Tornadoes tear through Mississippi, "Ruby Bridges" removed, Gayle King gets CNN show?
Tornadoes tear through Mississippi, "Ruby Bridges" removed, Gayle King gets CNN show?
Friday, March 31, 2023.
What I’m Reading
For The Washington Post, Anumita Kaur and Emmanuel Felton traveled to the small Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, where a massive tornado devastated the community and killed at least 25 people.
“What happens to Damien Harris’s block, on the mostly Black and lower-income east side of town, will be an important barometer of whether this close-knit, small Mississippi Delta town can recover from the worst disaster to hit the community in nearly a century,” they write.
Related: Lethal storms will strike more frequently in the more populous Southern states like Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, a study predicts.
‘Everything is gone’: Loss and destruction in a small Mississippi town, The Washington Post
Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson, two high school seniors, say they have proven Pythagoras’s theorem by using trigonometry. The two Black teens may have cracked the code of a math problem academics thought for nearly 2,000 years to be impossible.
US teens say they have new proof for 2,000-year-old mathematical theorem, The Guardian
The 1998 Disney movie “Ruby Bridges” has been removed from use at a Florida school until a review committee can assess it after a parent complained that the movie “might teach white children to hate Black children.”
of obtained documents revealing exactly how it happened.The screenwriter for the film tweeted at me: “I researched and wrote ‘Ruby Bridges.’ I appreciate you letting me know that I’m a banned writer. The parent’s concern that the movie may make white children hate Black children is preposterous. White parents do that, not Black historians and filmmakers.”
Removal of ‘Ruby Bridges’ film from Pinellas school sparks outrage, The Tampa Bay Times
First-year Columbia University student Angel Gilbert wrote a personal essay about growing up with an incarcerated parent. Gilbert’s experience has motivated her to work toward reforming the criminal justice system.
My Parent Was Incarcerated And Is Out Now, But I’m Still Not Free, Zócalo Public Square
No Jumper, a podcast that built a following by covering hip-hop and Black culture, is using its platform to embrace white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
The No Jumper podcast is mainstreaming neo-Nazis and hate figures to its audience of millions, MMFA
What I Saw
I attended a Black Media Roundtable with Secretary Marcia Fudge and other leadership this week. Here’s a fact sheet we were provided that details how the Department of Housing and Urban Development has “engaged in specific, meaningful actions to advance equity and support Black Americans across the U.S”...
I also went to a screening of Hulu’s “The 1619 Project” at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, where we watched “JUSTICE,” the series' final episode. A discussion with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Yara Shahidi followed…
New from me: Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin visited Capitol Hill to push lawmakers for better access to automated external defibrillators in schools…
What’s In The News
Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for his role in a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels…
Police jailed a deaf 71-year-old over a “misunderstanding” at an airport. They broke her arm and gave her Aleve for the pain while she spent three days in jail…
Hours’ worth of video footage was deleted from the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, according to officials investigating the accident…
Protesters are calling for the chairman of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum to resign over his alleged ties to Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambataa, who has been accused of child abuse…
Jonathan Majors was arrested over the weekend in New York on domestic violence allegations after a dispute with a 30-year-old woman. His defense attorney said evidence exists to prove that he’s ‘completely innocent.’ The attorney also released some alleged texts…
New Jersey has taken control of the Paterson Police Department following years of problems…
How did a police chase in Mississippi end with an innocent woman shot in her bedroom?
The Justice Department is investigating several sheriff’s deputies in Rankin County, Mississippi, for allegedly violating the civil rights of Black men since 2019…
This photo of a child crying after the latest mass shooting in Nashville is difficult to look at but necessary…
A Florida student's 'discomfort' over a discussion of civil rights led to the cancellation of a U.S. government class…
Troy Closson wrote about one New York high school's experience with the new AP African American Studies class that was banned in Florida…
A Temecula, Calif. school district meeting over the decision to hire an anti-critical race theory consultant got extremely heated. Here’s video…
Florida chapters of the NAACP voted unanimously to recommend that its national board issue a nationwide travel advisory against moving or visiting the Sunshine State…
Efforts to ban books nearly doubled in 2022 over the previous year, according to a report published by the American Library Association…
2 in 3 Black women say they have changed their hair for a job interview to lessen the chances of being passed over due to hair discrimination, according to a new survey…
A white supremacist in Mississippi has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for a federal hate crime after pleading guilty to unlawfully intimidating his Black neighbors by burning a cross in their front yard…
A bill filed in the Texas legislature by a Republican lawmaker would allow sheriffs to investigate themselves for deaths in their jails, undermining the Sandra Bland Act that helped expose the state’s deadly jail conditions…
Alabama’s governor has proposed using more than $300 million from the state’s education budget for non-education expenses, including prison construction and a water park…
What’s Happening
California might be looking at more than $800 billion to compensate Black residents, economists told a state panel considering reparations…
If you’re a fan of both history and basketball, Jay Caspian Kang reviewed “Black Ball,” a new book that argues that “the real history of the NBA is one of strife between Black labor and white ownership”...
Heated on the Hill: Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Thomas Massie were filmed arguing about America’s gun violence epidemic…
Several Ohio police officers are suing rap artist Afroman for "humiliation" and "loss of reputation" after he used footage of a 2022 home search to make new music and videos…
For Andscape, Justin Tinsley wrote about how LeBron James is growing his “I Promise” world in Akron, creating a housing complex, a primary care facility and a job training facility…
Levi’s to use AI-generated models to “create a more diverse and inclusive customer experience”...
A longtime Mississippi news anchor appears to no longer be employed with the news team after saying, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle" on air…
Salon spoke with the cast and crew of "The Wire" about the legacy of the late Lance Reddick…
Founded in Detroit in 1958, the Jim Dandy Ski Club is the first Black ski club in the United States. The club makes skiing financially accessible to people who might not otherwise be able to afford giving the sport a try…
Country music rising star Rissi Palmer was interviewed about becoming the second Black female solo artist to perform at the world-famous home of country music, the Grand Ole Opry…
NFL Network has decided not to renew the contract of Jim Trotter, a Black reporter who had twice confronted the league’s commissioner on diversity…
Author Jacqueline "Cookie" Hamer-Flakes, the last living child of Fannie Lou Hamer, has died. She was 56…
The first Black-owned bookstore has opened in legendary fiction author Octavia Butler’s hometown…
Randall Robinson, a human rights activist known for his advocacy against South African apartheid and for Haitian democracy, has died. He was 81…
Ticketmaster is facing a class action lawsuit after a law firm filed a lawsuit over alleged price gouging linked to Drake's upcoming tour…
What I’m Watching
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute 50 seconds…
Pras Michel of The Fugees’ criminal trial kicked off this week. The artist is accused of “conspiring to violate election law and influence American policymakers on behalf of China”...
CNN is reportedly finalizing a deal to add Gayle King as a weekly prime-time host as the network hits its lowest ratings in decades…
Questlove is reportedly directing a live-action/hybrid reimaging of “The Aristocats” for Walt Disney Studios…
The “Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures” exhibit opened up at the Blacksonian this week…
FX announced the documentary feature “The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla” is set to premiere on April 7…
A documentary on champion athlete Carl Lewis is in the works…