Webby Award honoree, Biden advisers warn, unreleased Marvin Gaye tapes
Friday, April 5, 2024.
What I’m Reading
I am excited to announce that "What I'm Reading" has been named an honoree of The Webby Awards! Thank you to my mom, who helps me edit, and my little brother, who designs the art.
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Biden Advisers Warn About Team Trump Focus On ‘Anti-White Racism,’ HuffPost
In my latest story for HuffPost, advisers for President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign are sounding the alarm about key Trump allies who are working to use civil rights-era laws to combat so-called “anti-white racism.” Jasmine Harris, director of Black media for the Biden-Harris campaign, said this report should worry Black Americans.
Alabama town that hasn’t held elections in decades sued to allow voting, The Guardian
The town of Newbern, Alabama, has not had a political election in the last several decades. In a recent filing in federal court, Black residents are trying to force the small town to hold elections and allow its citizens to vote for the first time in years.
Marvin Gaye: Never-before heard music surfaces in Belgium, BBC News
Marvin Gaye fans, pay attention: Decades-old cassette tapes of never-released music from the late singer have been discovered in Belgium. However, Gaye left the tapes to a late Belgian musician, whose family now owns them. A debate has now sparked about who rightfully owns the tapes.
How Mississippi’s Jim Crow Laws Still Haunt Black Voters Today, The Marshall Project
After the Civil War, white supremacists used felony disenfranchisement to strip the right to vote from many Black residents and cemented it into the state’s 1890 constitution. Although some of the racist elements of the 1890 constitution were removed due to the Civil Rights Movement, felony disenfranchisement still exists today as a bill that would have reinstated voting rights for thousands convicted of nonviolent offenses failed to pass this week.
What’s In The News
Across America
Alabama: Carl Grant, a veteran with dementia, got lost going shopping. He died months after an officer body-slammed him…
Florida: A Tallahassee Police Department officer can be seen on body cam pouring out a sealed bottle of liquor and tossing it in Calvin Riley's passenger seat, before arresting him for a DUI…
Massachusetts: Terrence Coleman was killed by Boston police in 2016 when his mother called 911 for help getting him to come inside from the cold. Now, his mother and the City of Boston have settled for $4.7 million…
Illinois: In an interview, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his handling of crises and pointed to policies as proof he’s fulfilling promises. But he’s also faced criticism from supporters…
Michigan: Two county jails in Michigan banned in-person family visits for inmates as a way to boost county revenues from the increased number of phone calls that resulted, lawsuits claim…
Mississippi: This story is insane. A Mississippi woman could lose custody rights to her children nearly a year after a police officer shot her 11-year-old son in the chest…
Missouri: Jackson County voters rejected a sales tax to finance stadium renovations for the Kansas City Chiefs and the construction of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals…
New Jersey: Jameek Lowery didn’t trust the police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead…
New York: Mayor Eric Adams was completely unprepared for movement lawyer Olayemi Olurin’s questions on a recent episode of “The Breakfast Club”...
North Carolina: A Black-owned children’s bookstore is leaving downtown Raleigh due to “numerous threats” they’ve received, the owner said…
Oklahoma: The two known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre made another appeal on Tuesday, this time before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. There is no timeline for a decision, however…
Pennsylvania: The City of Philadelphia is honoring Frankie Beverly with a street renaming ceremony in May…
South Carolina: The creator of the first Black Barbie doll was honored by the city of Spartanburg with a proclamation and key to the city…
Texas: The University of Texas at Austin has reportedly laid off dozens of employees who used to work in diversity, equity and inclusion programs…
What’s Happening
The George Floyd Memorial Scholarship, which is offered to “a student who is Black or African American,” is being accused of violating the Civil Rights Act, according to a federal complaint…
Valeria Howard-Cunningham, the woman behind the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, talked with The Emancipator about Black history, identity, and the allure of the West…
Fascinating story: In 1852, Nathaniel Gordon sailed the Camargo to Brazil, illegally sold 500 enslaved Africans, and burned and sank the ship. Now divers think they’ve found the long-lost ship…
The City University of New York is launching New York’s first dedicated graduate degree program in Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies…
Naya Ellis, a 14-year-old who created an inexpensive watch that can detect signs of a stroke, and Jayden Hall, a 17-year-old who created therapeutic shoes that adjust in real time to prevent foot pain and fatigue, will present their innovations at the National STEM Festival next week…
A widely used test overestimated kidney function among Black people, and delayed organ donations. Now, some 14,000 Black kidney transplant candidates have been credited for lost waiting time. Related: The first patient to receive a kidney transplanted from a genetically modified pig has been discharged from the hospital, giving potential hope to kidney patients hoping for an organ…
Entertainment
Michael Harriot asks: Hate cannot be reasoned with. So why is Black radio hosting “conversations” with darling of the far-right Candace Owens?...
Pharrell Williams and producer Chad Hugo—who famously formed The Neptunes—are currently locked in a legal dispute over the group’s name…
Hot Boys rapper BG is facing a return to prison after he was charged with violating the terms of his supervision by working with Lil Boosie and Gucci Mane…
J. Cole responded to Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” diss with his own track, “7 Minute Drill" on a surprise 12 track project…
Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” has given a boost in streams for Black country-based artists who were featured on the album — and introduced audiences to a country music pioneer that some may not know. She also took the stage this week to accept the Innovator Award at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, from none other than Stevie Wonder. But don’t miss Doreen St. Félix’s analysis of “Cowboy Carter” for the New Yorker…
Following their loss to Iowa, LSU Tigers star Angel Reese said that she has been attacked “so many times” over the past year. The media is complicit in much of this — the Los Angeles Times writer who characterized the LSU women’s basketball team as “dirty debutantes” and “villains” recently apologized. But the LSU star will get the last laugh, as she has declared that she will be entering the WNBA draft…
Chance the Rapper and Kirsten Corley announce that “after a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways”...
Intrigue: Delroy Lindo reportedly joined Michael B. Jordan in Ryan Coogler’s secret supernatural thriller film…
The Lox has announced their 30th anniversary tour…
Amanda Seales responds to the several editorials written about her after she said she was not invited to the NAACP Image Awards: “Honestly, I’ve had enough”...
Detroiters in the news: David Alan Grier chatted with WNYC’s Kai Wright about the highs and lows of navigating the entertainment industry, and what he thinks about his legacy moving forward. Big Sean announced his first book, “Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace”...
DeeRonn Booker has won the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Masters, becoming the third Black American bowler to win a major title on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour…
Lizzo has walked back a cryptic Instagram post in which she said “I QUIT!,” stating that the post wasn’t referring to music. A lawyer representing dancers who claim the singer sexually harassed them characterized the post as a “joke”...
Obituaries
Casey Benjamin, a Grammy-winning saxophonist and member of the Robert Glasper Experiment, has died, his management told me. He was 45…
Daniel A. Moore Sr., who created a pioneering African American history museum in Atlanta when such initiatives were rare, has died. He was 88…
Chance Perdomo, an actor who starred in “Gen V” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” has died after a motorcycle accident. He was 27…
James Washington, the president and general manager of The Atlanta Voice and longtime advocate of the Black press, has died. He was 73…
Lorraine Graves, a ballerina who starred as a principal dancer for the groundbreaking Dance Theater of Harlem for nearly two decades, has died. She was 66…
Former Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis was found dead at his home in Southwest Ranches, Florida. He was 35…
Don’t Miss
Can you beat my time on Black Crossword? 2 minutes and 8 seconds…
Jobs, jobs, jobs! Therapy for Black Girls is hiring an Executive Assistant and Social Media Manager. Apply here. The Black and Missing Foundation is hiring for a media relations coordinator and a writer. Apply here. My hometown Detroit Pistons are hiring a beat reporter to cover the team. The Washington Post is looking for a tech reporter in San Francisco…
For those interested in entertainment: The Tyler Perry Studios Dreamers Internship has released its eligibility requirements. Be on the lookout for the application. The Paramount Writers Mentoring Program is now accepting applications! The deadline is May 1.
The classic 90s sitcom “Martin” is now on Netflix…