Civil rights orgs sue Trump, A$AP Rocky verdict, Marla Gibbs honored
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What I’m Reading
Even before Trump, Black-led businesses say DEI initiatives fell flat, Reuters
President Donald Trump has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, but those who lead Black businesses say those programs never went far enough to truly help anyway, despite the good intentions.
"DEI isn’t for us," Casey Cooper, who works in the long-haul trucking industry, told Reuters. "It looks good on paper, but that money doesn't go to us anyway."
New jazz fellowship honors the genre's elders and gives them each an unrestricted $100,000 grant, AP News
A new $15 million jazz fellowship is granting 50 artists over the age of 62 a “lifetime achievement award that includes a $100,000 unrestricted grant, professional support and performance opportunities.”
“It’s an incredible and very humbling honor,” Bertha Hope, an 88-year-old pianist and one of the fellows, told the Associated Press. “It will change my life forever.”
In what came as a surprise to many in the audience, Trump walked out with Tiger Woods at the White House Black History Month celebration Thursday.
I saw Sage Steele, Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and several conservative influencers, including Rob Smith. I did not see Kodak Black, Lil Boosie, or Rod Wave, but reports stated they were invited.
He also shouted out the head of Pfizer, which sparked a lot of boos in the room.
Trump held the Black History Month reception following his continued attack on DEI programs across the federal government — which has caused major confusion among agencies.
What’s In The News
Across America
District of Columbia: The Go-Go Museum & Café has officially opened. I wrote about the museum not too long ago…
Florida: Have you ever heard of the Railroad Shop Colored Addition? Learn more about this thriving Black Miami community that was erased overnight…
Illinois: Black-owned bookstores in Chicago are struggling after seeing a big surge in 2020…
Iowa: The nonprofit My City My Health launched a new initiative called "Save the Homies" to encourage Black men to go to the doctor…
Maryland: Nearly 25,000 Baltimore city students rely on a public transit system that makes it almost impossible to get to school on time every day…
Missouri: The 86-year-old man who shot Ralph Yarl, a teen who rang the man's doorbell by mistake, has died. He pleaded guilty to the shooting just days ago…
North Carolina: Anjanée Bell, daughter of longtime Durham political titan Bill Bell, is contemplating a run for her father’s former seat as mayor of Durham…
Pennsylvania: The owner of the new Center City restaurant Chubby Chicks claims she is being bullied by her neighbors…
Virginia: Virginia State University recently became an R2 designated institution, a distinction only a handful of HBCUs can claim…
What’s Happening
Civil rights organizations have sued the Trump administration over his executive orders targeting DEI programs and gender discrimination protections…
I am proud to be listed as one of the most trusted news sources for Black Michiganders, according to 2024 study by a Michigan State University researcher…
ICYMI: The Department of Education threatened to pull federal funding from public schools that don’t dump DEI by the end of the month…
Speaking of DEI: The NAACP has published a spending guide for Black Americans to support brands and companies that have stood by their commitments to DEI…
EBONY Magazine’s beautiful February 2025 issue is all about “Love In Color”...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended a scholarship program for students attending HBCUs…
Dozens of recruits have died nationwide while training to become police officers, with Black recruits representing nearly 60% of that number…
Trump’s FBI is reportedly set to ignore white domestic terrorism and instead shift its attention toward organizations like Black Lives Matter…
More Black people are leaving religion. The Guardian tried to get to the bottom of why…
Rep. Ayanna Pressley is reintroducing H.R. 40, federal legislation to study reparations for Black Americans…
Black faith and community leaders gathered in the nation’s capital to call attention to “the deliberate attack on the progress and advancement” of Black Americans in Trump’s first term…
The Washington Association of Black Journalists has teamed up with the Black and Missing Foundation for a groundbreaking new media task force that will advocate for fair media coverage for missing persons cases…
William “Tony” Rogers, a columnist for Harlem Community News, wrote about the father of Black history: Carter G. Woodson (his grandfather’s cousin!)...
ICYMI: I spoke with Nebraska’s first Black state poet, Jewel Rodgers…
Entertainment News
A$AP Rocky was found not guilty this week of firing a gun at his former friend in 2021. He jumped over the stand to hug his mother, sister and Rihanna after the verdict was read…
The iconic Marla Gibbs was honored in ESSENCE’s Black women in Hollywood edition…
For EBONY, Jonathan Giles listed his favorite sketches from 50 years of “Saturday Night Live,” including Black Jeopardy with the late Chadwick Boseman and Bernie Mac’s monologue…
The Black Harvest Film Festival is celebrating over 30 years of Black filmmaking, and the festival’s curator Jada-Amina highlighted six films that are worth your time…
The lineup for the 2025 Roots Picnic is out. Yes, that is D’Angelo on the flyer…
The hit series “Paradise,” starring Sterling K. Brown, has been renewed for season 2 at Hulu…
WATCH: Leon Thomas and Bartees Strange dropped their NPR Tiny Desk performances this week…
Michael Strahan will reportedly leave “Good Morning America” when his contract expires this year…
The Cut interviewed Doechii fresh off her Grammy win — and she has no intention on slowing down…
reviewed PartyNextDoor and Drake’s “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” which can’t decide how seriously to take itself…“Black Girls and How We Fail Them” author Aria S. Halliday “considers how society has limited who Black girls are — and who they can become” in her new book…
Several performers and entertainers have canceled their Kennedy Center shows after Trump’s takeover. Here’s why W. Kamau Bell didn’t…
A University of Texas student-athlete self-published a young adult action and adventure novel called “Psychic Suit”...
’s Off the Dome column in Pitchfork this week examined the state of Michigan rap…Obituaries
Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a longtime legislator, educator and trailblazing civil rights leader from Central Florida, has died. She was 76…
Gene “Groove” Allen, a rapper and actor who appeared in films “House Party” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” has died. He was 62…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 46 seconds!...
Pre-order is now available for “Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore,” the first full length book about the history of Black-owned bookstores by
! I have ordered mine…Don’t miss the five finalists for the eighth annual Pauli Murray Book Prize for the best book in Black intellectual history…
Are you passionate about the outdoors, community, and wellness? Outdoor Afro is hiring for three key roles…
Washington Post journalist
is leading a virtual lunchtime discussion titled “AI & Equitable Forms of Representation” on Feb. 26 at noon EST…Check out this weeklong workshop in June that dives into the history of Africatown, founded by the last group of enslaved persons brought to the U.S. in 1860. Participants receive a $1,300 stipend for attending. Apply by March 5…
Jelani Cobb, dean of Columbia Journalism School, will deliver the 2025 Reuters Memorial Lecture at the University of Oxford on March 10th. Those of us in the U.S. can catch it on Zoom…
Photographers: The Black Women Photographers x Nikon Inc. Grants are accepting applications for 2025! Apply by March 28…
Thanks for the shoutout !!!
Thank you for sharing all of this! I so look forward to staying connected through your work. I give thanks my friend shared this with me.