DOJ drops police reform efforts, Kid Cudi takes the stand, 'Forever' hype
I have published this newsletter every Friday since 2023 because of the support you all provide by reading and sharing it. Thank you!
What I’m Reading
Some Republicans push to put school desegregation officially in the past, The New York Times
Republicans in Louisiana are fighting to end the last federal desegregation orders in their state. Civil rights advocates believe this is just another attack on Black students under the Trump administration, as schools become increasingly segregated and DEI initiatives come under threat.
Netflix’s ‘Forever’ succeeds by allowing Black teens to be free — and in love, Andscape
Allow me to provide a few pieces about Netflix’s “Forever,” which I binged and enjoyed. A second season is on the way!
David Dennis Jr wrote about the hit series from Mara Brock Akil that provides a blueprint for writing about Black teens without adding unnecessary trauma.
In her debut for Vogue, wrote about how “Forever” is a love letter to Black girlhood, and how it evoked the same feelings she had when she first watched “Moesha.”
My colleague Njera Perkins talked with Mara Brock Akil about how she transformed the Judy Blume novel into a modern love letter to Black audiences.
This news station is the ‘voice of a community.’ Budget cuts may silence it, The Washington Post
When I became president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists in January, I wanted to advocate for journalists not backed by billionaires and corporate entities.
That work has led to this profile of Prince George’s Community TV, a community TV station at risk of shutting down due to budget cuts. Please consider signing this petition to help protect the work of these journalists!
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: A Republican state senator once called Montgomery "monkey town" in text messages, according to court records. That helped a panel of three federal judges decide Alabama’s state government is intentionally racist…
California: Rise East announced it has raised more than its $100 million fundraising goal, a step toward long-term investment in the health, safety and prosperity of East Oakland…
District of Columbia: A woman had her stolen doctoral cap and gown returned days after it was stolen from her front porch…
Georgia: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is formally launching a campaign for governor…
Illinois: For The TRiiBE, Tonia Hill spoke with eight Black teens from the South and West Sides of Chicago about the lack of spaces to gather and proposed curfew policies…
Louisiana: It has been a week since 10 inmates boldly broke out of the Orleans Parish jail. Here are the latest updates…
Mississippi: A man was stripped naked and beaten with poles after he walked into a Holly Springs club and started calling patrons the N-word, authorities said…
Missouri: For Capital B, Adam Mahoney covered the disastrous tornadoes that ravaged St. Louis — and how the nation’s gutted emergency systems have left Black neighborhoods exposed…
North Carolina: In 1925, Sylvester White’s grandfather built his house in Southeast Raleigh. Today, White’s family is celebrating 100 years in that same house…
Tennessee: Memphis residents are protesting Elon Musk’s “Colossus,” a $6 billion supercomputer, claiming it is polluting the environment and the citizens who live near it…
What’s Happening
The Justice Department announced that it will drop police reform agreements with Louisville and Minneapolis, which were launched after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd…
Update on the Target boycott: The retail giant’s sluggish first quarter was due, at least in part, to consumers’ protests over Target’s rollback on DEI policies…
Speaking of DEI, Verizon appears to have ended its own DEI policies to get the FCC's blessing for its $20 billion Frontier deal…
The Fort Branch Historical Society in North Carolina recently announced that a large tree fell on its museum last month, completely destroying it…
Michael W. Twitty for MSNBC Opinion: This antebellum mansion burned — and took a lot of Black people’s history with it…
For the Chronicle, Jasper Smith talked to Florida A&M University alumni and students about their concerns over the Ron DeSantis-backed lobbyist who will soon head up the HBCU…
Donald Trump’s latest crackdown on dissent includes charging Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver with assaulting federal agents. Black senators are demanding that the Trump administration drop the bogus charges…
Columbia Journalism Review: Wesley Lowery rose to prominence chronicling the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Several women are speaking out, stating that he engaged in sexual harassment and assault…
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said it will open an investigation into the city of Chicago after Mayor Brandon Johnson talked about hiring Black officials…
Entertainment News
Kid Cudi took the stand this week as a witness for the prosecution in Sean Combs' trial. At one point, he described the disgraced music mogul as a “Marvel supervillian”…
For Roger Ebert, Robert Daniels reviewed Spike Lee’s forthcoming film “Highest 2 Lowest,” which he called a “wildly fun crime thriller”...
Ciara, June Ambrose, and music executives Phylicia Fant and Sylvia Rhone are set to be honored at the inaugural Black Women in Music Dinner on June 3…
Antoine Fuqua’s highly anticipated biopic “Michael" appears likely to move to 2026...
Chris Brown has been freed on bail by a court in London after he was charged in a 2023 attack…
Rico Nasty talked with Billboard about the transformative year she’s had, and her latest rap-rock project “LETHAL”...
Jamal Roberts, a physical education teacher from Mississippi, has won "American Idol”...
The Guardian: The Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry is becoming a mirror for American bigotry…
pgLang, Kendrick Lamar’s visionary agency, is getting the spotlight on Fast Company’s FC Explains…
Longtime SportsCenter anchor Stan Verrett’s time with the network is coming to an end…
“Sweet Life: Los Angeles,” the beloved former HBO Max reality series produced by Issa Rae, will make its cable debut next month on OWN…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 48 seconds!…
Check out this heartwarmingly hilarious video of a father and his son…
Did you know? These trailblazing Black paramedics are the reason you don’t have to ride in a hearse or a police van to the hospital…
The National Black Radical Organizers Conference will take place from May 30 to June 1 at Butler University…
The tour for A'Lelia Bundles’s newest latest book, "Joy Goddess," starts in New York on June 9th…
After two years of planning, the AAIHS journal Global Black Thought has launched. Keisha N. Blain discussed the importance of the new journal…
