Trump’s takeover, Tulsa survivors speak, RIP Barry Michael Cooper
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What I’m Reading
President Donald Trump has officially returned to the White House, and he immediately began reversing Joe Biden-era policies relating to DEI, public health, climate and more through executive orders and actions. Read the full list of the so-called “harmful” executive orders he axed, which include initiatives aimed at advancing educational equity and economic opportunity for Black Americans and more.
Trump signed multiple presidential actions this week, including calling for the dramatic expansion of the use of the federal death penalty, pardoning nearly all of the Jan. 6 rioters, and more. The Emancipator asked activists, lawmakers and academics how can Black and Brown communities combine their collective might for the fight ahead?
More: The Trump administration has ordered all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff to be placed on leave for eventual layoff, and warned federal employees that they will face consequences if they fail to report their colleagues pursuing DEI efforts. Several sources have sent me letters about this.
Related: Jasper Smith reported on how Trump’s executive order blitz affects higher education…The Justice Department has also put a freeze on all new civil rights cases or investigations…
ICYMI: I wrote about the rappers who performed and partied with Trump during his Inauguration weekend.
There has been a lot of news over the last several days, so this may have flown under the radar. The last remaining survivors of the Tulsa race massacre spoke out following the release of the Justice Department’s probe on the horrific event, saying the report “falls heartbreakingly short.”
Related: The New York Times spoke to descendants of the massacre about the meaning of reparations and what justice could look like.
Jazz Off the Record, The Nation
“In the late 1960s, the recording industry lost interest in America’s greatest art form. But in a small, dark club on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, jazz legends were playing the best music you’ve never heard,” Ethan Iverson writes in The Nation.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: A report found that police in Decatur regularly lacked “empathy” and “transparency,” even arresting citizens for using curse words…
California: “Many celebrities and politicians have criticized Karen Bass for her city’s response to the wildfires, but her defenders say she is being held to a double standard,” Gina Cherelus reports…
Georgia: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is considering a bid for governor…
Illinois: The Justice Department and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office announced a deal resolving an inquiry into violations of federal anti-discrimination law in the killing of Sonya Massey…
Maryland: Here’s how Baltimore is saving lives by offering young men resources when they put down the guns…
Michigan: A Detroit pastor has gone viral for his “animated display” at Trump's inauguration, reports…
New York: The son of Robert L. Brooks, who died after a vicious beating by New York prison guards, is suing his father’s attackers…
North Carolina: Learn about the “Greensboro Six,” whose brave actions led to the integration of the Gillespie Golf Course…
Pennsylvania: Remember the group of retired Black women in Philly who gather weekly to sew period pads for girls in Africa? The response to the article has been “overwhelming” — in a good way…
What’s Happening
The latest from Altadena: "Historically Black. Emerging Latino. All community. That’s my town, and the Eaton Fire can’t kill its spirit,” Rafael Agustin wrote in a personal essay for Mother Jones…Many residents wonder if they’ll be able to rebuild what they’ve lost…After schools burn, what happens to Black students?, Quintessa Williams asks…
More: CiCi Adams wrote about Octavia Bookshop, a Black-owned bookstore in Pasadena “that has become a mutual aid stop where folks impacted by the wildfires can get food, water, supplies”…
Pages of writings from 17-year-old Solomon Henderson, the alleged shooter at Antioch High School in Tennessee, reportedly read he "was ashamed to be Black," was inspired by Candace Owens and listed racist and anti-Semitic slurs. He appeared to be radicalized by “incel” and white supremacist content on social media platforms, shattering the widely-held myth that alt-right propaganda influences *solely* white boys and men…
Costco shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI proposal, despite other major U.S. companies retreating from their diversity policies…
A proposal to ban formaldehyde in hair straightening products is in limbo after Trump signed an executive order halting all federal regulations…
wrote about the murder case of Na’Ziyah Harris, and the systemic abandonment of Black Girls…
The fight for reparations in California is not over. Advocates say they will continue their efforts to introduce the bills in the Legislature…
Wedam Minyila is one of the first sickle cell anemia patients to begin an expensive new gene therapy, but he is highly skeptical: ‘Will it really work?'...
A Black American Airlines passenger claims in a lawsuit that he and his white wife were wrongly imprisoned after crew members suspected him of trafficking his wife…
Author Charles M. Blow announced he’s leaving The New York Times and will receive the inaugural Langston Hughes fellowship at Harvard…
“There will never be too much written on the role of Black women in American activism. We are far too behind to ever make that the case,” Katie Singer writes in Black Perspectives…
At least seven Black Americans have been wrongfully arrested as a result of unproven facial recognition technology…
Entertainment News
Finally, some good news: “Abbott Elementary” has been renewed for season 5 at ABC…
Roy Wood Jr talked with Okla Jones for ESSENCE about his hilarious fourth stand-up special, “Lonely Flowers”...
Bilal fans, rejoice! The Grammy-award winner’s Tiny Desk is out now…
SZA will join Kendrick Lamar during the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show…
Dawn Staley, South Carolina head women's basketball coach, is now the sport's highest-paid coach…
For VIBE, talked with Questlove about ‘Black genius, Black trauma and why artists crash out’…
The “Bust of Martin Luther King, Jr” is now on public view for the first time since its creation at San Francisco’s de Young Museum.…
Kevin Blackistone in The Washington Post: What would Martin Luther King, Jr think of college football’s exploited Black workforce?...
Variety reports Disney is “throwing the full weight of its portfolio of platforms” behind Sterling K. Brown’s new Hulu series “Paradise”...
Kevin Hart has stepped in as CEO of his media company, Hartbeat, after layoffs and the departures of two CEOs over 15 months…
breaks down everything happening with ASAP Rocky’s assault trial…
Kelley L. Carter wrote about "One of Them Days," and how the Keke Palmer and SZA-led buddy comedy is a love letter to Black Los Angeles…
From Robert Daniels: RaMell Ross, A.V. Rockwell, Raven Jackson and Garrett Bradley are the new Black directors chronicling Black life at a different speed…
WATCH: John David Washington and Malcolm Washington joined the Criterion Collection to discuss “Menace II Society,” “Malcolm X” and more…
A spinoff of “The Neighborhood” starring Marcel Spears and Sheaun McKinney is reportedly in the works at CBS…
Obituaries
Barry Michael Cooper, the famed writer and producer (and journalist!) who wrote “New Jack City,” “Above The Rim” and “Sugar Hill,” has died. He was 66…
Nancy Leftenant-Colon, the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps when it was desegregated after World War II, has died. She was 104…
Reatha Grey, the longtime actor whose career saw a second act as the hilarious Rose of Retirement House, has died. She was 75…
Peter Forrest, the lead singer known as P. Fluid of the Black rock band 24/7 Spyz, was killed. He was 64…
Patrick Houston, Jr., the son of Project Pat, was shot and killed in Memphis. He was 22…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 55 seconds!…
The WNBA is looking to hire a creative director…
DineNoire, a platform highlighting Black-owned restaurants and food brands, is seeking brand ambassadors and social media influencers…
Henry Louis Gates’ PBS series, “Great Migrations: A People on the Move,” premieres January 28…
In NPR: 25 years later, D'Angelo's “Voodoo” still sounds groundbreaking…
Also on PBS: The docuseries “American Muslims: A History Revealed” has an episode examining how Islam influenced Black Americans in 1920s Chicago…
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