SCOTUS rejects affirmative action, Patti LaBelle's Tina tribute and Simone Biles returns
Friday, June 30, 2023.
What I’m Reading
More than 100 U.S. leaders – lawmakers, presidents, governors and justices – have familial ties to slavery. Yes, I already know what you’re thinking. What a shock! Obviously, this surprises no one. However, Reuters contends that this report is unique in that it fully reveals the extent of today’s U.S. officeholders’ ancestral connections to America’s “original sin.”
What’s more: very few highlighted in this project were willing to discuss the subject — even if they’ve spoken about the legacy before. Whether this report reveals something new to you or not, it’s worth taking a look.
More than 100 U.S. political elites have family links to slavery, Reuters
What wellness means for Black women, Vox
The Third Baptist Church in San Francisco is leading the fight for reparations for California's Black residents. The Washington Post visited the church to understand what reparations can and should be.
Inside the Black church fighting for reparations from California, The Washington Post
AP’s Aaron Morrison traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to visit the long-awaited International African American Museum. The museum features “exhibits and artifacts exploring how African Americans’ labor and resistance shaped the Carolinas, the nation and the world.” Here’s what he saw.
At the International African American Museum opening, a reclaiming of sacred ground for enslaved kin, Associated Press
What’s In The News
ICYMI: Developers are suing a 93-year-old South Carolina woman in what she says is an attempt to force her to sell the property that’s been in her family since the Civil War…
In SCOTUS news: It happened: The Supreme Court has voted to end affirmative action in college admissions. Read Sherrilyn Ifill's thoughts on the decision…
More SCOTUS: The Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana's congressional map must be redrawn to add a second majority-Black district. Related: SCOTUS ruled in favor of voting rights. Southern Black voters made that happen…
This historically Black neighborhood in Nevada has been sinking for decades. A new law may finally help residents move out…
Daniel Penny has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after his chokehold of Jordan Neely…
Christine King Farris, the last sibling of Martin Luther King Jr. and a retired professor at Spelman College, has died. She was 95…
Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated Central Park Five, declared victory in a crowded Democratic primary to represent a Harlem-based seat in the NYC City Council…
Five Mississippi deputy sheriffs who responded to an incident where two Black men accused the deputies of beating and sexually assaulting them before shooting one of them in the mouth have been fired or resigned…
Over 60 years ago, federal marshals escorted James Meredith as he enrolled as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi. Today, he’s still pushing forward…
Ralph Yarl, the teen who was shot after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, opened up for the first time about the horrifying ordeal…
Jacksonville community leader and civil rights activist Ben Frazier has died. He was 73…
John Boyega told PEOPLE he's spoken with Jamie Foxx by phone and that the actor is "doing well"...
Harris County officials and Houston legends Beyonce and Kelly Rowland are collaborating to create 31 permanent housing units in their hometown…
Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a woman and her 14-year-old son in the shooting death of a man who assaulted her in a fast-food restaurant. She’s now suing the city of Chicago…
Elijah Lewis’s friends believed he could have been the next Martin Luther King Jr. A bullet took his life…
Florida officials have declined to file murder charges against a woman accused of shooting and killing her neighbor through a closed door, citing “insufficient evidence”...
From Philadelphia: “In three generations of Wort Whipples, one was beaten by the police, and the other two were killed by gun violence”...
Several advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit alleging a Virginia law that automatically stripped the right to vote from more than 300,000 convicted felons is “an illegal vestige of historical efforts to keep Black residents from casting ballots”…
Charles L. Blockson, the architect behind some of the most prestigious collections of African-American artifacts in the United States, has died. He was 89…
What’s Happening
Patti LaBelle said she couldn't see the words during her BET Awards tribute to Tina Turner. Audience members said they were blocking the teleprompter. Also, Busta Rhymes was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award…
Rihanna has stepped down as CEO of her lingerie company Savage X Fenty…
Deion Sanders had successful surgery to fix blood clots in both of his legs…
Tennessee State University is set to become the first HBCU to establish an ice hockey program…
A Bookmobile is distributing books throughout New York City’s five boroughs. The books will be featured in this fall's new Black Studies curriculum in the city’s public schools…
Xavier Jones trekked 6 miles to attend his eighth-grade graduation. He was rewarded with a full-ride to college…
Man who just returned from Turkey where he had $80,000 surgery to grow from 5'5” to 6 feet says he wanted to 'become the best version of himself'...
WATCH: A happy man popped the question to the love of his life during a Delta flight from Atlanta to Cancún, with the help of plane passengers…
Angela Bassett is set to receive an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards. She also spoke with Variety about the 30th anniversary of “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which should have earned her that Oscar, in my opinion…
Issa Rae’s audio company is launching its first talk show, “The Scottie & Sylvia Show,” hosted by Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell…
My friend Jonathan Rabb is featured in Essence Magazine for creating Watch The Yard, a Black media company that chronicles the culture of historically Black fraternities and sororities, Black colleges and more…
All of the top ten picks at the NBA Draft were represented by Black agents, a reported first for the league…
Clarenda Stanley, the head farmer of Green Heffa Farms in North Carolina, talked with Essence Magazine on how being a Black woman farmer in the South is "revolutionary"...
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 55 seconds…
The Juvenile NPR Tiny Desk is finally set to premiere later today at noon EST. Tune in here…
Simone Biles plans to return to competition in early August, her first event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics…
CBS News correspondent Skyler Henry explored the ways in which Black Americans are trying to reclaim their land, connect to their ancestry, and generate wealth in the documentary “40 Acres and a Mule”...
Questlove interviewed Bill Clinton on his podcast. Yes, you read that correctly...
Prominent economist Darrick Hamilton discussed his “baby bonds” proposal with the New York Times, which would give poor children up to $50,000 in wealth by the time they reach adulthood…
In 2019, Evanston, Illinois, passed the first reparations law in American history. PBS NewsHour recently followed up with the city to see how the program is doing…
The Black Mental Health Alliance will host its virtual annual men’s summit on June 28th and June 29th…
Chadwick Boseman will be honored posthumously with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The date has yet to be announced…
Christian Cooper, the bird-watching Black man who was the target of false accusations during an racist encounter in NYC's Central Park in 2020, has a new series out on Disney+ and Hulu…
NPR's Eric Deggans talked with media tycoon Byron Allen about the future of Black ownership in American media…
Black Women Radicals is hosting "Black Feminism Lives," a 2-day summit in August celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Black Feminist Organization…
Afropunk, the annual Black music and culture festival in August, has announced its lineup that includes Vince Staples, Jazmine Sullivan, and others…