Florida 'election police' fallout, Jordan Neely killing, short WHCD recap
Florida 'election police' fallout, Jordan Neely killing, short WHCD recap
Friday, May 5, 2023
What I’m Reading
The (mainly Black) people who were initially arrested by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new “election police unit” have had their cases dismissed in court. But the arrests have upended their lives. Some of them lost their jobs and are now struggling to find work. Orlando resident Peter Washington believes voting is now "a trap" and is advising others against it.
The first arrests from DeSantis’s election police take extensive toll, The Washington Post
There’s a stipulation tucked away in Texas law that outlaws all assignments involving any “direct communication” between students and their federal, state or local officials. A student whose hands-on group project in civics class that added student advisers to the city council would stand in direct violation of the law.
Texas guts ‘woke civics.’ Now kids can’t engage in a key democratic process, The Guardian
Moms for Liberty, an organization that calls itself a “parental rights group” and describes itself as a wholesome nonprofit, has actually destroyed the lives of its targets and orchestrated harassment campaigns against people that have left some fearing for their lives.
“The greatest impact that Moms for Liberty is having is imparting fear, within the teachers and the educators and in the parents,” Laura Leigh-Abby, co-founder of Defense of Democracy, told VICE News. “The true impact they’re having is really not calculable, because I’m seeing teachers who are afraid to speak out because they don't want to be targeted.”
A Far-Right Moms Group Is Terrorizing Schools in the Name of Protecting Kids, VICE
What I Saw
I was invited to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner by its host, comedian Roy Wood Jr., whom I had met while covering the Golden State Warriors’ trip to the White House.
He stressed to me the importance of Black journalists (his father is a radio pioneer), and while I thanked him, I don’t think I fully conveyed to him during the hectic weekend just how grateful I was for his kind gesture and words of encouragement. You can watch his hilarious full set at the dinner here.
Related: Wesley Lowry followed Roy around for the big weekend for The Washington Post, and wrote about how the comedian crushed the toughest room in comedy. (I also made a TikTok of the weekend!)
What’s In The News
New York City police released a man who choked and killed a fellow subway rider. Jordan Neely’s death has now been ruled a homicide. The framing from news outlets is also being called into question online. And New York's Michael Jackson impersonators are mourning their late friend…
The gap between Black and white unemployment rates in New York City is now the widest it has been this century, exceeding even the largest gap during the Great Recession, according to a new report…
Overseas: Hundreds of thousands have fled Sudan's capital to rural areas and other countries, but millions remain trapped in a prison of urban warfare…
Attendance fell 15 percentage points at Black Protestant churches after the COVID outbreak, according to a new survey. Researchers say no other major religious group has registered a decline of this magnitude…
Loneliness in America poses health risks that are as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, the U.S. surgeon general warned…
Florida House Republicans gave final passage to a Gov. Ron DeSantis priority bill that bans colleges from using state or federal funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs…
From Marina Fang: The Film and TV writers strike has major implications that go way further than whether your favorite shows will be available. It's about what stories get told — and who gets to tell them. Also: Here’s what Black writers have to say about the strike…
Adidas is being sued by its shareholders, accusing the brand of failing to warn investors about the antisemitism and “extreme behavior” exhibited by Ye…
The president of the Monroe County chapter of the NAACP asked a school board candidate a simple question: “Do you have an understanding of what the diversity and inclusion platform is?” She couldn’t answer…
Three-time Olympic medalist Tori Bowie has died at the age of 32, her management company said...
About 16.8 million Black Americans — roughly 1 in 3 — live in "cardiology deserts" or counties with little or no access to heart specialists, according to a report…
Students from Atlanta's HBCUs are speaking out about how the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City," could harm Black communities...
More than 200 LGBTQ+ lawmakers across the country are continually defending their right to exist at a time when anti-gay and anti-transgender legislation is flourishing…
Ralph Boston, a three-time Olympic long jump medalist and one of the most accomplished athletes in Mississippi history, has died. He was 83…
The Black prison population increased during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recently published study…
For some Freaknik attendees, the Atlanta spring break event was a time for bonding, community and recreation. But many Black women associate the event with sexual violence and harm…
Ex-Minneapolis officer Tou Thao, who held back the crowd during George Floyd's murder, has been found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter…
An ex-Memphis police officer who hit Tyre Nichols with a stun gun during a traffic stop won't be charged criminally, a prosecutor said. Also, the official autopsy report has been released to the family. He "died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma"...
What’s Happening
A mother put together an obstacle course for her son, who has dreams of becoming a firefighter someday. One of the comments under the video hit the nail on the head: “Encouragement and exposure are the greatest gifts you can give to a child”...
Jamie Foxx posted a small update on Instagram; it’s the first message from his account since his hospitalization. His friend Kevin Hart said the actor has shown “ a lot of progression”…
From Lawrence Ross: The sun has set on comedians like Marlon Wayans, Mo'Nique and Chris Rock, whose latest offerings were lackluster. Black Gen X comedy is dead and has nothing new to say…
Jerry Springer might have believed the wig-pulling, name-calling, fist-throwing and bleeped-out profanity to be entertainment, but his show used some of the nation's most vulnerable people as a source of mockery…
Only one HBCU player was taken during the three days of the 2023 NFL Draft, and Deion Sanders has something to say about that…
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which originally opened as a single-room office 33 years ago, announced plans to build a new $25-million campus in Kansas City…
A court-appointed attorney in the massive RICO trial involving Young Thug said she may need to create an ‘OnlyFans’ account to compensate for the low pay…
Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan, Don Cornelius, DJ Kool Herc and more will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year...
Corey Hawkins, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Wendell Pierce have all been nominated for a Tony Award, the first time four Black actors have been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play…
Nicole Avery Nichols has been named the top editor of the Detroit Free Press, becoming the first Black woman to hold the position…
While on the carpet at the MET Gala, Rihanna explained how her second pregnancy is "so different" from her first…
Frazier Tharpe interviewed "Snowfall" star Damson Idris, who recently said goodbye to the Franklin Saint character he portrayed for six seasons…
Lauren Williams has been named The Guardian’s new deputy editor for race and equity…
Larenz Tate believes that the entertainment industry prioritizes talent from overseas: “[I] feel like Hollywood believes there’s more value in British Black actors than they do in Black actors”...
Ed Sheeran is threatening to quit music if he loses his copyright infringement trial. The “Thinking Out Loud” singer is being accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”...
For half a century, Opera Ebony has been one of the guiding lights for Black performers looking to make their mark on the opera world. But what comes next?...
Victoria Hoffman wrote about wearing hip-length knotless box braids to work, and how they might as well have called an emergency company meeting about it…
Former Chicago Bulls player Joakim Noah is launching the “One Basketball League” in the Windy City in collaboration with 28 violence prevention groups, which will create off-the-court programs and job opportunities…
Lamar Johnson was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life in prison at 21 years old. He spent 28 years in prison. After he was exonerated, he was able to fulfill his dream: walking his daughter down the aisle…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 24 seconds…
I’ve been nominated for Editor of the Year by the AAMBC Awards! If you’d like to vote, you can do so here…
I need to set aside some time to watch “Dear Mama,” the FX docuseries about the trials and triumphs of Tupac and Afeni Shakur. Justin Tinsley writes about it for Andscape…
An assistant for Universal Music Group’s A&R team is looking for new music to pitch to her higher-ups. Maybe that’s you or someone you know…
Steve Harvey sat down with Shannon Sharpe to discuss divorce and past marriages, fitness and health, his career as a comedian and writer and the importance of women in his life…
The 19th News has opened applications for its Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship, which will provide recent graduates, mid-career alums and former students of HBCUs with full-year salaried fellowships in journalism. The deadline is May 15…
Film producer Charles King had his good friend Ryan Coogler on his In Proximity podcast about how they met, their companies and producing "Judas and The Black Messiah"...