What I’m Reading
A grand jury said there wasn’t evidence to warrant charges in the death of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old whose body was found after a party on an island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For the Grio, Haniyah Philogene wrote an explainer about the grand jury’s decision.
Wells’ parents don’t plan to stop their campaign to get answers about the mysterious death of their son.
Ben Crump released details from an examination of Wells’ cellphone and an official autopsy report. An attorney for the late college student explained that the autopsy found no water in the teen’s stomach, lungs, or throat.
WATCH: Skid Row’s first talent show recently took place, featuring performances from a dozen homeless or formerly homeless performers.
“Showcasing my gift that is a God-given talent, I know I have it,” Ladelle Handy, one of the performers, told the Associated Press. “I just wanted to make sure that the world remembers that I have it.”
In fighting for every Black child, Did I betray my own?, The New York Times
In 2016, Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote a cover story about her decision to enroll her daughter into a segregated, high-poverty school in New York City.
10 years later, her daughter confronted her about that decision. The story sparked a firestorm online, and Michael Harriot sat down with Hannah-Jones for her first interview about the article.
Upcoming: Hannah-Jones will be interviewed by her daughter for an episode of “This American Life” airing on September 27 at 7 pm CT…
Related: For The Atlantic, Jenisha Watts wrote about why she’s sending her Black son to private school.
Jim Crow was on the ash heap of history. Then came the Roberts court, Mother Jones
After the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, states in the South “can now redraw a dozen majority-Black districts in time for the 2028 elections, triggering the largest drop in Black congressional representation since the end of Reconstruction,” Ari Berman and Pema Levy explain in Mother Jones.
What’s In The News
Across America
Arizona: The Jenesis House in Sedona is becoming the most sought-after healing hideaway for Black women…
California: Sacramento State’s rapidly growing Black Honors College was featured in Inside Higher Ed…
Connecticut: Yale’s first Black student theater group, founded by Angela Bassett, is being revived by her son, Slater…
District of Columbia: Black pastors and congregations met outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters and Third Way offices, pushing for a progressive economic agenda…
Florida: Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Florida, spoke with Capital B’s Brandon Tensley about her campaign and the fight for voting rights…
Georgia: Republican Rick Jackson didn’t appear for the gubernatorial debate with Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms…
Maryland: A medical examiner said a man found hanging from a tree in Upper Marlboro died by suicide, officials said. Authorities are still investigating…
Michigan: My fellow Detroiter Josh Jamerson went back home to ask Michigan voters what they want from the midterm elections…
Missouri: A federal appeals court said the state must use a Republican redistricting map weeks after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against the decision twice…
Mississippi: A second arrest in the death of Tasia Fortune, a mother who was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, has been made…
New York: Attendees at the 57th Annual African American Day Parade in Harlem didn’t let the rain stop them from having a great time…
North Carolina: Dorian Jackson, the North Carolina A&T State University student who died saving his sister from drowning, is receiving an outpouring of love…
Oklahoma: A white teen driver told his mother he thought he’d hit a deer, but he found Ranesha Scyrus in his truck bed…
Pennsylvania: A Philadelphia educator admitted that she is not Palestinian and Black, and has been lying about her identity for years…
South Carolina: St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, one of the oldest surviving Black Baptist church buildings in Charleston, has received a historical marker and monument sign…
Tennessee: State Rep. Justin J. Pearson warned journalists not to ignore the South during our “Reclaiming Our Narrative” panel last week. I’m also cited in the story…
Texas: A federal judge has ordered the state to air-condition all of its prisons by the end of 2029…
Virginia: An upcoming community event looks to highlight artwork honoring three historically Black neighborhoods in Arlington…
What’s Happening
Several voting rights organizations have come together for an initiative seeking to mobilize Black men ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. National Black Man Voter Day 2026 will be held on Oct. 24…
Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter told his colleagues that he’s running to lead the Congressional Black Caucus…
At 10 years old, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is undaunted amid pressure from the Trump administration. The museum is celebrating its anniversary with events from Sept. 24 to 27…
A federal judge has ordered Trump to lift a White House ban on several news outlets. Earlier this week, I wrote a short piece for The Root about how Black journalists are uniquely positioned to understand how dire the moment is…
Georgia’s second-largest school district has abruptly banned Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” from school library shelves…
Deon Osborne invited Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on his podcast for a critical conversation about the issues that matter most to residents in Oklahoma’s second-largest city…
The nearly decade-long case of Crystal Mason, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison over a voting error, will end with an acquittal…
A controversial data company was acknowledged as one of the “top supporters” of the annual gala of the Congressional Black Caucus’ charitable arm…
North Carolina, Durham’s HEART program sends mental health clinicians to nonviolent 911 calls, rather than police. Studies show these alternative response programs help to safely resolve crises…
A Michael Jordan-backed multimedia center has opened at Morehouse College to help prepare the next generation of journalists…
The New York Amsterdam News is shedding light on a growing program impacting Black neighborhoods: deed theft…
Students and faculty nationwide were punished for their actions in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. A graduate of Texas Tech’s law school is still trying to clear her name…
“By centering the knowledge of communities that have been navigating underfunded systems for generations, we can finally build a healthcare landscape that doesn’t just treat the body, but honors the person,” Denise Powell writes for Scalawag Magazine…
Flat Rock Archive recently celebrated 25 years of preserving African American heritage with a gathering at its site in Stonecrest, Georgia…
A Georgetown University research organization discovered the graves of over 1,000 children across the country, according to a report…
At Word In Black’s latest food roundtable, farmers and advocates connected what we eat to land, affordability, trust and power…
The University of Texas at Austin is planning to eliminate several majors from two departments, including African and African diaspora studies…
Entertainment News
My colleague Njera Perkins spoke with Debbie Allen and a few legacy cast members about Netflix’s “A Different World” series ahead of its premiere this week. You can catch it on the streaming service now…
Outkast is suing an Oakland rapper named Ovrkast for having a “nearly identical” name…
Verve has signed “My Pastor Got A Stripper Pregnant” author Quan Millz for representation…
Lionel Richie underwent a heart procedure and will be taking time off from touring, according to his representative…
Deesha Philyaw’s forthcoming book, “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman,” is a satire of Black megachurches. Read her interview in the New York Times…
For the Ringer, Joel Anderson asked around to see if Keffe D’s murder conviction brought closure—for anyone…
Adam Pendleton spoke with the New York Times ahead of his exhibition, “Some Wild Kind of Language,” opening at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in October...
Netflix is working on “Hoops,” based on Kennedy Ryan’s book series…
Yael Bridge’s new documentary about the UPS contract fight offers a window into the class culture of one of the country’s largest unions…
Don Toliver might be the hottest rapper in the U.S. Alphonse Pierre went to the final American stop of his tour trying why that is…
Scary: Langston Hughes’ literary estate now belongs to International Literary Properties, which says a Harlem Renaissance licensing program is next on its list…
Olandria might not have won Love Island, but she’s playing the long game. The influencer and model was recently profiled in The Cut…
Obituaries
Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan, eldest daughter of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, has died. She was 72…
Timothy Pigford, a farmer who sued the Department of Agriculture for systemically denying loans to Black farmers, has died. He was 74...
Leah Curry, an original founding member and lead singer of the Mississippi Mass Choir, has died…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 49 seconds…
Hear 19th-century slaves describe their lives. Hiram Smith looked at their use of the N-word while chronicling the slur’s long history. Watch the full event this Sunday at 9 AM ET on CSPAN 2…
The Black Women Photographers Summit, taking place via Zoom from September 25 to September 27, is free to register…
Do you have a future filmmaker in your house? The Future Filmmakers Project is inviting six high school students from across the country to join its free program, which will let them direct their own documentary over the school year. The deadline to apply is Sept. 27…
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture opened its largest show of contemporary Black women’s art this week, and it will run until March 27...
October is Gullah Geechee Awareness Month. Check out the events across the region...
So many interesting things to read about! Thank you for this 👍🥰
How TF did Nolan Wells 'drown' with NO water in his lungs, throat, or stomach? Gee... could the blow to the back of his head be what killed him? I'm so tired of this murderous, racist shit.