Kamala Harris bid, Sonya Massey video released, RIP Sheila Jackson Lee
Friday, July 26, 2024.
What I’m Reading
Body-cam video shows Illinois officer fatally shooting Black woman in face, The Guardian
Officials have released body camera footage showing the events leading up to deputy Sean Grayson’s shooting and killing of Sonya Massey after she called the police for help. Grayson has been charged with first-degree murder and was fired. Warning: the video is embedded within the article.
The following left me speechless. The 36-year-old’s family said that she is a descendant of William Donnegan, who was lynched by a white mob during violent racist attacks that led to the creation of the NAACP. She was taken to the same hospital as her ancestor.
Grayson was previously discharged from the U.S. Army for serious misconduct — and still hired at six police departments in Central Illinois.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Two years after Alabama closed the slavery loophole in its constitution, people are still being punished for refusing to work while incarcerated, according to a lawsuit…
California: In a town where the California gold rush began, Black families are seeking restitution for land that was taken from their ancestors to make way for a state park…
Georgia: In a reversal, the state now says districts can use state funding to teach AP African American studies classes…
Michigan: Insurance reforms were supposed to bring relief, but Detroit drivers are still paying more because of where they live…
Mississippi: A federal appeals court ruled that state legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the state's practice of stripping voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies…
Missouri: A judge has overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long said he didn’t commit. But the state Supreme Court just blocked his release…
New York: A real estate investor bought shares of a Black family’s home in Bed Stuy from an estranged uncle and forced what is known as a partition sale…
North Carolina: Here’s how North Carolina’s schools are complying with a DEI ban…
Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s governor signed a law prohibiting discrimination against people wearing Afros, curls, locs, twists, braids and more…
What’s Happening
I don’t go on TV very often, but I was invited on ABC News Live to discuss Project 2025. Ignore the fact that I didn’t get a haircut!...
The attacks on Kamala Harris are starting to ramp up in the wake of Biden’s endorsement of her presidential run. The Trump campaign is using the case of Jaleel Stallings as an attack ad, even though he was acquitted…GOP Rep. Tim Burchett called Kamala Harris a “DEI vice president,” and we know what “DEI” is a euphemism for at this point…Social media still isn’t prepared…
Doreen St. Félix wrote on the reintroduction of Kamala Harris, the candidate…DeNeen Brown recalled the Black women who paved the way for the vice president…The Obamas have endorsed Harris for president…
The North Carolina HBCU Barber-Scotia College is planning to apply for the accreditation it lost two decades ago…Saint Augustine's University has successfully bought more time to argue its status as an accredited institution…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered state agencies to move homeless people out of camps — but to where?…
From Sarah Enelow-Snyder for the Washington Post: For decades, Black families returned to the rural South for summer visits to family. Now, as demographics change, traditions are, too…
Keith Gavin made a number of requests about his final moments before execution, all stemming from his Islamic faith. But the Alabama prison largely ignored them, as it has with Muslim prisoners on death row in the past…
With a shortage of Black psychiatrists and an ongoing mental health crisis, Russell Ledet is leading a thoughtful and intentional change to the mental health field…
17-year-old Ryan Garner is the youngest and first Black American from Concord to receive his private pilot license out of Goose Creek Airport…
The FDA’s proposal to ban formaldehyde in hair care products has been pushed back once again…
Darren Walker, the prominent president of Ford Foundation, says that he will step down from his role by the end of 2025…
Virginia Williams was a member of the "Royal Seven" group of civil rights activists arrested for sitting in the “whites only” section of an ice cream shop in 1957. She was honored at an ice cream social called "Sweet Justice”...
Malcolm X's childhood house in Michigan has received an $80,000 grant from the state to finish its remodeling…
Dorothy Sanders Wells, the new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, has been formally installed. She is the first woman and first Black person to hold the post…
A white Durham restaurant owner said the N-word several times while talking about a Kendrick Lamar song and then fired a Black bartender who criticized her. The staff quit after that…
Entertainment News
If you're in DC, there's a new James Baldwin exhibit, "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon," at the National Portrait Gallery. I went for a visit. Another Baldwin exhibit, set to open in Detroit, is coming in August…
For The Guardian, Adria Walker profiled the work of photographer Justin Hardiman, whose work focuses on the lives of Black southern farmers and brings their stories to the mainstream…
Keke Palmer sat down with Tyler Perry to discuss his humble beginnings, building a media empire, and he responded to “highbrow negroes” criticizing his films…
Students in this summer’s Berkeley/Oakland AileyCamp participated in professional-level dance instruction, field trips and workshops…
The New York Times scored a rare interview with the elusive novelist Edward P. Jones about how he imagined “The Known World,” which was recently voted the best work of fiction by an American writer in the 21st century…
Rapper G Herbo spoke with Capital B’s Maddy Franklin about preventing violence by pouring resources into communities like Gary, Indiana. He spoke to kids about the effects of gun violence…
Keeping an eye on the Olympics: Black women competing in Paris say they’re excited to showcase their elaborate and natural hairstyles during the Games…A new documentary examines Simone Biles's difficult decision to withdraw from the 2021 Olympics and the lessons she’s taking to the upcoming Summer Games…
Lynell George believes we just crossed the threshold into Octavia E. Butler's future. For Alta Online, the writer tracked the path of 2024 and the year’s progression through the “Parable of the Sower” author’s lens…
Beyoncé reportedly gave Kamala Harris permission to use her song “Freedom” during her presidential campaign…
A new docuseries exploring the life and legacy of Edna Lewis — the Virginia native and "Grande Dame" of Southern food — is out…
For Men’s Health, Common shared tactics to celebrate aging for the many fitness, health and spiritual joys it brings…
Andscape senior writer Justin Tinsley penned an open letter to New York Jets player Sauce Gardner about his recent posts about Trump, explaining to the cornerback that Black people can’t afford to be apolitical…
The trailer for the third season of “Bel-Air” is out. The latest season will air on August 15 on Peacock…
Method Man gave Vanity Fair a wide-ranging interview on the history of the Wu-Tang Clan and the “uncomfortable subject” of Martin Shkreli’s auctioned album…
Obituaries
Sheila Jackson Lee, the long-serving Democratic congresswoman from Texas and advocate for Black Americans, has died. She was 74…
Abdul “Duke” Fakir, the last surviving original member of the beloved Motown group the Four Tops, has died. He was 88…
Robert L. Allen, an author best known for his 1989 book “The Port Chicago Mutiny,” has died. He was 82…
Tessie Prevost Williams, a member of the “New Orleans Four” who helped integrate New Orleans public schools in the 1960s, has died. She was 69…
Enid Pinkney, a historian who dedicated her life to acknowledging and preserving Black American history in Miami, has died. She was 92…
Leonard Dunston, the former Commissioner of the New York State Division for Youth, union organizer and longtime community activist, has died. He was 84…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 52 seconds!…
The Pulitzer Center’s K-12 Education team is presenting two workshops virtually this weekend, exploring 1619 curricular resources and reporting on health and racial justice…
Ryan Leslie has a new NPR Tiny Desk out…
Tatyana Ali’s quilt line Baby Yams is partnering with Birth Future Foundation to launch grants for those pursuing a career in midwifery…
I finally found my new millennium online version of what the Chicago Defender and other Black newspapers started! Keep up the good work. Thank you!!!
Just had a chance to read this and saw your commentary — You looked good and sounded great on ABC!