RIP Harry Belafonte, Parents eyeing Afrocentric schools, NAACP sues Mississippi
RIP Harry Belafonte, Parents eyeing Afrocentric schools, NAACP sues Mississippi
Friday, April 28, 2023
What I’m Reading
The world lost one of the OGs of Black Hollywood this week. Beloved singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte died Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 96. Figures from all fields paid tribute to Belafonte online. Known for smashing barriers in show business during a time when segregation was widespread, the Caribbean-American singer offered critical financial support to the civil rights movement from his personal funds. And his activism didn’t stop in the 50s and 60s — he remained vocal about social issues until the end of his life.
Belafonte is the subject of the upcoming documentary “Following Harry,” which is being prepared for premiere at upcoming film festivals later this year.
“If anybody had told me that after Dr. King’s murder, after the murder of Bobby Kennedy and all the upheavals of the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, that today — now — we would still be at the gate around issues of race and the vote, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Belafonte said in an exclusive clip of the documentary to Deadline. “The truth of the matter is that the enemy doesn’t sleep.”
Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist, The New York Times
Cheyanne Mumphrey, a reporter for the Associated Press, talked with Black parents who are sending their children to Afrocentric schools that affirm their heritage amid growing attacks on African and African-American studies.
“This country is signaling to us that we have no place here,” Mary Hooks, whose daughter attends Kilombo Academic & Cultural Institute near Atlanta, told AP. “It also raises a smoke signal for people to come home to the places where we can be nourished.”
Black parents seek schools affirming their history amid bans, AP News
Dennis Barnes, a high school senior in New Orleans, set a new national record after he received offers from 125 colleges and universities, totaling more than $9 million in scholarships. He’s received more scholarship money than any other college-bound senior in U.S. history, according to WWL-TV.
Sage Howard spoke to the 16-year-old phenom and his counselor to see just how he made this world record happen.
We Talked To The 16-Year-Old Phenom Who Just Got Accepted To 175 Colleges, HuffPost
Every day across America, trains can block crossings for hours and days, forcing kids to crawl under them so they can get to school — risking their lives in the process. One eighth grader quoted in this sobering ProPublica article said she has seen plenty of trains start without warning. “I don’t want to get crushed.”
As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School, ProPublica
What I Saw
I stopped by the HQ DC House, which bills itself as Washington’s premier private membership club, for a day party event earlier this month. The Black-owned venue is providing a space for professionals of color to meet, grow, socialize, and network — especially as such spaces seem to be disappearing. Shoutout to Jazze Pha for DJing!…
Vice President Kamala Harris visited her alma mater Howard University for a rally about reproductive rights. I made a TikTok covering the event, which took me about 30 minutes to make. I don’t know how the kids do it…
What’s In The News
The NAACP is suing to stop two new laws designed to give the state of Mississippi more control over the predominantly Black city of Jackson…
Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman whose actions led to the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955, has died. She was 88…
Shamira Ibrahim in The Washington Post: An AI-generated Drake song went viral and stoked panic within the music industry. It’s also the latest example in a long history of devaluing Black music…
ICYMI: He’s the only full-time Black professor dedicated to African American studies at Loyola University New Orleans. Students are fighting to save his job…
President Joe Biden announced his bid for reelection this week…
A team of researchers is suggesting that Black women should start screening for breast cancer at 40 years old...
A Mississippi judge denied former NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s attempt to dismiss civil charges against him in the ongoing welfare fraud case…
ICYMI: Baby Mila has been reunited with her parents after more than three weeks in CPS custody…
Controversial television host Jerry Springer has died after a battle with cancer…
Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News. For years, the red-faced host has used his Fox News platform to bring televised racism into the 21st century. His legacy won’t disappear so quickly…
Don Lemon is also out at CNN, in what may not have been as unexpected as Tucker Carlson’s ousting. Rick Ross has offered Lemon a job…
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas claimed a GOP megadonor's gifts weren’t an issue because he didn't have business before the court. But records reveal that's not true…
The College Board says changes will be made to its new AP African American studies course. It’s unclear what the changes will be. For background, read my previous reporting…
An Ohio GOP Senate candidate calls for reparations for white people: “You know, when they talk about reparations, where are the reparations for the people in the North who died to save the lives of Black people?”...
Black residents are leaving Baltimore in large numbers, citing “too few job opportunities and investments in majority-Black neighborhoods”...
The mother of a Black teenager who lives in the same neighborhood as Ralph Yarl said his shooting was a nightmare she had long feared…
You need to read this thread about Geraldine Tyler, a Black woman who fell behind on her taxes. The county seized her home, sold it, and kept the profit. And she’s not the only one…
A United Nations panel arrived in the U.S. this week, where it will “examine law enforcement practices and whether they are aligned with international human rights standards in the country”…
Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford served nearly 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of attempted murder in California. Under a new law, the state is required to pay them each $140 for every day they spent behind bars…
WWE and Vince McMahon allegedly discriminated and retaliated against a Black woman writer for objecting to “offensively racist and stereotypical jargon” used in the scripts of Black wrestlers, according to a new lawsuit…
What’s Happening
Grammy-winning Fugees rapper Pras Michel has been found guilty of helping to orchestrate multimillion-dollar political conspiracies across two presidencies…
The judge Tyrese called "racist" before his child custody hearing has ordered the actor to pay nearly $250K to his ex-wife and almost $400K to her attorney…
Twitter committed around $20 million to back Black, Latino and women venture capital fund managers after the murder of George Floyd. But now, the company is quietly trying to sell those stakes…
Gayle King and Charles Barkley are coming together for a live show on CNN titled King Charles, which is set to air on Wednesdays…
A display of personal materials from Toni Morrison’s archive at Princeton University offers visitors a glimpse into the late author's creative process, Syreeta McFadden explained in The Atlantic…
Jenna Wortham wrote a stunning profile of Christina Sharpe, the woman shaping a generation of Black thought…
Keke Palmer offered advice for new mothers “who are coping with the pressure to ‘bounce back’ as it pertains to weight”...
Halle Bailey talked with British Vogue about how she approached reinventing the Disney princess Ariel in “The Little Mermaid”...
Former NBA star Dwyane Wade explained why he and his family moved out of Florida: “My family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there…”
The Jada Pinkett Smith-hosted talk show “Red Table Talk” has been canceled for now…
Historically Black colleges and universities are adding sports beyond the usual offerings of football, basketball and track and field…
Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson said he doesn't watch the NBA because it's too political. Too bad, he’s missing some great games…
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and Houston Texans player Jonathan Owens have officially tied the knot…
“Because I Got High” rapper Afroman has filed official paperwork to run for president of the United States…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 39 seconds…
Denzel Washington is back in the trailer for “Equalizer 3” and I will be seated for this one…
I plan on watching “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” a documentary about the life and career of the Black queer icon. It is streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV and more…
Uché Blackstock, an emergency physician and healthcare leader, has unveiled the cover of her forthcoming memoir “LEGACY: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine”...
The sixth season of “Black Mirror” is finally on the way…
Here's the trailer for former president Barack Obama's new Netflix docuseries, "Working: What We Do All Day"...
Vogue is doing an open casting in search of “a new generation of models that embody a modern ideal of beauty.” The deadline is May 8…