Major Louisville police probe, Pras problems, Tyler Perry eyes BET stake
Major Louisville police probe, Pras problems, Tyler Perry eyes BET stake
Friday, March 10, 2023.
What I’m Reading
I read a lot of news stories, but this is probably high on my list of the wildest I’ve ever read. Pras Michél of The Fugees got entangled in one of the greatest financial scandals in American history, mediated a high-stakes negotiation between global superpowers and was accused of major crimes.
“An austere-looking Chinese security agent in a suit gave Michél a second room key and told him to go to the penthouse. Inside, another agent took Michél’s phones and placed them in a pouch. A table and two chairs sat in the middle of the room. ‘They can’t kill me in the Four Seasons,’ Michél said to himself.”
US-China 1MDB Scandal Pits FBI Against Former Fugee Pras Michel, Bloomberg
New York City is set to launch a new curriculum with Black studies that could eventually be used across hundreds of schools, part of a local effort to expand teaching on race and culture as red states continue to restrict how issues of race and racism are taught.
“I feel like I’ve been stuck learning about Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. over and over again,” a 16-year-old sophomore in Queens said. “You end up thinking that’s where your history started and ended, which is not true because Black Americans are making history every single day. We need to accurately represent that.”
As Some States Restrict Black Studies, New York City Expands It, The New York Times
After the release of De La Soul’s entire catalog on music streaming services, “Dilla Time” author Dan Charnas makes a compelling case for finally making sampling legal.
“The alternative to action is the chilling effect we are seeing right now, not only on sampling but on song creation itself. Some artists seek permission for the slightest of quotations or interpolations lest they leave themselves open to a claim. Other artists second-guess their work and squelch their impulses lest the natural and organic manifestations of their influences be seen as infringement.”
It’s Time to Legalize Sampling, Slate
WNYC’s “The Takeaway,” which has aired for nearly 15 years and Melissa Harris-Perry has hosted for nearly two, has been canceled. Its final broadcast will air on June 2. New York Public Radio says the cancellation is being driven by declines in audience and in the number of other stations around the country that carry the show. Melissa Harris-Perry, however, is speaking up about what’s going on behind the scenes.
[The] decision to cancel us was done in a way that doesn't honor any aspects of the work that was done by so many of these team members. I'm at the end of my career in media, but they're all at the beginning,” said Melissa Harris-Perry, who won’t be returning to media after the show is done. “And they deserve so much more than this. There's a way that you treat people. And this is how you treat people who do awful things. And we didn't do anything awful. We did a show every day."
Inside the Cancellation of WNYC’s ‘The Takeaway,’ Hell Gate
What’s In The News
Domestic abuse survivor Tracy McCarter walked free from murder charges. A public campaign helped get her out…
Michael Hastings, who spent more than 38 years behind bars for a 1983 murder he did not commit, was declared innocent by a judge after DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect…
A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for killing 2 Americans and a Mexican woman says the gang has turned in 2 of its own members who were responsible…
A recent study has revealed a new phenomenon that threatens to disrupt Black homeownership once again…
Detectives, prosecutors and a judge knew from the start that a photo of a man wasn't actually who they wanted to arrest, but they proceeded anyway. The man spent 18 years locked up due to this false photo ID, prosecutors say…
Documents reveal that two Memphis Fire Department rescue workers fired for failing to give aid to Tyre Nichols did not check his vital signs or perform other basic medical examinations…
Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant will not face criminal charges after he allegedly flashed a gun in an Instagram video, police announced…
Najee Seabrooks dedicated his life to reducing violence in his community. Then he was killed by police…
To the surprise of no one: A Department of Justice probe launched after the killing of Breonna Taylor found that Louisville police regularly discriminate against Black people…
Cashay Henderson, a Black transgender woman, was found dead on Sunday with a fatal gunshot wound. She is now one of several transgender women who have been killed in the last 12 months in Milwaukee…
Black women have made tremendous gains in American politics over the past decade. Despite this, there has never been a Black woman governor, and only two have ever been senators, showing that familiar barriers of racism and sexism are slow to fall…
As Atlanta fights to keep grocery stores open, a free grocery store model is feeding residents in need while facing financial challenges and government red tape…
Michael Sutton earned a full ride to college. He spent 15 years wrongly imprisoned instead...
A Black midwife built a birth empire in rural Georgia. Now her family is fighting to save it…
What’s Happening
Tyler Perry is reportedly engaged in conversations to buy Paramount’s majority stake in BET, which would give him ownership of the brand…
It’s the 6th anniversary of one of the greatest interviews of all time…
As a 36-year-old, single Black woman in the House, Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood tries to balance who she is versus what she does…
Former BET CEO Debra Lee went on Good Morning America to talk about the affair she and BET founder Bob Johnson had when they were both married…
Jonathan Majors gave a speech at his buddy Michael B. Jordan's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. Majors also received an emotional surprise from his college acting teacher…
“The Color Purple” author Alice Walker has published a disappointing defense of J.K. Rowling’s transphobia…
Michael B. Jordan is reportedly spearheading a "Creed-Verse" at Amazon with works that will span film and TV…
Quinta Brunson, recently named one of TIME’s 2023 Women of the Year, hopes she’s setting an example for Black children everywhere, showing them they can achieve their goals…
Jonathan Capehart has quit the Washington Post editorial board, leaving no people of color on it…
Janell Ross rips apart “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams’ false claims of white victimhood for TIME…
Bomani Jones ripped Deion Sanders for his recent comments about single-parent homes…
Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B expressed interest in starring in a “B.A.P.S.” remake…
Patrick Ewing is out as the men’s basketball coach at Georgetown University…
For NPR, Matthew Ritchie wrote about the magic of being introduced to De La Soul’s catalog for the first time now that it is finally available to a new crop of listeners…
This Chris Rock special was pretty much just a Gen Xer venting…
Sweet July spoke to over a dozen Black millennial women about the value of Black women friendships and lessons they’ve learned from these coveted relationships…
Former Seattle SuperSonics star Shawn Kemp was arrested and booked into a jail in Washington state following a drive-by shooting…
Former “Welcome to Sweetie Pie's” star Tim Norman was sentenced to life in prison…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 2 seconds! Related: My colleague Taryn Finley interviewed the creator of the Black Crossword, Juliana Pache…
FUBU is launching a streaming network that aims to showcase Black stories…
Former BET CEO Debra Lee will discuss her recent memoir at the National Museum of African American History & Culture on Friday, March 10, at 7 PM EST. You can livestream the event…
The Decolonial Feminist Collective is hosting a virtual session, “Zine-Making as Method,” facilitated by East African researcher, educator and cultural practitioner, Nd00ta, on March 26…
The Langston Hughes Library hosts its Sankofa Series every Tuesday at 4 PM EST, where the group comes together to learn, explore, and discuss Black history and culture. On March 14, 2023, they will discuss “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler…
The International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, is finally set to open its doors in June, 20 years after its inception…