MSNBC cancels Joy Reid, Trump fires top general, RIP Roberta Flack
This is packed edition of the newsletter! Thanks as always for reading.
What I’m Reading
A Homecoming of Epic Proportions at Howard University, Harper's BAZAAR
For Harper’s BAZAAR,
wrote about Howard University’s 100th homecoming celebration — and the model for the story is Anok Yai, who was discovered as a model at a past homecoming celebration at the Mecca. The beautiful photos and stylings are by Quentin De Briey and Yashua Simmons.Related: Speaking of the Bison, congratulations to the Howard swim team for winning its second NCAA Division I Title in three years!
The Great Resegregation, The Atlantic
The Trump administration has one "central ideological project: restoring America’s traditional hierarchies of race and gender," Adam Serwer explained for The Atlantic. Welcome to the “Great Resegregation."
The Black Panther Party’s Under-Appreciated Legacy of Communal Love, TIME
When people think of the Black Panther Party, communal love should be at the top of minds. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Mickell Carter wrote a piece for TIME about the Party’s underappreciated legacy of collective care and communal love.
What’s In The News
Across America
Arkansas: Here’s how an urban farm in Little Rock is building community trust…
California: A group of Black state lawmakers is rolling out proposals to prioritize the descendants of enslaved people for college admissions and homebuyer assistance…
Florida: A Sanford mom is working to empower her kids and teach them self-love through hair…
Georgia: A white woman in Burke County has been arrested on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after fatally shooting her Black boyfriend…
Illinois: After nearly three decades in prison, Robert Johnson is finally free after a judge vacated his 1996 murder conviction…
Louisiana: The National Park Service has withdrawn a centuries-old Black community from consideration for historic landmark designation. State officials saw the move as a big win for economic development…
Michigan: An engineering firm has agreed to pay Flint residents $53 million to settle the water crisis lawsuit…
New York: An unassuming building in New York City educated Black leaders. What will become of it?...
North Carolina: The Education Department's cancellation of teacher training funding is immediately impacting the placement of teachers in schools with students from low-income backgrounds…
Oklahoma: A 9-year-old was taken into custody by Bartlesville Police Department officers after firing a toy gun at a classmate before school hours…
Ohio: Ohio State University is closing its DEI offices and eliminating over a dozen staff positions in response to Trump admin directives…
Rhode Island: Did you know about the former enslaved man who opened one of Providence’s first restaurants and may have helped popularize the oyster?…
Texas: The owners of Black Pearl Books are doing their part to ensure readers can find all the books that were banned by school districts in the state…
What’s Happening
President Donald Trump has fired Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff…According to the New York Times, the killing of George Floyd may have played a role in the dismissal of the four-star fighter pilot…
Ken Makin for The Christian Science Monitor: 65 years ago, sit-ins were born. Has their time come again?...
A Detroit family was gifted a new home after two of their children died from the cold in a van: “It took my two kids to die for y’all to help me”...
Sam Nordquist’s shocking death in New York earlier this month highlights violence against Black trans men, Brandon Tensley wrote for Capital B…
WATCH: For CBS News, Skyler Henry spoke with Barrington Scott — who recently made history as the fastest person to scuba dive on all seven continents…
WBEZ Chicago spoke with the owner of Underground Bookstore in Chicago’s Calumet Heights neighborhood about the struggles after 2020…
Trump’s rollbacks are going to keep lead and PFAS in water for Black communities, Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B…
Caleb Wilson, a Southern University student, died after participating in an apparent off-campus fraternity-related ritual…
Five years after Ahmaud Arbery’s murder, reflects on what has changed, what hasn’t, and what true justice looks like…
The Art Museum of Americas has canceled the shows of Black and LGBTQ artists following Trump’s executive order attacking DEI…More: NPR’s chief diversity officer is retiring…The Trump administration created an online portal that encourages people to report DEI in public schools, reports…
The New York Times: Why did it take a fire for the world to learn of Altadena’s Black Arts legacy?...
Curtis Bunn for NBC BLK: “For the last several decades, federal jobs helped Black workers find stable work with guardrails to prevent bias, but mass cuts are threatening decades of upward mobility”…
The Justice Department has removed a database tracking misconduct by federal law enforcement…
Ruby Bridges remains close to the teacher who became her "best friend" when she was a 6-year-old first grader integrating her all-white school in 1960…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to have reopened the 1890 Scholars HBCU scholarship program…
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been facing backlash after stating "all these Negroes who were asking me to step down, God, forgive them,” at a Black History Month event…
Entertainment News
There were several big media shakeups this week: ’s MSNBC show “The ReidOut” has been canceled in what came as a surprise to many…Black viewers immediately rallied around the host, who said “I am not sorry and I am so proud of what we did” on a call with her supporters…For the Nation, Elie Mystal wrote about what MSNBC will miss now that Joy has left…
More: Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele are set to take over Reid’s time slot. Eugene Daniels is headed over to the network to co-host a weekend roundtable show…
Lester Holt will step down as the host of “NBC Nightly News” after a decade behind the desk…
"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King is launching off to space as part of Blue Origin's historic all-women crew…
Former Vice President Kamala Harris was honored at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards, and delivered a speech on “shadows gathering over our democracy.”...WATCH: In case you missed it, here’s the Wayans family's full speech at the awards show…
My colleagues Njera Perkins and Erin E. Evans reviewed “Beyond The Gates,” the first one-hour daytime drama about a Black family in decades…
Brooklyn White-Grier interviewed Tyra Banks for the latest cover of Essence. They discussed the devastating Los Angeles fires, “America’s Next Top Model,” and her return to the runway…
A man accusing former NFL star Steve Smith of having an affair with his wife went viral on social media…
Usher is set to deliver the keynote address at Emory University’s 180th Commencement on May 12…
NPR: The oldest published cookbook by a Black American woman — that we know of — is out this February with a brand new edition…
Wu-Tang Clan has announced its final North American tour, which is set to kick off in June…
Rihanna spoke out about her next album: “I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years”...
For the New York Times, Ismail Muhammad profiled Roy Wood Jr and his search for something all of America can laugh at…
In “The Secret Public,” Jon Savage explained how Little Richard brought Black and queer culture to American airwaves…
Obituaries
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-award-winning singer known for “Killing Me Softly,” has died. She was 88…
Voletta Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G.'s mother, has died. She was 78. Justin Tinsley wrote a compelling obituary for Andscape…
Chris Jasper, a music legend known for his pivotal role in shaping the sound of The Isley Brothers, has died. He was 73…
Mabel Staton, a trailblazer who served as team USA’s only female long jumper at the 1952 Olympics, has died. She was 92…
Jerry Butler, the singer known as “Iceman” who served as a politician for years, has died. He was 85…
Gwen McCrae, the influential funk and soul singer known as the "queen of the rare groove,” has died. She was 81…
Alvin F. Poussaint, a staunch civil rights advocate and outspoken voice for Black mental health, has died. He was 90…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 43 seconds!…
In case you didn’t know, Rosa Parks taught and practiced yoga as part of her wellness routine…
Marvin Sapp’s long-awaited NPR Tiny Desk is now live…
Are you passionate about the outdoors, community, and wellness? Outdoor Afro is hiring for three key roles…
Paid opportunity: The National Black Food & Justice Alliance is seeking Mississippi-based visual artists to showcase their work in a special exhibit in Jackson. Reach out before March 4…
The Institute for Common Power will be live-streaming from the 60th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March starting on March 7…
Photographers: The Black Women Photographers x Nikon Inc. Grants are accepting applications for 2025! Apply by March 28…
Sad Girls Club is offering a select number of individuals with free therapy sessions for the year. Details here…