Saving Black Twitter, California reparations update, Jamie Foxx's privacy
Saving Black Twitter, California reparations update, Jamie Foxx's privacy
Friday, May 12, 2023.
What I’m Reading
As soon as Elon Musk was named the new owner of Twitter, I was immediately concerned about what would happen to Black Twitter. I was pleased to learn that there are several efforts underway to preserve the Internet community. In The 19th, you can read about why these efforts are so vital.
'The world's largest Black group chat': Behind the mission to preserve Black Twitter, The 19th
For Essence,
explained that Black people care about public safety solutions to mass shootings and gun violence, but more police propaganda is not the answer.“When mention is made of the Black community’s collective concern about crime, it is rarely to address our material needs or alleviate the causes of crime, but instead offered to dismiss calls for progressive reform in lieu of continuing to invest in ‘tough on crime’ initiatives.”
Black People Care About Crime, But We Don’t Need Police Propaganda, Essence
For VICE, Roshan Abraham wrote about the rhetoric in the wake of Jordan Neely’s killing and how America has decided that “instead of organizing a society that affirms life, we’ve organized one that primes it to be extinguished."
America Has Decided That Homeless People Aren't People, VICE
What’s In The News
Jamie Foxx has been hospitalized since April, which has led to many rumors about his health. His friends and family aren’t sharing his medical diagnosis. but that shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed his career. Here’s why…
From Akayla Gardner for Bloomberg: Kamala Harris is finding her stride as a crucial voice to Black voters — a task she must now replicate on a wide scale to secure President Joe Biden’s reelection…
California’s reparations task force has approved recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by racist policies. Here’s what you need to know about California’s reparations effort…
The man who put Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on a NYC subway train will face a manslaughter charge, prosecutors said. He has turned himself in…
Big in history news: An author researching Martin Luther King Jr. found that the iconic civil rights leader’s harshest criticism of Malcolm X appears to have been fabricated. Related: You can read a review of Jonathan Eig’s new biography of Martin Luther King Jr, in what Kelefa Sanneh called “a sober and intimate portrait of King’s short life”...
From Lever News: “Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas changed his position on one of America’s most significant regulatory doctrines after his wife reportedly accepted secret payments from a shadowy conservative network pushing for the change”…
The Baltimore Police Department was forced to disband its Gun Trace Task Force after its officers were found planting evidence and dealing drugs themselves. Several months later, however, they created the District Action Team. Critics say it’s just more of the same…
A Los Angeles judge denied a motion for a new trial from lawyers for Tory Lanez…
Three men and a juvenile have been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 24-year-old Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston…
Most women should start screening for breast cancer at age 40, instead of 50, according to new draft guidance from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force…
From Allen, Texas, Karen Attiah wrote about how there’s more than one way to die in a gun massacre…
Daniel Perry, an Army sergeant who posted ‘I am a racist’ on Facebook, was sentenced to 25 years for the murder of a protester. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he will seek his pardon…
From Al.com: “Asked if he believed white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said in referring to the Biden administration, ‘They call them that. I call them Americans.’”...
Florida has rejected dozens of social studies textbooks and worked with publishers to edit dozens more, objecting to content on Black Lives Matter, socialism and why some take a knee during the national anthem…
Federal investigators found more than 100 kids as young as 13 working overnights cleaning slaughterhouses after teachers at Nebraska middle school reported a child with acid burns…
New Yorkers protesting the killing of Jordan Neely have been met with overwhelming force by the NYPD, leading to bloody arrests…
The new mayor of Philadelphia will be tasked with addressing the gun violence crisis plaguing the city. Whoever takes the reins should take a look at strategies piloted in other cities…
Former Florida Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum has been acquitted of lying to the FBI…
In Inquest: “In the history of a shuttered prison for queer women in New York City's Greenwich Village, there's an enduring reminder that incarceration has long been a form of social control”...
A Walgreens security guard shot and killed a Black trans organizer after accusing him of shoplifting. His community wants answers…
Kim Gardner, St. Louis’ first Black circuit attorney, promised to deliver criminal justice reform in the Missouri city. Where did it all go wrong?
The mother of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher in Virginia is speaking out…
The Oakland Athletics play-by-play announcer Glen Kuiper, who said an anti-Black slur before a game at the Kansas City Royals, has been suspended. The president of the Negro Leagues Museum also put out a statement…
Democratic donors in Florida are attempting to recruit NBA legends Grant Hill and Dwyane Wade to run for Senate in the Sunshine State…
What’s Happening
Viola Fletcher celebrated her 109th birthday on May 10. She is one of the three last known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The city of Tulsa is still trying to dismiss her lawsuit, by the way…
Happy Mother’s Day! I’d like to send a special shoutout to my mother, who is my editor for this newsletter, and my grandmother, an avid reader of it as well…
Brooklyn White-Grier interviewed Taraji P. Henson for the cover of HelloBeautiful, where the actor talked about being cast as Janine’s mom in “Abbott Elementary” and how she’s not going to fight aging…
Ginuwine had a hard fall off a stage at a recent concert, but he appears to be ok. Someone said he shouldn’t have been “So Anxious” to jump off the stage…
ICYMI: A patient's mini twists nearly kept her from getting needed brain imaging…
Savannah James talks to Sylvia Obell about her life as the matriarch of the James clan, with beautiful photos inside…
Anita Baker apparently asked Babyface not to perform his opening set in New Jersey, leaving many fans upset. Even Stephanie Mills had something to say about Anita…
You have to watch this video of a kid from Houston tearing the keyboard UP…
It's about to become much more difficult to get approved by Buy Now, Pay Later apps like Affirm and Klarna as the companies begin tightening credit standards to focus on profitability…
From Taayoo Murray for Parents.com: Colorism affected my sons from birth—to understand how much, I had to examine myself…
The sons of LeBron James and Dennis Rodman are set to play together at the University of Southern California next season…
Busta Rhymes reunited with his “What's It Gonna Be?!” collaborator Janet Jackson and gave her flowers on stage at a New York City concert...
If you’re a fan of the new Bridgerton spinoff “Queen Charlotte,” actor Arsema Thomas talked with EBONY about becoming Lady Danbury, and showrunner Shonda Rhimes talked with NPR about her successes…
The Detroit City Council has unanimously passed a resolution to add Juneteenth to the city's list of paid holidays…
Nick Cannon spoke with the Los Angeles Times, where he pushed back against any “deadbeat dad” allegations after having 11 kids with six women…
WATCH: Snoop Dogg expressed support for the ongoing writers' strike during a conference. "The writers are striking because of streaming. They can't get paid!"...
RIP MTV News. The iconic music video network’s news division is shutting down after 36 years…
A government-owned Egyptian broadcaster has responded to the controversy over the casting of a Black actress to play Cleopatra in a Netflix series by announcing the production of its own Cleopatra doc in which she will be light-skinned…
Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first Black woman reporter at The Washington Post, is receiving an honorary Doctorate from Wilberforce University…
Over the weekend, Usher and Chris Brown got into some sort of incident that remains unclear. But what seems clear to me is that Usher’s team worked to squash the reports, as an actual publicist explained here…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 48 seconds…
The Read podcast is back for “A Very Special Episode”…
Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour started this week. If you’re trying to avoid videos online, good luck…
President Joe Biden will speak at Howard University’s commencement ceremony on May 13…
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is hosting an artist talk with Sydney G. James, one of Michigan's premier portrait artists and muralists, and Juana Williams, associate curator of African-American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, on May 13 at 1 pm EST...
Don’t miss: The 19th News has opened applications for its Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Fellowship, which will provide recent graduates, mid-career alums and former students of HBCUs with full-year salaried fellowships in journalism. The deadline is May 15…
Another one: Outlier Media, a unique nonprofit newsroom based in Detroit, is offering a summer internship for a local college student looking for $32 an hour (!)...
ICYMI: I’ve been nominated for Editor of the Year by the AAMBC Awards! If you’d like to vote, you can do so here. Voting ends on May 19…
“The Little Mermaid,” starring Halle Bailey, is hitting theaters this month (May 26). Some of the first reactions are already out…
Tory Lanez is set to be sentenced on June 13 at 10:30 am PST for shooting Megan Thee Stallion…
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is hosting its second annual hip-hop block party this August. Tickets, which will be available in July, will go fast…
If you’ll be in DC, head to the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art to see the “From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya” exhibit, which will be available until April 2024. The show is inspired by “an imaginary underwater kingdom populated by the children of pregnant women who, considered ‘sick cargo’ by transatlantic slave traders, were thrown overboard or jumped to their deaths during the Middle Passage”…