Source: NBC / Getty Stacey Abrams went from reportedly being courted by Joe Biden to be his vice-presidential running mate to seemingly falling out of the conversation altogether to now, apparently, not being included on the list of speakers at next week’s Democratic National Convention (DNC). I’m surprised Stacey Abrams isn’t speaking at the DNC […]
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Source: Win McNamee / Getty Widespread praise was being heaped on Joe Biden for making the historic selection of Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate. In addition to staying true to his vow of picking a woman, the fact that Harris is also a Black woman was not lost among the reactions to […]
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Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty A 15-year-old Black girl who was locked up for not finishing online homework has been freed from a detention center and probation. According to The Detroit News, Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan released the girl from probation when the judge adopted a caseworker’s recommendation that the case be […]
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The results are in. Joe Biden has selected California Sen. Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate in the 2020 election. The presumptive Democratic nominee made the announcement Tuesday afternoon after months and months of speculation. I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris — a fearless fighter for the little guy, […]
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Source: Steve Jennings / Getty On Monday, Oprah Winfrey brought attention to the fact that it had been 150 days since Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by the Louisville police. She used the moment to release a video demanding justice. The clip, which was posted to Twitter on Monday evening, shows billboards around Louisville of […]
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Source: @tammilaray / Instagram A viral video has sparked outrage against The L.A. County Sheriffs when cops responded to a call concerning three Black teens who ultimately needed their help. However, the teens were the ones who ended up getting guns pointed at them once officers arrived. According to TMZ, the incident occurred on Friday […]
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Source: Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images / Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images People are rallying behind a Black Lives Matter protester in California who faces multiple charges that could land her prison time. The police’s account of the incident has been described as criminalizing when compared to video and witness accounts. According to Newsweek, Tianna […]
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Calls for Joe Biden to select a Black woman to be his vice-presidential running mate were being amplified as the presumptive Democratic nominee’s self-imposed deadline to make his announcement was rapidly approaching. Of all the groups making their preferences for Biden’s vice president known, the collective campaign in favor of a Black woman seemed to […]
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The mayor of Chicago delivered a fiery diatribe against people who were seen on video looting establishments in the city’s Magnificant Mile upscale shopping area early Monday morning, describing the scene as “straight-up felony activity.” Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke in no uncertain terms while addressing the media hours later, according to a local news reporter […]
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From tone-deaf advertisements to discriminatory practices, culturally insensitive missteps displayed by major brands have been a longstanding issue. Amid the unrest following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, many of our inboxes were flooded with hallow statements decrying injustice and showing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Entrepreneurs Jessica D. […]
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Songstress Lizzo is expanding her imprint in the entertainment industry. According to Deadline, the music artist—whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson—recently inked a first-look deal with Amazon. Under the partnership, Jefferson will create television series for Amazon Studios. The company’s leadership team believes her creativity and authenticity in the realm of music will translate […]
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From Insecure to her ColorCreative imprint producer, writer and actor Issa Rae has continually used her platform and projects to bring an array of diverse narratives to the forefront. One of her next projects will capture the essence of the history of Black television, NBC News reported. Issa Rae to produce HBO documentary on history […]
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A 6-year-old from Long Island is sharing her love for reading books with other children amid the pandemic. According to Black News, Kelly Boston-Hill collected over 5,000 books to donate to underserved youth. Following the shelter-in-place orders, the youngster launched a project dubbed Kelly’s Doll House to share book reviews and do virtual read-alongs for […]
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Black service members are rising up the ranks and shattering racial barriers in the process. According to USA Today, Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. was recently appointed to become the Air Force’s chief of staff, making him the first African American general to sit at the helm of a U.S. military branch. Brown, who has […]
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From Reasonable Doubt to 4:44 mogul and rapper Jay-Z has always used music as a vessel to drop lessons and the Brooklyn native will continue to do that through his Roc Nation imprint. According to Billboard, his entertainment agency has joined forces with Long Island University Brooklyn for the creation of a school. The school—dubbed […]
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Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty John David Washington is continuing to make a name for himself in Hollywood as a talented actor thanks to roles in movies like “Monsters and Men”, “BlacKkKlansman”, and the upcoming movie “Tenet”. Despite his newly earned success, Washington had to revert back to childhood memories due to the coronavirus pandemic. […]
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The fervor around state-of-the-art AI language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 hasn’t died down. If anything, it’s gaining steam. Melanie Mitchell, a professor of computer science at Portland State University, found evidence that GPT-3 can make primitive analogies. Raphaël Millière, a philosopher of mind and cognitive science at Columbia University’s Center for Science and Society, asked […]
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty Aspiring Black cops in Philadelphia are speaking out about the hurdles they faced joining the police force, accusing the whole process of being racist. According to NBC Philadelphia, Black candidates are disproportionately left out of the police force due to a process that potentials deem “unfair” to Black people. Miya Anderson […]
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Source: Ira L. Black – Corbis / Getty An elected official from northwest lower Michigan has caused outrage due to his repeated used of the N-word. According to The Detroit News, Leelanau County road commissioner Tom Eckerle was first reported as spewing the racial slur at a public meeting on Tuesday. He is accused of […]
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty In an era of “fake news” Facebook is on the hunt for fake accounts that could influence the upcoming November elections. According to NBC News, the social media platform removed hundreds of accounts on Thursday from a foreign troll farm posing as Black people supporting Donald Trump. The troll farm […]
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Source: Rachel Murray / Getty Filmmaker Nia DaCosta will make history by becoming the first Black woman to direct a major Marvel movie. According to Variety, DaCosta has been confirmed as the director for “Captain Marvel 2” for Marvel Studios. She will replace Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who directed the original 2019 “Captain Marvel” […]
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Source: Forsyth County Jail Protesters are calling for justice after a North Carolina man died days after being apprehended by jail guards while yelling “I can’t breathe.” According to WFMY News2, video footage was made public that shows what occurred before John Neville’s death. More than 40 minutes of body camera footage was recorded in […]
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UPDATED: 11:27 a.m. Aug. 6, 2020 — On Aug. 6, 1965, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by his side, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. The law abolished restrictions on Black Americans voting in federal, state and local elections. Fifty-five years later, the Voting Rights Act remains under attack by the […]
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Source: Nieem Johnson / Facebook A graphic video showing a 41-year-old Black prisoner’s inhumane treatment by corrections officers before dying in-custody has been leaked on social media to show how the inmate was “murdered.” Shaheen Mackey, who was an inmate at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, suffered from an epileptic seizure only […]
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Source: Drew Angerer / Getty According to a new poll that might not surprise any Black folks, 50 percent of all white voters would cast their ballots to re-elect Donald Trump if Election Day was held today. The poll comes amid nationwide protests against racism and indications that more white people care about racial injustice […]
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Source: OLIVIER DOULIERY / Getty Joe Biden‘s presidential campaign will roll out a $280 million fall advertising campaign, according to The New York Times. Two hundred twenty million is geared towards television and $60 million is planned for digital ads across 15 states in the lead-up to the November election. Some of this money will […]
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Source: Ben Crump / Facebook A Black federal officer laid out the harsh experiences of being a Black woman in uniform despite calls for solidarity between cops with slogans like “blue lives matter.” “For those that says ‘all lives matter’ when you say ‘Black lives matter’ or that says ‘blue lives matter’ to combat when […]
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Source: (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage) / (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage) Kevin Hart is defending Ellen DeGeneres despite sweeping allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment and a toxic work environment on her daytime talk show. “It’s crazy to see my friend go thru what she’s going thru publicly. I have known Ellen for years and I can honestly […]
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Tuesday marked the 144th day since officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department recklessly executed Breonna Taylor in her own home nearly five months ago on March 13. However, according to a couple of legal experts interviewed by the Associated Press, we should probably not hold our breaths waiting for Taylor’s killers to be arrested […]
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Coronavirus in Context is a weekly newsletter where we bring you facts that matter about the COVID-19 pandemic and the technology trying to stop its spread. You can subscribe here. Hola Pandemic Pals, I took a walk on the beach this morning before work. Everyone has a story about what they were going to do in 2020 if […]
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Source: TREVOR SAMSON / Getty UPDATED: 11:23 a.m. ET, Aug. 4, 2020 — How long was Nelson Mandela in prison? The former political prisoner who went on to become South Africa’s first Black president was imprisoned for 27 years after the anti-apartheid activist was arrested on Aug. 4 in 1962. Mandela was given a life […]
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