Emmett Till relative sues, train derailment fallout, latest on Black rancher under attack
Friday, February 17, 2023.
What I’m Reading
By now, you may have heard about the horrific train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio — a small town not too far from Cleveland. For The New Republic, Prem Thakker talked with residents who have reported having trouble breathing, finding animals dead, and how they may need to leave the place they love.
Norfolk Southern, the railway company responsible for the vinyl chloride released into the air, backed out of a town hall in the community this week, citing concerns of a “growing physical threat."
Life After the Ohio Train Derailment: Trouble Breathing, Dying Animals, and Saying Goodbye, The New Republic
In what seems like the plot of a Jordan Peele movie, details from the ongoing battle between Black ranchers Courtney and Nicole Mallery and Teresa Clark, their white neighbor, continue to come to light.
The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote an explainer of the entire feud and the extent of the allegations from the Black ranchers. Colorado Public Radio also published a helpful timeline.
Black rancher's disagreement with neighbor leads to allegations of racism, stalking, The Gazette
The New York Times published an interactive highlighting the stunning racial disparities in childbirth outcomes. In the United States, the richest mothers and their newborns are the most likely to survive the year after childbirth — except when the family is Black, according to a groundbreaking new study.
Childbirth Is Deadlier for Black Families Even When They’re Rich, Expansive Study Finds, The New York Times
Antoine Tolbert accepts the basic premise of a police force, but he believes citizens are better equipped than officers at preventing most crimes. His organization, New Era Cleveland, stages civilian armed street patrols, and offers resources and social service referrals.
He ultimately sued Cleveland police for civil rights violations, but to deter violence and provide uplift, the city might actually need his help.
Antoine Tolbert sued Cleveland police for civil rights violations, but to curb violent crime, the city might need his help, Cleveland.com
What’s In The News
As Ron DeSantis continues his assault on African American studies, it’s worth returning to a nearly 100-year-old book that made the case for Black history education…
The white supremacist ️who fatally shot 10 Black people in a racist attack at a Buffalo grocery store last year has been sentenced to life in prison…
Trugoy the Dove, co-founder of the legendary rap group De La Soul, has died. He was 54…
Black women are banding together to leave America. Here’s why…
Tennessee’s newest lawmaker walked into the capitol wearing a dashiki. Republicans suggested he should explore other careers…
Eddie Conway, local news host and former member of the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party, has died at 76…
A relative of Emmett Till is suing to try to make a Mississippi sheriff serve a 1955 arrest warrant on a white woman in the kidnapping that led to the Black teenager’s brutal lynching…
Mississippi has registered an alarming rise (more than 900% over five years!) in the number of infants being treated for congenital syphilis…
Two hundred students walked out of class at an Alabama high school after they were reportedly told their student-led Black History Month program could not reference slavery or the civil rights movement "because one of our administrators felt uncomfortable”...
Maya Cade, founder of the Black Film Archive, launched a curated program that celebrates moments of Black intimacy for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hinted at getting rid of AP classes in Florida altogether after the College Board condemned his administration’s remarks on AP African American studies…
Roslyn Pope, whose 1960 manifesto she wrote as a senior at Spelman College helped fuel the fight for civil rights, has died. She was 84…
For nearly 25 years, 74-year-old Ira Wallace has played a key role at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, a company that offers about 800 varieties of seeds…
What’s stopping Black women from getting screened for cervical cancer?
One of the key figures in the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville killed himself as he was due to stand trial for drug trafficking…
Judges and prosecutors have started to dismiss criminal cases in Memphis involving the now-disbanded “Scorpion” police unit implicated in Tyre Nichols’ killing…
About 20,000 people leave Illinois prisons each year. Nearly 40% will return in three years. Injustice Watch examined new initiatives that aim to keep them out…
A group of mainly LGBTQ skaters in Lagos are creating a community that pushes up against the traditional, colonial and conservative values of Nigeria…
What’s Happening
This kid looks just like Michael Jai White and the actor couldn’t help but agree…
The Super Bowl had its share of entertaining moments, including Sheryl Lee Ralph’s rendition of the Black national anthem and Rihanna announcing her pregnancy. But Justina Miles, a deaf American Sign Language performer, stole the show…
Bad Bunny’s “refusal to speak a language other than his own is a highly political move. Not only does he unabashedly and unapologetically speak in Spanish, but he does so in that ever-maligned Caribbean Spanish,” writes Yarimar Bonilla…
Pharrell Williams will become Louis Vuitton’s next artistic director of menswear…
Jamal Jordan for The Washington Post: Young people in the LGBTQ community long for older role models. He found several, and they all have stories to tell…
The city of Tucson, Arizona, is taking steps to preserve its Black history with a project aimed at chronicling its historically significant structures, buildings and neighborhoods…
Snoop Dogg’s daughter Cori Broadus and her fiancé Wayne Duece spoke with Teen Vogue about what a healthy, loving relationship is supposed to look like…
Tyler Perry will donate $2.75 million to older homeowners in Atlanta who are at risk of losing their homes due to rising real estate taxes…
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Riley, Magic, Dr. J and others look back on that time Marvin Gaye sang ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at the 1983 All-Star Game…
There were several celebrity profiles published this past week, including those with Angela Bassett, Rihanna, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors and Nia Long…
Some WWE stars made a surprise visit to Brooklyn’s Kipp Amp Middle School for a Black History Month Panel, and the kids were thrilled…
10-year-old Jeremiah is quickly coming for Stephen A. Smith’s spot as the top sports journalist in the world…
For Valentine’s Day, ESSENCE spoke with three Black couples about their love for each other and their people…
Ernest Crim III’s virtual Black history book club is directly challenging efforts by policymakers to whitewash school curricula…
What I’m Watching
Sen. Tim Scott, the lone Black Republican in the Senate, is gearing up for a presidential run…
Adam Harris, a staff writer with The Atlantic, spoke with NPR’s Weekend Edition about historically Black colleges and universities and why they’ve been underfunded for decades…
“Can’t Turn Us Around: Alabama’s Foot Soldiers” is set to premiere on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 pm EST on The HISTORY Channel. The documentary follows the “organized movement fueled by Black Americans, known as ‘foot soldiers,’ across the American south from roughly 1955 to 1965 as they aimed to rid America of segregation and guarantee equal civil rights…”
Do you have dreams of pursuing your rap/singing career? Enter NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. If you win, you'll get to do your very own Tiny Desk and even go on tour with NPR Music…
On February 28, The Supreme Court will hear arguments over President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan…
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 43 seconds!
Black History You Didn’t Learn In School
Before Stephen A. Smith and other Black sports journalists, there was the great Sam Lacy…
Septima Poinsette Clark, Charlie Cobb, Erika Huggins: Here are some Black educators you may not have heard of…