Project 2025 is here, some election wins, RIP Quincy Jones
Friday, November 8, 2024.
What I’m Reading
It’s true: Donald Trump, the former president who was impeached twice, attempted a coup on the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and is facing criminal cases, has won the 2024 presidential election. With his victory comes Project 2025 — a nearly 1000-page document that details a far-right vision for his return to the White House, and essentially no guardrails to stop his plans.
A Trump administration all but guarantees elevated attacks on the free press. Supporting newsrooms and journalists that cover Black America is more important now than ever — whether that’s local Black-owned news outlets in your neighborhood like the Sacramento Observer or Baltimore Beat or independent journalists like Michael Jones and Ashlee Banks. The powerful want nothing more than to see journalism disappear — don’t let them!
More from the election:
For the New York Times, Erica Green and Maya King spoke with Black women in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss and how her defeat only affirmed the worst of what they believed about America — that the country isn’t ready for a Black woman to hold the highest office in the world…
USA TODAY’s Deborah Berry and Terry Collins spoke to the Black women activists who vow to “rest, reflect and remain resilient” after Harris’ loss…
POLITICO reports that the Harris campaign rejected an offer from the Congressional Black Caucus to mobilize undecided Black voters in key swing states…
Michael Jones reported on the feeling among Democrats post-election and how the blame game has begun…
55% of California voters have opposed Proposition 6, a measure that would have changed the state constitution to ban involuntary servitude in prisons…
There were some bright spots on Election Night:
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware) were both elected to the U.S. Senate, marking the first time two Black women will serve together in the chamber…
Shomari Figures became only the fourth Black member ever elected to Congress from Alabama…
Oklahoma state Rep. Monroe Nichols will become the first Black mayor in Tulsa history…Alyia Gaskins is set to become the first mayor in Alexandria, Virginia’s history…
Pamela Goodwine has made history as the first Black woman on the Kentucky Supreme Court…
Nick Brown was elected attorney general in Washington, making history as the first Black American in the role…
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: The FBI is investigating the death of a Black man found hanging in an abandoned house miles away from his home. Dennoriss Richardson’s wife fears her husband’s death was related to a lawsuit he filed against the local police department…
California: Christopher Renfro and Project Two Eighty are working to build the generation of winemakers and keep diversity top of mind…
Florida: Attorneys for a Florida man beaten by Jacksonville officers in a viral video have announced a federal lawsuit against the officers involved…
Indiana: Capital B’s Janae Barnes talked with Black mothers in Gary about the costs of raising a child in a city with an industrial legacy that pollutes the air, soil, and water...
Louisiana: The Supreme Court will take a post-election look at Louisiana's congressional map with two majority-Black districts…
Mississippi: Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a corruption probe…
Missouri: Inside Story traveled to St. Louis to “investigate the failure of the city’s police to solve murders and hear from families who lost loved ones to violence as they search for answers”…
Ohio: Two Canton police officers were charged with reckless homicide in the death of a Black man who pleaded “I can’t breathe” during a police encounter, authorities announced…Ex-Columbus police officer Adam Coy found guilty on all counts for the murder of unarmed Black man…
South Carolina: The state executed Richard Moore “despite widespread calls for his life to be spared, including from the judge who originally condemned him to death”…
Virginia: A Williamsburg museum is nearly done restoring the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children…
What’s Happening
Ex-Louisville officer Brett Hankison has been found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights during a police raid that killed her…
Have you received this text? There are reports of racist text messages being sent to Black Americans that read, "You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation." The FBI said it is investigating…
The New Yorker explored the life of a forgotten witness to the trial of the killers of Emmett Till…
Waffle House workers, often at the front lines of disasters, are demanding more than the $3 an hour some of them are paid…
From Hammer&Hope: Fire!! was a pathbreaking showcase for Black artists and writers “ready to emotionally serve a new day and a new generation”...
This set of photographs from 1890s Wilmington, North Carolina, shows how Black Americans “used photos to record their success within a society still circumscribed by white supremacy”...
Robin D.G. Kelley is stepping in for the late Rev. James Lawson Jr. to teach UCLA’s Labor Studies Program’s popular course, “Nonviolence and Social Movements”...
Entertainment News
A lawyer said it was “ultimately Young Thug’s decision to take a ‘blind’ plea and put his fate in the judge’s hands — a risky strategy that paid off”…
The Hot Boys — featuring Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Turk and B.G. — performed together for the first time in more than 15 years at Wayne’s Lil WeezyAna Fest in New Orleans…
Philly rapper Freeway got a chance to meet LeVar Burton and told him, “Yeah I grew up off you.” He even started singing the “Reading Rainbow” theme song…
Solange met up with Chief Keef after one of his recent concerts and the wholesome moment has been going viral on social media…
For CNN, Lisa Respers France talked with “Never Too Much” director Dawn Porter on the importance of letting Luther Vandross speak for himself…
Char Adams detailed four big takeaways from Megan Thee Stallion’s new documentary “In Her Words”...
R&B singer Shanice was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer after avoiding mammograms for eight years. She's encouraging other women not to make the same mistake…
For Andscape, Justin Tinsley wrote about how the empire Sean Combs created became the hell he can no longer escape…
In Hollywood: Eddie Murphy is set to play George Clinton in a biopic from “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon…Regina Hall said she would be “thrilled” at the possibility of returning to the “Scary Movie” franchise…
From The Grio: WDKX Radio in Rochester, New York, never sold out on the vision of its founder, Andrew Langston. His granddaughter Andria Langston shares the story of being a third-generation Black business owner…
Obituaries
Quincy Jones, the music titan who worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, has died. He was 91… Danyel Smith wrote about the producing titan’s legacy as the founder of VIBE…
Tyka Nelson, the sister of Prince and a musician in her own right, has died. She was 64…
Chauncy Glover, an Emmy award-winning journalist and anchor at Los Angeles’ KCAL, has died. He was 39…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 2 minutes, 3 seconds…
I spoke with Kenyatta Victoria for her new “Chronically Online” newsletter about the state of journalism, which I called a “dumpster fire”…
If you’re in Chicago, Dr. Lisa Brock is hosting “TEACHING BLACK HISTORY AS RESISTANCE,” a social justice workshop on Nov. 9 from 10 am to 12 pm at 1901 W. Carroll Ave…
The Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Collection is asking for submissions for the symposium “Martin Luther King and the Black Liberal Arts Tradition” for October 9-11, 2025. More details…
Always on point! Thank you for sharing, as always.
thank u for the bright spots!