Lunch with Mr. Tendernism, NAACP sues Elon, RIP Cerina Fairfax
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What I’m Reading
Walter Johnson Is Spreading The Gospel Of ‘Tendernism’ — One City At A Time, HuffPost
I recently ate lunch with the internet’s favorite unc, Mr. Tendernism, who told me you’re never too old to pursue your dreams. “I don’t know how to pronounce old. You can still do anything that you want to as long as you put some effort behind it,” he said.
Horrific — In a stunning story that rattled the nation, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then killed himself while his children were home.
There have been plenty of posts and stories eulogizing him, but not as many about the life and legacy of Dr. Cerina Fairfax, who is being remembered as a mentor and community leader.
The 82-year-old jump rope queen of Beverly Hills, The New York Times
At 82 years old, Annie Judis currently holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest competitive rope skipper — and she plans to defend her title for as long as she can.
The Playboy interview: Nia Long
Ahead of the release of the Michael Jackson biopic, Nia Long — who plays Katherine Jackson in “Michael” — sat down with jamilah lemieux for a candid conversation about the iconic “Love Jones,” her dating life, how she prepared for the role and more.
What’s In The News
Across America
Arkansas: The director of African and African American Studies at the University of Arkansas filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after an effort to remove him…
District of Columbia: Black Georgetown Foundation wrote about April 16, 1862, the day more than 3,100 people were freed in Washington…
Georgia: Morris Brown College’s first class of students since the school regained accreditation is preparing for graduation…
Indiana: Michael Jackson’s hometown of Gary got an exclusive early look at “Michael,” his upcoming biopic...
Louisiana: Ashley Gaignard wrote about a planned massive industrial complex that threatens to destroy the historic Black community of Modeste…
Michigan: Detroit’s economic revival is leaving its residents behind, experts say…
Missouri: Amaya Morgan, president of the Legion of Black Collegians at Mizzou, spoke out about her experience at the university amid the turmoil at the school…
Mississippi: The state is taking a very different approach to history than the Trump administration as the nation’s 250th anniversary approaches…
North Carolina: The state’s first mosque, once visited by Malcolm X, now has a historic marker in Durham…
Oklahoma: Hidden in fine print, discriminatory language from a century ago still exists today in some Tulsa property records…
Ohio: Toledo city leaders are calling for charges to be dropped against a 15-year-old girl after an officer threw her to the ground during an arrest…
South Carolina: Read about the Legal Defense Fund’s efforts to protect Hilton Head’s longtime Black residents…
Tennessee: The NAACP has sued Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging the company’s use of natural gas-burning turbines to power its data centers is polluting the air in Memphis…
Texas: Ashanti Allen, a missing pregnant woman in Texas, has been found dead. A suspect is in custody…
West Virginia: Aristotle Jones learned Appalachian Soul music porch-pickin’ with his grandfather Robert Jones, who played Black Appalachian music informed by the South, by gospel, by Delta blues…
What’s Happening
Michael Harriot explains in ContrabandCamp how Trump is overseeing the biggest economic attack on historically Black college institutions in U.S. history…
The New Republic’s Perry Bacon talked with author Ibram Kendi about the rise of a racist theory that is poisoning politics across the world...
For NewsOne, Dr Stacey Patton wrote about how universities are actively choosing to eliminate Black student life…
The family of social media influencer Ashly Robinson is pushing back against claims that she killed herself after a “misunderstanding” with her fiancé while on vacation…
Massive flooding in 2023 left mold in many Chicago homes. The city’s health department offers no help…
The church where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech is receiving a $1.2 million federal grant…
Artemis II pilot Victor Glover’s historic flight has sparked an outpouring of support amid Trump’s efforts to dismantle DEI…
“As the U.S. nears its 250th anniversary, a battle for the soul of U.S. history is unfolding,” Bria Nelson writes in The Hill...
A white supremacist has pled guilty to setting a fire that destroyed an office at a historic social justice center in Tennessee…
60 years after he first enrolled, Ron Prince will soon earn a degree through Tuskegee University’s online degree program…
Dr. Denise Jones Gregory has been named the 14th president of Jackson State University…
Duke University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions has paused its Black Student Alliance Invitational, a program that aimed to help ease Black students into the PWI…
Education and income don’t protect Black women from high rates of maternal mortality and life-threatening complications. Khiara Bridges grapples with this reality in her latest book…
Entertainment News
Arsenio Hall spoke with Esquire about fame, fatherhood and his new memoir “Arsenio.” Watch above…
For his first piece in the New York Times, andrejgee wrote about Kanye and his new, endlessly forgiving core fanbase…
Zendaya’s “films rarely center on—or even acknowledge—her race, seemingly out of concern that focusing on identity might limit her characters’ emotional palettes. But why couldn’t it expand those palettes?” Doreen St. Félix writes in the New Yorker…
Singer D4vd has been arrested in connection with the murder of Celeste Rivas, a teen whose remains were found in the trunk of his Tesla…
“Still We Write,” BET’s series that profiles Black poets in honor of National Poetry Month, highlights the talented Aja Monet…
Black creatives believe there’s a lot riding on the success of the rom-com, “You, Me & Tuscany”...Speaking of which, Lyvie Scott pulled together a list of twenty essential Black rom-coms for Letterboxd…
Kennedy Ryan’s hit novel “Before I Let Go” is in the works at Peacock...
Read an excerpt from “Gather: Black Food, Nourishment, and the Art of Togetherness,” an upcoming book about Black gatherings by Ashanté M. Reese. I just received my copy in the mail!…
Alphonse Pierre met up with Juvenile to talk with the iconic rapper about the music that helped shape his life…
Baby Keem, a young rapper who doesn’t want to be known only for being the cousin of Kendrick Lamar, was profiled in the New York Times…
NPR’s Michel Martin sat down with Dave Chappelle for a wide-ranging conversation about public radio, how he feels Republicans have “weaponized” his jokes about the trans community, free speech and more…
Lawmakers have passed a bill to create a Georgia Music Office to promote and support music in the state...
For Andscape, Ken Makin wrote about the significance of Angel Reese’s trade to the Atlanta Dream and what it means for growing star power…
Alexia Jayy has won “The Voice,” the first time a Black woman has been crowned the winner in the history of the series…
The Guardian’s Andrew Lawrence wrote about Michael Jordan’s second act as NASCAR’s top owner...
Big Mama Thornton, a tall, Black, gay musician, is rarely brought up in conversations about Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin — even though she was the original voice behind songs they made famous. A new documentary aims to change that…
Obituaries
Gwendolyn “Blondy” Chisolm, co-founding member of hip-hop group The Sequence, has died. She was 66…
Janice White Sikes Rogers, a Spelman alumna who shaped how Atlanta preserves Black history, has died. She was 73…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 35 seconds!...
A new special section in the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture is offering a first-of-its-kind analysis on how Black journalists are portrayed in pop culture...
The Baldwin for the Arts fellowship is now open for artists based in the United States. Deadline is April 18. Details here...
The ESSENCE Film Festival is now accepting applications. Deadline is April 30…
ESSENCE is also selecting students getting ready for Prom 2026 for a special feature. Details here…
Delroy Lindo will be the commencement speaker at Fisk University on May 3…