Tim Scott drops out, Ballot shortages in Mississippi, Diddy faces major lawsuit
Tim Scott drops out, Ballot shortages in Mississippi, Diddy faces major lawsuit
Friday, November 17, 2023. Can we hit 20,000 subscribers before the end of the year?
What I’m Reading
Lonnie Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian and the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, read through the papers of the Freedmen’s Bureau to try and find records from Wake County, North Carolina, where some of his own enslaved ancestors had lived. In the documents, he found the hopes and disappointments of a people on the cusp of freedom.
Why Is America Afraid of Black History?, The Atlantic
Gary, Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis have become ground zero for environmental injustices, driving Black residents to reverse the journey of their great-grandparents and move to the South — the only region with more Black people migrating in than out since 2000.
Pollution Is Driving Today’s Reverse Great Migration, Capital B
Today, people tend to associate the banjo with white Southern traditions of bluegrass and what record labels would market as hillbilly music once upon a time. However, its roots are in Africa and Black folk musicians are reclaiming the genre. Several folk musicians touched on the complications of being a Black performer working in a genre now commonly associated with whiteness.
Black Folk Musicians Are Reclaiming the Genre, The New York Times Style Magazine
What’s In The News
Across America
California: A lawyer got seized land returned to heirs of the Black couple that owned a beach resort in Los Angeles in the 1920s. Could this become a model for reparations?...
Colorado: The state banned forced prison labor five years ago. But prisoners say it's still happening…
Florida: A woman who filed a report against her ex-boyfriend was allegedly shot and killed by him 40 minutes after she filed it…
Georgia: Nearly 35 years after the remains of a 5-year-old girl were found, investigators have identified the victim and arrested her mother and her mother’s live-in boyfriend…
Illinois: Illinois became the first state in the country to entirely end money bail in September. Here’s how organizers pulled it off…
Kentucky: A mistrial has been declared in the federal trial of ex-Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison, the officer who blindly fired 10 shots into Breonna Taylor's apartment…
Louisiana: The family home of a civil rights pioneer in New Orleans has been named to the National Register of Historic Places…
Massachusetts: Lawmakers have approved reforms that would eliminate charges for communicating with incarcerated people…
Mississippi: For months, civil rights groups have targeted Black communities across the state, urging people to vote on Election Day. Then came the ballot shortages…
North Carolina: One of the state’s oldest Black newspapers is clinging to life in Wilmington. It hasn’t printed regularly in two years, but some are optimistic for its revival…
New Jersey: A Black police officer who alleges she was disciplined after she wore her hair in Bantu knots has sued the township where she works, alleging that she was discriminated against for wearing a natural hairstyle…
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia’s new mayor insists that the city’s safety depends on expanding its police department…
Tennessee: The authors of “His Name Is George Floyd” say they were told they couldn’t read from their book or talk about systemic racism to high school students in Memphis…
Texas: The Houston suburb of Sugar Land got its name from a business reliant on the forced labor of convicts. But efforts to memorialize those people have stalled…
Wisconsin: Milwaukee’s sizable Black population is supposed to help Biden in 2024, but some voters say they’re losing enthusiasm with each passing cycle…
What’s Happening
GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott announced that he is dropping out of the 2024 race after failing to make a dent in the polls. It was a surprise to his own staff. For the New Yorker, Robert Samuels examined the senator’s race mythology and the party that loves him for it…
After a controversy this year about African American history standards in public schools, a Senate Democrat has filed a proposal that would prevent instruction asserting that enslaved people benefited from slavery in any way…
Virginia’s state House will soon have its first Black speaker in its more than 400-year history after the chamber’s incoming Democratic majority chose Delegate Don Scott to serve in the post…
Congrats! A graduate from Florida A&M University College of Law says she passed the New York Bar Exam “with a score high enough to waive into any UBE jurisdiction”...
For The Atlantic, Dara T. Mathis wrote about Houston’s Fourth Ward and the Black war veteran and photographer who documented the area before much of it was lost to development…
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, the daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, recently crossed Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at Spelman College…
Artist Josh Begley pulled up an interesting video of Van Jones in 1993 in the wake of the criticism the commentator received for speaking at the March for Israel in Washington, D.C…
A year has passed since 25-year-old Shanquella Robinson died suddenly while on vacation in Mexico. Melissa Noel has the latest on what has happened since…
The mother of the 1st grader who shot his teacher at a Virginia school was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on gun and marijuana charges…
Jazmine Hughes recently spoke out for the first time since her departure from The New York Times Magazine over her decision to sign an open letter condemning Israel's siege on Gaza. Vanity Fair has an inside look on how the publication handled it…
Sage Howard for HuffPost: As Black women, we will reclaim our reproductive autonomy. For me, this is where it starts…
Entertainment
Warning — the details in this story are explicit: Cassie has accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of rape and abuse in a lawsuit filed in federal court. He was even accused of attempting to blow up Kid Cudi’s car. You can read the full document here…
Keke Palmer has been granted temporary sole custody of her son Leodis, with no visitation for ex Darius Jackson…
T.I. attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his first affordable apartment development, which includes 143 apartments and 25 special units for homeless youth…
For the first time in over 17 years, André 3000 is releasing an album of new music. “New Blue Sun” is set to be released Nov. 17, and he talked with NPR’s Rodney Carmichael about it. He also told GQ that he tried to make a rap album but “sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way”…
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have denied allegations that he had sex with Duane Martin, and are considering legal action…
Mike And Kyra Epps talked with Victoria Uwumarogie about their passion for revitalizing homes on the block Mike grew up on in Indianapolis…
Tubi announced that it will be working with The Black List to identify potential projects to turn into original movies for its streaming platform. And you can enter…
Gospel singer Bobbi Storm was nearly kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight when she refused to stop singing for fellow passengers…
Known weed enthusiast Snoop Dogg announced that he’s giving up smoking, and we’re all not sure if he’s joking or not…
Naomi Osaka will make her comeback to tennis at the Brisbane International warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open…
You should take a moment to read these three excellent features: Angelique Jackson talked with Fantasia Barrino ahead of “The Color Purple,” Jewel Wicker chatted with Coco Jones on her rise to stardom, and Nicolas Tyrell-Scott analyzed Missy Elliott's enduring impact on music and culture as we know it…
Travis Scott addressed the “devastating” Astroworld concert tragedy for the first time in nearly two years…
Pharrell Williams’ nonprofit foundation Black Ambition has awarded $3.2 million to deserving Black and brown entrepreneurs…
A jury has convicted ex-NBA players Glen Davis and Will Bynum for their roles in a scheme to defraud the NBA Players' Health and Benefit Welfare plan…
Drake and J. Cole are going on tour together in 2024. They also dropped the video for “First Person Shooter” this week. Drake also announced a new project that no one expected…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute and 30 seconds…
Call out for Black women pursuing doctoral degrees: Check out Cohort Sistas! This platform provides digital resources, mentorship, and community to improve equity in doctoral education…
New Edition recently announced they are taking the stage once again for a Las Vegas residency…
Carmelo Anthony is teaming up with The Kid Mero to host “7PM in Brooklyn,” a digital series and podcast…
Media news: Jamil Smith has joined The Emancipator as its new editor-in-chief, and Caché McClay will cover a new beat focused on Beyoncé for USA TODAY Network…
Courtney B. Vance and psychologist Robin L. Smith explore the trauma unique to Black men and boys on NPR’s Fresh Air…
Home Court, an immersive multimedia museum dedicated to LeBron James, is set to open Nov. 25 in his hometown of Akron, Ohio…
Keke Palmer is set to host BET’s Soul Train Awards on Nov. 26…
The Associated Press is hiring an intern to cover race and ethnicity. The deadline to apply is December 15th…
The new season of Abbott Elementary premieres on February 7…
“The American Society of Magical Negroes,” a satirical comedy, debuts on March 22, 2024. Watch the teaser here…