Happy Juneteenth, RIP Willie Mays, Kendrick Lamar pops out
Happy Juneteenth, RIP Willie Mays, Kendrick Lamar pops out
Friday, June 21, 2024.
What I’m Reading
Opal Lee gets keys to her new Texas home 85 years after a racist mob drove her family from that lot, AP News
The 97-year-old Texan known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for her efforts to establish the national holiday recently received the keys to her new home. Her new residence was built on the same lot in Fort Worth that her family was driven from by a racist mob when she was 12.
The Harlem Renaissance Was Bigger Than Harlem, The Atlantic
A new exhibition at the Met shows visitors that the Harlem Renaissance was bigger than just Harlem, Susan Tallman writes in the Atlantic.
The Anderson Cooper of Black Twitter Believes Journalism Can Survive Influencers, WIRED
This was a really cool opportunity: I spoke with Jason Parham for a bit about my career in journalism so far, the future of our industry, and more for an interview with WIRED. Just a note: Despite the headline, I’m not anti-influencer or anything! I think there’s enough space for everyone. However, journalists everywhere (in particular, Black ones) need your support more than ever.
What’s In The News
Across America
Florida: A historically Black neighborhood of Miami that nurtured generations of accomplished athletes is under threat by rising costs and gentrification pressures…
Georgia: The ex-husband of Dr. Samantha Woolery was arrested and charged with felony murder after she was found stabbed to death…
Illinois: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed a new executive order that establishes a Reparations Task Force to create a Black Reparations Agenda…
Maryland: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore pardoned more than 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions, one of the nation’s largest acts of mass clemency…
Michigan: In Detroit, Black children suffer from asthma at far higher rates than the rest of the state…
Mississippi: A new law clarifies that some people held in jail or prison may vote in elections, but red tape may prevent many from doing so…
New York: Lamor Whitehead, the “Bling Bishop” known for his flashy lifestyle and the self-described mentee of Mayor Eric Adams, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for multiple scams…
Pennsylvania: After three straight years of record-setting gun violence, shootings in Philadelphia so far this year have dropped to levels that rival the lowest pace in nearly two decades…
South Carolina: Mary Jackson, a legendary basket maker featured in museums like the Smithsonian, works in the fiber-arts tradition of the Gullah Geechee…
Tennessee: The U.S. Air Force selected Tennessee State University as the first HBCU to host this aviation training program for 19 students from across the country and across the globe…
Texas: A St. Louis family believes a body found at a San Antonio park is missing Navy veteran Jarvis McIntyre, who was reportedly last seen running away from a person he had called a “racist”...
Wisconsin: Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson responds to Trump reportedly calling Milwaukee "a horrible city" weeks before the start of the Republican National Convention…
What’s Happening
Happy Juneteenth week! Here are six books that explain the history and meaning behind the holiday…
A jury in Kansas found former Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. not guilty of felony rape and aggravated sexual assault following a weeklong trial…
A federal court will not reconsider its March decision to uphold a Florida congressional map that eliminated a historically Black district, but there is still an ongoing state case challenging the map…
Last winter, authorities in Houston locked up the wrong man for over six weeks. The Houston Chronicle examined this failure of the Harris County criminal justice system…
A Black security guard who was assaulted at a Detroit club delivered a “Superman punch” to a group of white nationalists…
South Carolina quietly canceled AP African American Studies. For the Grio, Michael Harriot explored what happened…
Baltimore City saw a dramatic drop in chronic absence this past school year, and graduation rates are on the rise…
Hair relaxers have been linked to reproductive disorders and cancers. Why are they still being marketed so aggressively to Black women?...
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has detailed steps the airline will take to address discrimination after speaking with civil rights groups…
A federal appeals court panel suspended the Fearless Fund grant program for Black women business owners. Women Employed CEO Cherita Ellens believes it was a cynical weaponization of the law that ignores long-standing racial disparities…
131 college scholarships have been put on hold or modified as Texas universities strive to comply with a new law banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs…
Hundreds gathered in New York City’s Fort Greene Park for The Lay Out, a series of summer gatherings intended “to center Black joy”…
Entertainment News
Read NPR Music editor Sheldon Pearce's recap of "The Pop Off," Kendrick Lamar's searing Juneteenth concert in Los Angeles...
Say it ain’t so? Charles Barkley announced that next year will be his last on TV…
Sean “Diddy” Combs has returned his key to New York City after a request from Mayor Eric Adams…
Kenya Moore has been suspended indefinitely from filming season 16 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta…
Take a few minutes to listen to Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson talk about his return to Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama and the racism he experienced when he played there decades ago…
For Genius, Jaelani Turner-Williams explored how the analysis of hip-hop lyricism is engaging students and changing higher education…
Jordan Peele has a date to return to movie theaters: Oct. 23, 2026…
On what would have been Takeoff’s 30th birthday, Quavo hosted a summit against gun violence that featured Vice President Kamala Harris…
Kaila Philo reviewed Legacy Russell's fascinating “BLACK MEME,” which she called “an excavation of Blackness throughout digital culture and visual media, and how they've enabled new types of dehumanization”…
The trailer for “SIMONE BILES RISING,” a series documenting one of the most powerful comebacks in history, is out. It premieres July 17 on Netflix…
Tyler Tynes went to Seattle to understand what Nate Robinson has been through as his kidneys failed after his NBA career…
Kierra Sheard's NPR Tiny Desk is live…
Verzuz, co-founded by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, has secured a partnership with Elon Musk’s X…
“Doubling Down with the Derricos'” Deon and Karen Derrico are divorced, splitting custody of 13 minor children…
Chris Rock, Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold will appear in "Everybody Still Hates Chris," an animated revival of "Everybody Hates Chris”...
Obituaries
Hall of Famer Willie Mays, arguably the greatest all-around baseball player of the 20th century, has died. He was 93…
Angela Bofill, the singer-songwriter behind hits “I Try,” “This Time I’ll Be Sweeter” and “I’m On Your Side,” has died. She was 70…
Ron Simons, the actor-turned-producer whose repertoire included Tony Award-winning Broadway shows as well as Sundance Film Festival selections, has died. He was 63…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 29 seconds!! What’s yours?…
Roy Wood Jr. reflected on Negro League baseball and Rickwood Field with NPR’s Up First podcast…
The NPHC Scholarship Program offers financial support ranging from $500 to $2000 to active undergraduate members of Divine Nine sororities and fraternities. Please share or apply! The deadline is June 30…
Spike Lee is hosting the "Do The Right Thing" 35th anniversary block party in Brooklyn on Sunday, June 30...
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is opening the new exhibit “In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World,”on December 13…
A cool job for an early career journalist: Work with Lydia Polgreen and Masha Gessen as an editorial assistant at the New York Times…
The Legally BLK fund is offering a $1,000 scholarship for Black women applying to law school. Apply here...
Thanks for all your work on these by the way. I tend to click through the story links from your email and forget to come interact here with these posts. But, I just wanted to drop a note of gratitude and appreciation. Yours is one of the few newsletters I look forward to getting and always end up with a mountain of TBR essays & articles that complement so much of what else I pay attention to. Thank you. 💫💫