral for his dance after his class learned they were going to see “Black Panther,” has graduated from high school…Nia Long’s son Massai Zhivago graduated from New York University…Karma Bridges, Ludacris’s oldest daughter, has graduated from Spelman College…
The official trailer for “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” starring Eddie Murphy, is out…
Simone Biles is fed up with social media users criticizing her husband Jonathan Owens…
Publishing giant Penguin Random House announced that Pantheon/Schocken publisher Lisa Lucas had been let go…
Black and baseball: In the ‘80s and ‘90s, seven-time All-Star Dave Parker helped raise a generation of Black MLB stars including Eric Davis, Barry Larkin and Gary Sheffield…The league and the players association announced an expansion of existing financial assistance programs to support living Negro Leagues players…
The Honda Battle of the Bands is heading to California for the first time in February, giving the state a taste of HBCU culture…
Apple Music's released its list of the 100 best albums of all time, with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” taking the top spot…
"Frankie Beverly Way" in Philadelphia's East Germantown neighborhood has been dedicated to the R&B soul legend Frankie Beverly…
Angel Reese is the newest owner of Washington, D.C.-based women’s pro soccer team DC Power Football Club…
Obituaries
Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the final surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the first to desegregate the undergraduate student body at North Carolina’s flagship public university in the 1950s, has died. He was 85…
Samm-Art Williams, a prolific actor and producer whose TV producing credits include “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Martin” and “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” has died. He was 78…
Phil Wiggins, a harmonica player of “such range that he could make his instrument sound like a clarinet one minute, an accordion the next and then an entire percussion section,” has died. He was 69…
Christoper Edley Jr, a prominent civil rights scholar who worked under and advised several presidents, has died. He was 71…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 24 seconds…
Black Owned Media Weekend returns this June, and will take place in Detroit…
Essence Fest released its lineup “so far” for the festival, which starts July 5…
The new docuseries “Stax: Soulsville USA” showcases the highs and lows of the legendary Memphis record label and how it became a “beacon of hope”...
Pew Research Center recently unveiled an early look at how Black voters view Biden, Trump and the 2024 election…
SpringHill CEO Maverick Carter sat down with Vice President Kamala Harris for a discussion on leadership, her journey to the White House, and more…
This map lets you see how school segregation has changed in your hometown…
A new podcast called “Road to Rickwood” will explore the history of the Negro Leagues in Birmingham with Roy Wood Jr hosting the new narrative series from NPR and MLB…
Re: Black Cowboy. I feel there is something powerful in the phrase "enslaved cowboy". That addition of who they were, outside of/within/despite their enslavement depicts that individual's humanity and talents and illustrates the cruel insanity of it all . Enslaved seamstress. Enslaved blacksmith. Enslaved scholar. Enslaved banker. Enslaved mother.
Its very offensive and disturbing that the Diddy video was listed under Entertainment. Abuse is not Entertainment.