Venus Williams' inspiring run, boycott continues, RIP Malcolm-Jamal Warner
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What I’m Reading
USDA Ends Key Support for Black Farmers Amid Trump Anti-DEI Orders, Capital B News
The Department of Agriculture has ended key support for Black farmers and will no longer use the term “socially disadvantaged.” The agency said it has sufficiently addressed historic discrimination, Aallyah Wright reports for Capital B News.
300,000 Black women have left the labor force in 3 months. It’s not a coincidence, MSNBC
For MSNBC, gender economist Katica Roy explored why 300,000 Black women have disappeared from the labor force in three months — Trump’s federal downsizing targeted them first.
“When we protect Black women’s place in the workforce, we’re not just closing opportunity gaps — we’re closing performance gaps across the entire economy,” she wrote.
Why many Black Americans are boycotting big-box retail stores: ‘using my money to resist’, The Guardian
The Guardian talked to the growing number of Black Americans who’ve decided to boycott corporate big-box retail stores that have rolled back their DEI programs and patronize smaller, Black-owned options instead.
“I’m able to now use my money not only to resist places that don’t align with my values, but I’m able to now support places that do align with my values,” Rebecca Renard-Wilson told the Guardian. “To me, that’s a win-win.”
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Governor Kay Ivey spoke on the deadly police shooting of 18-year-old Jabari Peoples…
Florida: The officers who punched William McNeil Jr. multiple times in a now-viral video will not face criminal charges, prosecutors said…
Maryland: As the summer heat reaches unbearable temperatures, Baltimore’s unhoused population is struggling…
North Carolina: Durham Mayor Leo Williams has come under fire for calling young people carrying firearms “YNs” amid his re-election bid...
Pennsylvania: The 400 block of Broad Street in Philadelphia will be named in honor of the late Teddy Pendergrass on Saturday…
Texas: In Houston’s most toxic neighborhood, Black women are fighting to survive…
Washington: When George Houston moved out West, he was able to purchase a home. But when he was pressured to sell in 1968, he lost the chance to create generational wealth…
What’s Happening
The Trump administration has released thousands of FBI records on Martin Luther King Jr., contrary to the wishes of his family…Here’s what to know…More: His daughter Bernice King penned an op-ed about the declassification for Vanity Fair and said now it’s time to release the Epstein files…
Federal lawmakers have introduced four bills that aim to ban or regulate dangerous chemicals in hair and beauty products geared toward Black women…
The ex-Louisville cop who shot into Breonna Taylor's home was sentenced to 33 months in prison, despite a Trump admin request for a 1-day sentence…For the Nation, Elie Mystal wrote about why that sentence is a travesty…
A youth baseball coach stood between ICE agents and his team of Black and Latino youth, refusing to back down. “I’m willing to die to make sure you get home,” he said…
Black staffers leave WaPo: Krissah Thompson, the first Black woman to be named managing editor at the Washington Post, is leaving the newsroom after 24 years…Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Jonathan Capehart took a buyout…Columnist Perry Bacon is heading to the New Republic next month…
Before Maryland Gov. Wes Moore vetoed studying reparations for the state’s role in slavery, he had privately drawn up his own order for a commission…
More of this please: The Daddy Victory Club is “on a mission to empower Black fathers and strengthen families and communities in Chicago”...
Preservationists are trying to save the Tryon, North Carolina house where Nina Simone was born…
Entertainment News
Legendary: At 45 years old, Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a singles match, defeating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns...Her run ended Thursday in a loss…
Prominent artist Amy Sherald canceled her upcoming solo show at the Smithsonian after she was told her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty might be removed to avoid offending Trump…
Mo'ne Davis, the former Little League phenom, will be one of more than 600 players to try out for the Women's Professional Baseball League…Related: For Black baseball to survive, time is now more than ever for vested parties to commit to investments, Clinton Yates writes for Andscape…
Congratulations to prominent sports journalist Taylor Rooks for getting married over the weekend. Here’s a look inside her secret, star-studded wedding…
For The Guardian, Adria Walker profiled Black Girls in Art Spaces, a growing organization that creates communities where Black girls and women can engage and enjoy art…
Vonetta Hinton for ESSENCE: “Jill Scott’s introduction to the world redefined soul music for a generation. A quarter-century later, its impact on Black womanhood and artistry remains undeniable”…
“Living Single” stars Erika Alexander and TC Carson brought the internet to tears as they reflected on their time working on the show together…
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said he stands by his studio’s efforts over the past several years to increase representation on set…
Clipse’s “The Birds Don’t Sing” is a masterclass in artistic vulnerability, Justin Tinsley writes for Andscape…
Taye Diggs talked with The New York Times on returning to Broadway as The Duke in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical”...
The New York Times: “Mavis Pusey was a pioneer of Black abstraction before she was nearly forgotten. A new show in Philadelphia begins a journey of rediscovery”…
Top cosmetics line Ami Colé will shut down in September, founder Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye confirmed…
Rapper-turned-podcaster Joe Budden is reportedly earning $1 million a month on Patreon…
Obituaries
Malcolm Jamal-Warner, "The Cosby Show" star, dies at 54
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who rose to fame as Theo Huxtable in the 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show,” has died. He was 54.
Joel Anderson penned a must-read tribute to the late actor for The Ringer…For Andscape, Kelly L. Carter explained why Black people loved Malcolm-Jamal Warner so fiercely…Andrew Lawrence wrote about Warner as “a TV big brother and an off-screen gentleman”...
Raymond Saunders, an artist “whose enigmatic works highlighted sociopolitical concerns,” has died. He was 90…
James Ferguson, a trailblazing civil rights attorney who co-founded North Carolina's first integrated law firm, has died. He was 82…
Kenneth Washington, an actor who appeared on TV shows in the ‘60s and '70s and the last surviving main cast member of “Hogan’s Heroes,” has died. He was 88…
Hulk Hogan, one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars in the ‘80s and ‘90s, has died. He was 71. But his career was no match for his racism, David Dennis Jr. writes for Andscape…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 1 minute, 15 seconds…
Mahogany Books will host its Black Books Matter Fest on August 2nd in National Harbor, Maryland. The event is free to attend…
Colah B. Tawkin’s hit podcast, “Black in the Garden,” celebrates the stories of Black folk and their relationship to plant life and nature…