Journalists to watch in 2025, Denzel Washington baptism, revisiting ‘Gullah Gullah Island’
The second anniversary of this newsletter is January 1! Thank you to everyone who has supported this newsletter.
What I’m Reading
Journalists to watch in 2025
As 2024 comes to a close, I wanted to end the year with shoutouts to the Black journalists covering Black issues that you should keep an eye on in 2025. This is not a comprehensive list, so I will undoubtedly leave some people out (charge it to my head and not my heart). But these journalists have done fantastic work throughout the year (also, I’ve shared their stories in multiple editions), and I want to make sure they are acknowledged.
Adam Mahoney and Aallyah Wright of Capital B, Adria Walker of The Guardian, andrejgee and Cheyenne Roundtree of Rolling Stone, Ashlee Banks of The Kicker with Ashlee Banks, Candice Frederick and Taryn Finley of HuffPost, Char Adams of NBC BLK, Corli Jay of The TRiiBE, Deon Osborne of the Black Wall Street Times, Gerren Keith Gaynor of The Grio, Jasper Smith of The Chronicle, Kenya Hunter of the Associated Press, Maya King of the New York Times, Michael Jones of Once Upon a Hill, Ryan Sorrell of the Kansas City Defender, Sam Robinson of Detroit One Million, Quintessa Williams of Word In Black, and many more!
Thank you all for the work you’ve done and continue to do to inform our community!
When the Feds Are Still Watching, The Nation
For years, former Black Panthers have feared that the FBI is still keeping tabs on them decades after its notorious COINTELPRO program. Malik Rahim had never been able to prove he was targeted. Now, government docs show he was correct.
Corporate America Hired More Black Workers. Then It Stopped, Bloomberg News
A Bloomberg News analysis of the latest race and gender data that more than 80 of the biggest companies in the country found that progress has essentially stalled for Black employees since the promises they made during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
‘Let’s all go to Gullah Gullah Island!’: the groundbreaking TV show that affirmed Black kids, The Guardian
For The Guardian, Adria Walker revisited the classic Nick Jr. series “Gullah Gullah Island,” which introduced young audiences to the Gullah Geechee, descendants of formerly enslaved people in South Carolina.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Prisoners in the state are considered “too dangerous for parole” but are instead leased, like property, to companies like McDonald’s to work…
California: For the Guardian, Nabou Ramu profiled Olympia Auset and SÜPRMARKT, which she founded to give her community access to healthy produce…
Florida: Families distrust the state’s education system. So students are giving up their Saturdays to learn Black history lessons their schools don’t teach…
Maryland: The Baltimore Banner has two stories worth reading: Becoming Hagerstown’s first Black mayor made her a role model — and a target…Maryland schools need more CRT. It’s not what you think it is…
Mississippi: Civil rights icon James Meredith was honored in his hometown of Kosciusko with a historical marker…
Missouri: Gov. Mike Parson freed Eric DeValkenaere, a former Kansas City officer convicted in 2021 of killing Cameron Lamb…
New York: The highest-ranking uniformed New York Police Department officer resigned amid allegations he demanded sex from a subordinate…
Ohio: Anthony Pattin recently opened a Black-owned pharmacy in Toledo, addressing the void left by Rite Aid's departure…
Tennessee: A state representative is resisting pressure from GOP state leaders for Tennessee State University to sell its properties…
North Carolina: “A desire for more inclusivity spurred a North Carolina man to make Black Santas a holiday tradition. Now in its 12th season, Santas Just Like Me makes Christmas magic all over the state”…
What’s Happening
A major collaboration between multiple newsrooms across the country revealed that drug overdose deaths have been disproportionately impacting one group of Black men in dozens of cities nationwide…From the Chicago Sun-Times: Opioids have been killing the same generation of Black men in Chicago for decades…In The 51st: Opioids are killing older Black men in D.C. at some of the highest rates in the country…
From Jazmine Hughes for THEM: Fifty years ago, the Combahee River Collective wrote the blueprint for Black feminism. How far have we come?...
Black farmers in Jubilee Justice’s rice program grow the crop using a “dry-land” method created in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s challenging work, but they’re "reclaiming rice and rice farming as our foodways, as our invention, as our birthright”...
Welcome to the Renters’ Republic: “Renter households are increasing at triple the rate of homeowners. They are disproportionately young and non-white: over half of Black and Latino households rent, as well as roughly two-thirds of Americans under the age of 35"…
“Mississippi is one of 13 states that has a lifetime voting ban for people convicted of disenfranchising crimes that bars them from voting for life whether they are actively in prison or have completed their sentence”…
Consider donating: 20-year-old Ashanti Downey was walking to a Dollar Tree in Sanford, North Carolina, when someone came behind her and set her on fire. Her family is asking for help with medical expenses…
A new report shows that Black student loan borrowers “experience disproportionate repayment challenges compared to their white peers”...
For Capital B, Cynthia Greenlee explores how collard greens became a symbol of resilience and tradition…
Hilton Als wrote about the hidden story of Belle da Costa Greene, one of the most key librarians in American history who developed J. P. Morgan’s personal library…
For Word In Black, Levi Perrin, a seventh-generation South Carolinian, argues that moving back to the South is a powerful statement…
Entertainment News
Denzel Washington was recently baptized at Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in New York City…
Beyoncé took over the halftime show during the Texans-Ravens NFL game, giving fans a highly-anticipated Christmas Day performance. Beyoncé reporter Caché McClay listed five key moments from the show…
Despite director Barry Jenkins's best efforts, “Mufasa: The Lion King” never “transcends its original calling as a glitzy Hollywood product,” Hannah Giorgis writes for The Atlantic…
Tiger Woods' 15-year-old son got his first hole-in-one at the PNC Championship in Orlando, and his dad was right there to celebrate alongside him…
The Guardian: “Fearing pop would lead them to the devil, Annie Caldwell recruited her daughters into her band. They’re now sending audiences into ecstasy with disco-tinged soul gospel”…
Independent Black filmmakers, stories, and artists are taking center stage at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival…
“The Fire Inside,” the story of boxer Claressa "T-Rex" Shields, portrayed by Detroiter Ryan Destiny, is out in theaters and receiving rave reviews…
The New York Times: A posthumous anthology of photo essays by the art historian Maurice Berger “reveals the ‘troubling reality’ of prejudice and the power of images to ‘undermine the very concept of difference’”...
Awkward: Laura Harrier explained she’s engaged and asked Shameik Moore to take down his post that included her…
Obituaries
Alfa Anderson, a vocal powerhouse best known for her work with the 1970s disco band Chic on hits like “Good Times” and “Le Freak,” has died. She was 78…
Richard Parsons, the executive media and finance giants would call on when they were in trouble, has died. He was 76…
Rickey Henderson, the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer known as the “Man of Steal,” has died. He was 65…
Art Evans, an actor best known for his roles in the films “Fright Night,” "A Soldier's Story" and "Die Hard 2," has died. He was 82…
Ryan Levert, daughter of O’Jays singer Eddie Levert, has died. She was 22…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 17 seconds…
Listen to the new podcast, The Harvard Plan, where the Boston Globe and WNYC’s On The Media explore ousted university president Claudine Gay and how her presidency became a “proxy battleground for American culture wars”...
The Urban Journalism Workshop is back! We are currently accepting applications for 2025. We teach DMV-area high school students the fundamentals of print, broadcast and digital journalism. Tell your students or loved ones to apply!...
Thank you Phil for your support and all that you do to keep us informed!