Florida targets diversity and inclusion, Lincoln president on leave, ‘Rap Sh!t’ canceled
Florida targets diversity and inclusion, Lincoln president on leave, ‘Rap Sh!t’ canceled
Friday, January 19, 2023.
What I’m Reading
Searching for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Past in His Old Atlanta Neighborhood, The Wall Street Journal
For the Wall Street Journal, writer Nneka M. Okona explored Dr. Martin Luther King’s life through the lens of his childhood neighborhood in East Atlanta. She spent time walking around his old stomping grounds in an effort to retrace his steps and more deeply understand the place that created the man we know today.
How Octavia Butler Told the Future, The Atlantic
Tiya Miles, an academic historian who taught Octavia Butler’s historical fiction in her classes for years, wrote about how the author “arrived at her startling visions of American, global, and interplanetary futures.”
"Somehow she knew this time would come," Miles wrote. "The sweltering heat and receding lakes, the melting away of civil society and political stability, the light-year leaps in artificial intelligence—Octavia Butler foresaw them all."
‘Whitewashed’ Black History Courses Trigger Revolt in Missouri, The Daily Beast
Students, families, and activists are in opposition to a Missouri school district’s decision to remove two elective classes in Black studies, and are calling the move a bid to maintain “white supremacy.”
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Alabama Power, one of the most powerful entities in the state, runs a news service, and its foundation bought a Black newspaper. Neither publishes critical stories about the utility…
Arkansas: Janikka Perry never made it home from her shift at the bakery of a supercenter. She was one of many Walmart workers who have been pressured to work through illness or pain, sometimes with devastating consequences…
Florida: A $1 million grant will enable the Jacksonville Public Library to digitize more of the history of Jacksonville’s Black community…
Georgia: For Essence, Tiffany Roberts wrote about the silence of Atlanta's elite in the wake of the police killing of Deacon Johnny Hollman…
Illinois: A family says a Dolton police officer used a Taser on their autistic 14-year-old son, leading to his hospitalization…
Maryland: Baltimore County Public Schools is investigating the principal at Pikesville High School for alleged racist remarks about Black students and Jewish families…
Massachusetts: About a dozen Black churches have left Boston in recent years for new chapels in nearby suburbs…
Mississippi: Gov. Tate Reeves’ office says the state won’t participate in a federal summer food program for children because of his desire to reject “attempts to expand the welfare state”...
New York: Christine Fields, a 30-year-old Black woman, bled to death after giving birth at Woodhull Medical Center. State investigators said the cause was due to a doctor’s mistake…
Pennsylvania: A new exhibit captures the stories of Black men and women who lived along the Delaware River, before they were displaced by I-95 construction…
Rhode Island: If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Judge Melissa DuBose will be the first person of color and first openly LGBTQ judge to serve on the state’s federal bench…
Texas: Fourth grader Montoia Murray won the 28th annual MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, where she gave a speech answering the question: “How would Dr. King reflect on the 60 years since his 'I Have a Dream' speech?”...
Utah: A Black woman hired by a school district to investigate racial harassment complaints the year after a 10-year-old Black student died by suicide says that she, too, experienced discrimination from district officials…
What’s Happening
The president of Lincoln University in Missouri was placed on paid leave after students and alumni called for his ouster following a senior administrator’s death by suicide…
The Justice Department will pursue the death penalty against the white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket…
Florida's State Board of Education has passed a rule to 'permanently prohibit' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on the 28 state college campuses…
A woman and her three-year-old son are among at least six people who have been missing for months after reportedly joining an online cult in the St. Louis area…
A New York City judge declined to dismiss the case against Daniel Penny, the man who placed Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold…
The preservation of precious Black archival documents could be more necessary than ever, Adria Walker writes in The Guardian…
A major philanthropic organization is awarding $100 million, which will help increase endowments for HBCUs, many of which continue to be underfunded at high rates. Geoff Bennett discussed more with UNCF President and CEO Michael Lomax. On top of that, Spelman College has received a $100 million donation, the highest in the college's history…
To combat racial injustices from pollution, we need laws rooted in human rights, according to researchers Andre Perry and Manann Donoghoe…
The Supreme Court announced it would hear a pivotal case that could decide if cities are allowed to fine or jail homeless people for sleeping outside…
Mess in MS: An appeals court says Mississippi can move forward with its state-run court system in the majority-Black capital city of Jackson, despite overwhelming opposition. Also: Jackson officials notified residents to boil their water on Jan. 11 after traces of E.coli were found in the city’s water supply system…
Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin has been released from Walter Reed after backlash over his decision to keep his hospitalization a secret ― even from President Biden…
Dr. Yusef Salaam of the “Exonerated 5” went on “The View” to speak on how “When They See Us” helped to redeem his public image and what he hopes young people will take away from his experience…
Entertainment
“Rap Sh!t,” Issa Rae’s scripted comedy series, has been canceled…
Red Paden, who as the self-proclaimed “king of the juke joint runners” spent four decades as the owner of Red’s in Clarksdale, Mississippi, has died. He was 67…
Usher stars in a trailer for the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, which the Grammy-winning singer will lead on February 11 from Las Vegas…
Diddy has reached a settlement with the spirits giant Diageo. He will no longer be a joint owner of the tequila brand DeLeón or have any ties to Cîroc vodka…
Quinta Brunson won an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The only other Black winner in the category was Isabel Sanford for "The Jeffersons" in 1981. Check out the other winners here…
It has been 20 years since there was an African-American everyday catcher in Major League Baseball…
Obviously, I’m a Michigan State fan, but this is still nice to see: Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were all together at Crisler Center for the first time since their 1990s playing days…
Janet Jackson has announced her “Together Again Summer 2024 Tour” with special guest Nelly…
Mahershala Ali is raising money for Mohammed al-Qudwa, a young Palestinian poet who is trying to get his family out of Gaza…
On January 19, George Clinton will officially receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…
Marlon Wayans will star in the psychological sports horror film “Goat” for Universal and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw…
Jonathan Majors has been let go from the Dennis Rodman feature “48 Hours in Vegas.” Searchlight Pictures also dropped “Magazine Dreams”…
Video game writer Brittney Morris, who wrote games like Spider-Man 2 and the upcoming Wolverine, talked to Shondaland about “the coolest medium to take in stories"...
Meet Leila Danai: This 4-year-old has become a viral social media sensation for showing adorable pride in her natural hair…
Reggie Wells, known as a trailblazing makeup artist for Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and other Black celebrities, has died. He was 76…
Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) sparked heavy debate after he was asked whether Drake is hip-hop…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 58 seconds…
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe spoke with urologist Ben Davies about the prevalence of prostate cancer, new treatments, and patients' reluctance to discuss the disease and its aftermath…
Book news! Antonia Hylton’s forthcoming book “Madness” traces the history of a Jim Crow asylum in Maryland, and the treatment of the Black patients that had to build it.
Also: There are two upcoming book tours that may be stopping at a city near you: NPR host Ayesha Rascoe’s “HBCU MADE” tour and Dr. Uche Blackstock’s “LEGACY” tour. Don’t miss out…
Check out the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal! Since 2016, 500,000 pages have been successfully transcribed…
Historian Henry Louis Gates will celebrate the legacy of worship music with the new PBS series GOSPEL Live!, which airs on February 9 at 9 pm EST…
On February 1 at 6:30 PM EST, the Schomburg Center is hosting a virtual panel conversation examining the Black struggle in the decades before the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education verdict…