Essence Fest mess, Sean Combs sentencing date, RIP Mama Mosie Burks
Thanks for reading, as always. This is a packed edition!
What I’m Reading
Essence Fest took place this past weekend, and with it came a flood of criticism from a variety of sources. Many of the loudest critics on social media did not even make the trip to New Orleans, opting to blame immigrants or “Jollof vs. Jambalaya” events for this year’s smaller turnout.
In reality, Essence Fest’s challenges are a bit more nuanced than that. The festival, like other events across the country, is facing significant economic challenges. It has lost key sponsorship dollars, hasn’t been able to attract a major superstar, failed to promote the festival effectively and has struggled to remain relevant as audience attitudes and priorities shift. Even Stephanie Mills penned an open letter detailing the event’s “operational deficiencies.”
“Essence really didn't have one of those big stadium-sized acts this year. There was no Beyoncé, there was no Drake, there was no Janet Jackson or no Usher, nothing like that," Keith Spera, a music critic who has covered every Essence Fest since 1995, told WWL-TV. "They're kind of caught between the original generation of Essence fans and a new generation. So, they're trying to walk that fine line of still catering to the old fans while attracting some new fans. And they haven't always been successful with doing that.”
Spera detailed a list of solutions for Essence Fest in the The Times-Picayune, from resolving the scheduling issues to listening to the fans.
Demetria Lucas also had ESSENCE’s Chief Events Officer, Michael Barclay, come on to her “Ratchet & Respectable” podcast to discuss all of the online feedback they have received.
Related: For Capital B, Adam Mahoney talked to New Orleans residents about Essence Fest and its disconnect with the local community.
Who preserves the homes of Black literary giants?, The Guardian
wrote about the homes of iconic Black writers like Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison and Richard Wright and the fight to preserve them before their literary legacies are forgotten.
Inside prison walls, here's how a book program is changing lives, NBC BLK
Reginald Betts, co-founder of Freedom Reads, has been working to change lives inside prisons by promoting access to reading material and creating libraries crafted by former prisoners.
"We want to show that it’s possible to be kind in places as violent and dangerous as some prisons, and we’re projecting our idea with libraries we make with our own hands,” Betts told NBC BLK.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: A federal appeals court ruled prosecutors violated the constitutional rights of a man sentenced to death in 1990, stating Black jurors were rejected during his trial…
Arizona: Phoenix’s Black population is growing. But so is a mental health crisis few are talking about — Black residents are twice as likely to die by suicide as the national average…
California: The Sacramento Observer has been selected for “a national initiative that will support its planned expansion into Stockton”…
Colorado: For Denver native and broadcaster Justin Adams, preserving the state’s Black baseball league legacy is personal…
Georgia: Seven people were injured after a boat exploded on Lake Lanier over the holiday week, officials said. This ignited a renewed interest in the history of the man-made lake that now covers what was once a thriving Black community…
Illinois: Jesse Jackson Jr. is quietly exploring a comeback in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, POLITICO reports…
Maryland: Church folk *can* get along! A “larger, traditional church has merged with a contemporary, progressive ministry” in Baltimore…
Michigan: The state’s first Black-owned cemetery is celebrating 100 years of service in Detroit…
Mississippi: A new story from Aallyah Wright in Capital B — In the Mississippi Delta, Black farmers are rebuilding the legacy of land ownership…
New York: The family of 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham said police told them she used a sweater to take her own life while she was in NYPD custody. But her mother said her daughter didn't wear a sweater that day…
North Carolina: Johnson C. Smith University was placed on probation by its accrediting agency following problems with “financial responsibility”...
Ohio: Lorraine Hansberry's overlooked second play, "The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window," is getting a revival in Cincinnati...
Pennsylvania: The striking Philadelphia workers have reached a tentative deal to end the strike that stopped residential trash pickup…Previous: Jazmine Sullivan and LL Cool J pulled out of performing in a show of solidarity with the striking workers…
Tennessee: Tennessee State men's hockey, the first ever ice hockey team at an HBCU, will not play in 2025-26 due to financial and logistical issues…
What’s Happening
The National Association of Black Journalists won’t be inviting Trump to its annual convention this year as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary… (I’ll be there!)
Across the country, advocates are fighting to preserve Black cemeteries from being built over and destroyed, Jasmine Browley reports for BET…
The 19th: Black women’s unemployment is rising. Economists say it’s a warning sign…
For the Guardian, Adam Harris profiled the Rev. William Barber’s national movement to end poverty and systemic injustice amid Trump’s second-term agenda…
Don't forget about Jackson, Mississippi's ongoing water crisis. $600 million has been spent trying to fix it, and now the money's gone...
penned an op-ed for NewsOne on why everyone should be more concerned that Trump keeps threatening to deport U.S. citizens…
Dressed in all white, the last descendants of the final ship that kidnapped Africans and brought them to the United States in 1860 met in Alabama for a memorial ceremony over the past weekend…
Philadelphia’s art organizations continue to center the stories of Black Americans, despite Trump’s executive orders…
Social justice advocates are creating a queer history archive about Bayard Rustin with photos, speeches, articles and more…
The Black Butterfly Teaching Farm teaches locals how to build a climate-resilient food system. Funding cuts have jeopardized that mission…
Confederate supporters are suing a Georgia state park to prevent a proposed exhibit “exploring ties to slavery, segregation and white supremacy”…
Entertainment News
Carla Hayden, the ex-Librarian of Congress who was fired by Trump, has a new role as senior fellow with the Mellon Foundation…
A federal judge said Sean Combs will be sentenced on Oct. 3…The entertainer may have avoided life in prison, but he’ll never be “Diddy” again, Justin Tinsley writes…
“Demascus,”a sci-fi comedy series, will premiere on Tubi August 7 as a Tubi Original…
DeMarco Morgan, the co-host of “GMA3,” will be departing the show, according to the Hollywood Reporter…
Doechii has graced the cover of British Vogue, and conducted the interview…
Sinners repurposed “a warehouse full” of period costumes from Marvel's stalled Blade movie…
Temple University is offering a course on Kendrick Lamar’s music and legacy starting this fall…
Married to Medicine star Dr. Heavenly Kimes is running for Georgia State Representative in District 93…
Spoilers ahead! wrote about “Ironheart” and the A.I. zombification of the dead…
The Carnival Cruise line addressed backlash following their new rules that some view are targeting Black customers…
Obituaries
Mama Mosie Burks, a gospel music pioneer best known for her performances with the Mississippi Mass Choir, has died. She was 92…
Lou Della Evans Reid, the legendary gospel choir director of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, has died. She was 94…
Young Noble, known for his affiliation with Tupac and a member of the Outlawz, has died. He was 47…
Jewel Thais-Williams, activist and owner of a legendary Black queer bar that attracted celebrities like Madonna and Janet Jackson, has died. She was 86…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 22 seconds…
The Clipse NPR Tiny Desk concert will drop later today at noon…
Jonquilyn Hill brought Kyle Denis of Billboard onto her “Explain It to Me” podcast to discuss Black America’s “complicated relationship with the flag”...
The Obama Foundation is hiring a social media associate in Chicago. The application closes July 24…
Beats Academy is accepting applications for “college students to create social media content with a Beats athlete ambassador”…
AfroLA’s Take 5 video series this week focuses on Miles Goodloe, a Black male educator who helps minorities access college financial aid…
1:06 on today's Black Crossword!
Great collection of stories. Thank you