More Project 2025, RIP Joe Bryant, YSL judge removed
Friday, July 19, 2024.
What I’m Reading
I read the entire Project 2025. Here are the top 10 ways it would harm Black America, The Grio
Whether you watched or not, Taraji P. Henson’s plea for Black voters to look up “Project 2025” at the BET Awards thrust the conservative agenda into the mainstream. There’s been much conversation online about what the agenda entails, but very little that focuses specifically on how it would impact Black Americans. For The Grio, Michael Harriot read all 922 pages of Project 2025 and listed the top 10 things he found.
Women don’t have equal access to college in prison. Here’s why, NPR
For NPR, Jenny Abamu attended the first college graduation in a women’s prison in the history of the state of Maryland. She explored why women historically don’t have equal access to higher education while incarcerated.
Black Colleges Are Owed $12 Billion, the Feds Say. Their States Aren’t So Sure, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Biden administration released data last year suggesting that states owe land-grant HBCUs billions of dollars. A growing number of legislators and judges are disputing that data, making it harder for these institutions to recover owed funds. Jasper Smith reports for The Chronicle.
Black women crab pickers risked it all in 1938. Maryland finally recognizes them, Baltimore Banner
In 1938, about 600 crab pickers — predominantly Black women — walked off the job to protest a wage cut. They risked it all in doing so: Angry white mobs burned cars, invaded homes, and threatened their union representatives. After weeks, they won. Now, Maryland is finally recognizing their efforts.
What’s In The News
Across America
Arkansas: Gabrielle Lawrence introduces us to Little Rock’s Urban Wildlife Haven, where people are planting the seeds of community resilience and food justice in Arkansas…
California: Michael Tubbs, the former Stockton mayor who made national headlines for experimenting with universal basic income initiatives, announced he’s running for lieutenant governor…
Florida: The Miami Dade Bar Association, the largest lawyer network in Miami-Dade County, has elected its first Black woman president, Charise Morgan…
Georgia: Lower-income Black workers whose stagnant wages aren’t keeping up with rent prices are driving the growth in Atlanta’s homeless population, a census revealed…
Hawaii: A federal appeals court has held that three Honolulu police officers who handcuffed a 10-year-old Black child at her school are not protected by qualified immunity…
Louisiana: DJ Johnson, the owner of bookstore Baldwin & Co., aims to create a hub for Black thought leaders in New Orleans…
Maryland: New parents in Baltimore could receive a $1,000 "baby bonus" if voters approve a proposal that aims to help reduce childhood poverty from birth with a modest one-time cash payment. City leaders argue that the proposal gives voters too much say over legislative decisions…
Michigan: Wow! Twin sisters Doris Ward and Loris Pryor are celebrating their 100th birthday...
Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz recently signed the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act into law, which aims to better protect families disproportionately represented in the foster care system…
Mississippi: A Clinton mother’s teenage son went viral for helping his friends get summer jobs at Burger King to stay out of trouble and earn money for the upcoming school year. The mom, son and his friends were all fired…
New York: It has been ten years since Eric Garner was killed by a police officer while saying, "I can't breathe.” His words continue to echo around New York City and the globe…
South Carolina: After earning some NIL money, USC basketball player B.J. Mack decided he wanted to help his father with a dream of his: To open a barbershop…
Texas: Rapper Bun B and his restaurant Trill Burgers gave away 1,000 burgers to help feed Texans affected by Hurricane Beryl…
Wisconsin: The New York Times spent several days in the Milwaukee area, the heart of the state’s Black population, talking to dozens of residents about the issues they care about most…
What’s Happening
It has been a busy week for President Joe Biden. He delivered a speech at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, where he promised Black voters he’s “all in” as he seeks reelection…After the speech, he sat with BET News journalist Ed Gordon to discuss his record with Black America…Speedy Mormon also hosted Biden for a wide-ranging interview…
MSNBC: Black Voters Matter issued a scathing rebuke of Democrats pressuring Biden to end his 2024 campaign after a poor debate performance…More than 1,400 Black women and allies penned a letter in support of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris…
On the other side of the aisle, a host of Black Republicans, from Sen. Tim Scott to Rep. Byron Donalds, and even Amber Rose, took to the stage at the Republican National Convention to affirm their commitment to former President Donald Trump…
For AP News, Darren Sands examines “a nascent movement on the left opposed to Trump is weighing how, when, and where to talk to Black men about abortion—and whether or not the Black church will help”…
After over two hours of public comment, a Maryland school board voted unanimously to reverse its decision to cancel the AP African American studies course…
Journalist Cerise Castle was surveilled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after she started reporting on deputy gangs...
Charles Holman had been researching his family tree for more than half a century when he discovered something that left him astounded: The ancestors of President George H.W. Bush had enslaved Holman’s ancestors…
Sonya Massey called the police because she thought someone was trying to break into her house. They shot and killed her…
John Deere says it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from DEI efforts…
Zoning changes by a Georgia county that some residents say threaten one of the South’s last Gullah-Geechee communities of Black slave descendants can’t be challenged with a referendum, an attorney said…
The U.S. Navy exonerated 256 Black sailors who were found to be unjustly punished in 1944 following a horrific port explosion…
Meanwhile, in higher education: The president of Morehouse College has announced plans to step down in 2025…Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson announced he plans to step down in the wake of a dubious $237 million donation and poor licensure program performances…Talladega College announced that it is discontinuing its gymnastics program at the end of the month…
Two sisters are fighting plans to build a grain export facility that they say would decimate a historically Black town in Louisiana's Cancer Alley…
The autopsy of Kadarius Smith, the 17-year-old who was allegedly hit by a Mississippi patrol car and later died at a hospital, has been released…
Archeologists identified the first of dozens of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims exhumed from mass graves through DNA genealogy, city officials announced…More: Marissa Evans penned an essay about the Tulsa Race Massacre survivors and how their fight for reparations is not only about quantifying Black pain but also the trauma of being denied wealth and economic freedom for generations…
Nearly ten years after Michael Brown’s murder at the hands of Ferguson police, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted his family a public hearing…
Deaths inside a Texas jail are continuing to pile up, and a right-wing sheriff is facing scrutiny. Anthony Johnson’s case is the latest death that has sparked calls for the sheriff’s resignation…
Entertainment News
Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville will no longer be in charge of the ongoing gang and racketeering trial against Young Thug and his alleged associates…Judge Shukura Ingram, the second judge assigned the RICO trial involving Young Thug and YSL, just recused herself from the case…For a year, DeAsia Paige talked to artists about the YSL trial's effects on Atlanta's music scene…
Must-listen: NPR Tiny Desk hosted the cast of the newest Broadway revival of “The Wiz”...
Former VIBE Magazine editor-in-chief Danyel Smith penned a personal essay about the time Diddy threatened to see her “dead in the trunk of a car”...
Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson was convicted of fraud in a case that accused him and his company of lying to investors about finances and making sham deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey…
After a decade with DMV-based 7News, Robert Burton said he will step away from the morning anchor desk to spend more time with his family…
I recently watched an advance screening of the Colman Domingo-led film “Sing Sing,” and I will give my thoughts soon…
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. will debut his next stand-up special on Hulu…
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” track helped young Kenyans lead a successful protest opposing the Kenyan government’s tax bill…
A previously unpublished book from legendary author Zora Neale Hurston is coming out in 2025…
Megan Thee Stallion has launched a program to help senior citizens in her hometown of Houston after Hurricane Beryl struck…
Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis said he was handcuffed and removed from a plane following a false accusation by a flight attendant…
In an interview, comedian Jerrod Carmichael reflected on his critically acclaimed HBO special “Rothaniel” and his documentary series, “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show”...
“As Frankie Beverly retires, we are reminded that you don't always need to sell platinum records and have Billboard Hot 100 hits to be a musical legend. It's all about consistency and building a relationship with your fans,” Matthew Allen writes for Newsone…
Gospel music legend Mavis Staples talked to Essence’s Brooklyn White about her new book and why she's sharing her journey with the youth…
Michael B. Jordan is set to executive produce the first authorized scripted series about Muhammad Ali...
Obituaries
Joe Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant and a former NBA player who had spent years in the league, has died. He was 69…
Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, has died. She was 81…
Jacoby Jones, a former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and star of Super Bowl 47, has died. He was 40…Reeta Hubbard penned a column about what he meant both on the field and off the field to the city of Baltimore…
Peter Buxtun, the whistleblower known for exposing the government’s role in “The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male,” has died. He was 86…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 52 seconds!...
On this week’s episode of The Nation’s “See How They Run” podcast, a group of experts discuss what we mean when we talk about the “Black Vote”...
Blavity is hiring temporary writers to cover environmental issues, climate change, and sustainability ASAP for an upcoming project…
The New York Public Library is giving away 4,000 copies of James Baldwin books while supplies last…
The literary organization midnight & indigo is offering online writing classes for Black women writers…
Register today for the SNCC Freedom School Course taught by Dr. Josh Myers, Dr. Bedour Alagraa, and Dr. Felicia Denaud…
Phil, I believe you are the future of integrity in journalism. Really grateful to you for your news coverage, especially this edition. I’m about to forward this to every single friend I have. Thanks for keeping everyone in the loop.