DC Young Fly Discusses Life Lessons & Loss
by Mary Spiller

July 1, 2023

DC Young Fly Discusses Life Lessons & Loss

DC Young Fly opened up about how he’s been holding up following the death of his partner, Jacky Oh’s, death following a plastic surgery procedure. The comedian advised about loss, plastic surgery and life lessons TMZ reported.

When the June 28 interview began, the 31-year-old gave his thoughts on whether or not Jacky Oh’s passing, and the conversations surrounding it, would serve to deter people from getting plastic surgery. He said, “It should if they’re paying attention, you know what I mean. Some people use certain people as lessons, and some people are just going to keep going with their lives.” 

 “I just want people to take care of yourselves, make sure you make the best decisions for you and your family and always keep God first. Don’t let nobody break your character,” He continued. The father of three kids admitted that he’s been crying often, but it’s to be expected after his loss. 

“We are human. We emotional. That’s the point. People want to see me cry. I’m just not going to record myself crying and show you I’m crying. I’d rather show positivity and let people know that God Is the greatest. I want to continue to show that God is keeping me uplifted, and he keeps granting me the strength,” DC explained.

He told TMZ that he got his strength from God, his friends, and his family.

“Being with my brothers, you know, great love and great energy, you know. God is the greatest. He’s granted me the strength to keep going. That’s the message I want to continue to put out there in the world because there’s a lot of stuff out there and they want to desensitize the enemy and what the enemy is doing. Nah, the enemy is still working but God is always greater, you dig.”

DC expressed that much of his focus is on protecting his children. He shared, “I got to take care of my babies, and that’s the key to life. You got to keep going, stay prayed up, and never let the tragedies and stuff that you’re going through bring you down…we’ll get through it.”

DC and Jacky Oh shared three children together: Nova, Nala, and Prince. Jacky Oh died on May 31 in Miami following a “mommy makeover” procedure. 

Patti LaBelle Gets Down To “Pony” At Usher’s Las Vegas Concert
by Mary Spiller

July 1, 2023

Patti LaBelle Gets Down To “Pony” At Usher’s Las Vegas Concert

Music icon Patti LaBelle got down at Usher’s concert in Las Vegas to Ginuwine’s “Pony.” At the June 29 concert, LaBelle was caught on video getting down to the R&B jam.

The “If You Only Knew” singer is the subject of several viral videos on Twitter. Each video shows her at Park MGM, dancing to the song on Thursday night during the concert’s intermission. LaBelle had her signature short blonde hair done up to the side and wore a stylish black and white top with black pants. As she sang along to Ginuwine’s hit, she showed off dangling earrings and wrist accessories. The crowd around her cheered and hyped her up as she got down.

One post was captioned, “Yassss!!! Patti Labelle was right behind us at the Usher concert last night❤️ She looks great! #usher #pattilabelle #lasvegas,”

 

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Fans on social media couldn’t help but chime in and share how much they loved seeing LaBelle’s personality as “Pony” blasted over the concert hall’s speakers.

Other comments on Instagram read, “She looks good and you have to give it up to the Patti! Wow she is moving and go get ‘em, Patti!”

Another user wrote, “Ms. Pattie can smack the heck out a piece of gum. Love her so much with her signature “tiny lil bird” move. #Icon.”

 

Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson Raises Nearly $900,000 After Being Expelled From House Floor
by Mary Spiller

July 1, 2023

Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson Raises Nearly $900,000 After Being Expelled From House Floor

According to the Associated Press, Black Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson has raised nearly $900,000 from 31,700 campaign donations after his state Republican lawmakers expelled him and several other democrats from the House floor for a gun control protest. The June 30 release relayed that his progressive campaign utilized the spotlight placed on him by the Republicans to help raise money for his causes. 

Pearson and other Black lawmakers were expelled from the House floor for protesting for the Republican party to vote to pass gun control measures and safety prevention methods after the horrific mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. Although they were reinstated a few days after the outlet reported that, likely, the only reason that Pearson was able to accept donations was that they were kicked from the legislative session; otherwise, he and the other Democrats would have been banned from raising money. During the week following Pearson’s removal, he and his political action committee had raised $814,000 before he was reinstated. 

Pearson said, “To see so much support, particularly from these tens of thousands of small-dollar donations, is a testament to what I believe is a people-powered movement, which is that we all have something to contribute, and our little bits of contribution makes a lot.” He continued to explain that with the Democrats being in the super minority in the legislative chambers, the donation money could help them even the margins. 

Middle Tennessee State University’s political science professor, Kent Syler, suggested that Pearson’s fundraiser could help gain a few seats on the floor for the party. 

“That amount of money is a testament to, really, how badly this issue went for House Republicans. It gave Democrats an incredible platform in Tennessee that they haven’t had in a couple of decades.

Connecticut’s Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, and his team were credited with raising more than $600,000 between the two expelled representatives in April.

Aside from Murphy, Pearson’s spokesperson majorly came between April 6 and April 12 while he was out of office.  According to his special elections campaign finance reports, the rest of the money, just about $100,000, was raised before June 5.

Justice Clarence Thomas Signals A Victory Lap Over Affirmative Action Policy
by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2023

Justice Clarence Thomas Signals A Victory Lap Over Affirmative Action Policy

In a rare occurrence, which signals the importance of the latest Affirmative Action ruling to Justice Clarence Thomas personally, his honor read his concurring opinion aloud from the bench on June 20, The Hill reported.

The opinion can certainly be taken as a microcosm of Thomas’ judiciary tenure. During the unpopular Justice’s opinion, Thomas makes it clear that he thinks so-called ‘race-based quotas’ are actually pieces of racist practices themselves and he also declares that he is indeed aware of this country’s past and history, stating:

“While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold out enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles so clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States: that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law.”

RELATED CONTENT: Affirmative Action Is Dead: Supreme Court Shuts Down A Pathway To Equity In Higher Ed

On a season 8 episode of Slate’s Slow Burn podcast, host Joel Anderson details the early life and career of Justice Thomas which included an affirmative action initiative of Holy Cross designed to increase its enrollment of Black students at the overwhelmingly white campus.

Among that 1971 class was a student named Clarence Thomas, who despite joining the Black Student Union on campus often espoused views that ran opposite of the majority opinion. This included a demand that his white roommate be allowed to live with him in their otherwise all-Black community dorm. Thomas would go on to Yale Law School from Holy Cross, wholly convinced that Affirmative Action was a policy that demeaned Black people in practice even if its goals were noble.

Thomas spent much of the next 50 years trying to dismantle affirmative action and though he wanted nothing to do with anything race-related, he nonetheless accepted a position as the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In his second term leading the commission Thomas pivoted the organization in such a manner that the NAACP spoke out against the way that he ran it, concerned that his move away from affirmative action signaled a dangerous precedent for future behavior.

The NAACP called into question the transformation of the Supreme Court into a radically conservative ruling body during Thomas’ 1991 confirmation hearing and today’s radically conservative Supreme Court has decided that using race as one factor in college admission practices runs counter to their interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

RELATED CONTENT: Justice Clarence Thomas Penned 50-Page Dissent As Supreme Court Upheld Voting Rights Act

Rihanna Becomes First Female Artist To Have Ten Songs With 1 Billion Streams On Spotify
by Mary Spiller

July 1, 2023

Rihanna Becomes First Female Artist To Have Ten Songs With 1 Billion Streams On Spotify

Rihanna reached a significant milestone in her music career yesterday, June 30. With her extensive music career, RiRi earned ten songs with over 1 billion streams on Spotify,

Despite the fact that she hasn’t released a full album since early 2016, according to Chat Data, the Barbadian singer is the first woman artist to reach the Spotify milestone. Rihanna commemorated her accomplishment with social media posts on Twitter and Instagram. The captions read,  “Bad gal Billi. Wit no new album. Let me talk my s***.”

 

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Other big name artists took to her comments to praise her for her achievement. Normani, Jessie Woo, and Ice Spice left short written congrats for her.

Nicki Minaj notably dropped a quick freestyle verse beneath Rihanna’s post. She wrote, “Not bad gal billi poppin s*** like a wheelie. I mean Poppin like a pilly. Like really. Man down cuz she making a Killy!! SILLY! Bout to be pushin out a new kid like Gillie. Caribbean girls run it & AWWLL these btchs know da dilly.” She finished her comment with, “Okay bars.”

In her little verse, Nicki mentioned Rihanna’s second pregnancy, confirmed back in February during her halftime performance for the most recent Super Bowl. The child will be her second with rapper A$AP Rocky, after welcoming her first – RZA Athelston Mayers – back in May.

Tyler Perry
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

July 1, 2023

No Word On If Tyler Perry Bought BET, But He Does Have 2 Films Dropping With Amazon Studios

Tyler Perry released the first two titles as part of the four-feature film deal he secured with Amazon Studios last November.

Perry serves as director, writer, and producer of his new film “Black, White & Blue,” Deadline reports. The police brutality drama tells the story of Fela Blackburn, a wife turned widow who’s left shattered after losing her husband, Rodney Blackburn, at the hands of a police officer.

Fela turns to a married couple, Marley and Tony Wells, to seek answers and justice for her husband. With Marley being a lawyer and Tony being a former cop turned private investigator, the Wells set out to help Fela get to the bottom of her husband’s death.

But in their investigation, Fela learns she is at the center of a series of lies and betrayals. The cast for “Black, White & Blue” includes Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries), Tyler Lepley (Harlem), Meagan Tandy (Batwoman), Josh Adeyeye (Ruthless), RonReaco Lee (First Wives Club), Jimi Stanton (Your Honor), Shannon LaNier (God’s Not Dead 3), and Nick Barrotta (The Oval).

Perry’s second film with Amazon Studios, “Divorce in Black” will focus on broken marriage, as noted by Variety. The film tells the story of Ava, a young bank professional who is devastated when her husband Dallas abandons their marriage.

Determined to fight for the relationship, Ava moves “until fate intervenes, revealing Dallas’ wicked deeds that have trashed their marriage, and once upon a time sabotaged Ava’s destiny to be loved by her true soulmate,” the logline states.

“Divorce in Black” stars Meagan Good (“Harlem”), Cory Hardrict (“All American: Homecoming”), Joseph Lee Anderson (“Young Rock”), Taylor Polidore (“Snowfall”), Shannon Wallace (“City on a Hill”), Richard Lawson (“For Colored Girls”) and Debbi Morgan (“Power Book II: Ghost”).

Perry’s Tyler Perry Studios executives Angi Bones and Will Areu will produce both films with Perry. Jamall Ellzy also serves as producer in “Black White & Blue” and Dianne Ashford produced “Divorce in the Black.”

RELATED CONTENT: Why Black Twitter Is Shading Tyler Perry’s Reported BET Deal

Rui Hachimura resigns with LA Lakers for 51 Million
by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2023

Rui Hachimura resigns with LA Lakers for 51 Million

Rui Hachimura, the first Japanese player drafted in the first round of the NBA draft has agreed to resign with the Los Angeles Lakers on a three-year 51 million dollar contract. Hachimura was a valuable piece the Lakers acquired in the trade deadline deal that sent Russell Westbrook to the cross-town Los Angeles Clippers and effectively transformed their roster into one that they could be competitive with. Effective at guarding wings, guards, and on occasion matchup nightmare Nikola Jokic as well as being a threat from beyond the arc Hachimura is the kind of versatile player that is in high demand in today’s NBA. Though he has been in the league since 2019, Hachimura is still relatively young at 25 years old. He also provides the team with a player who can be a crucial role player in the approaching post-LeBron era Lakers.

The Lakers also picked up Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince in free agency, which all appear to be moves centered around addressing the team’s lack of three-point scoring and defense. The Lakers and Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year max extension in an effort to create a strong core of young players they want to build around in addition to the veteran Prince. Earlier today, the Lakers signed Jaxon Hayes who can function as a stretch five and also offers the ability to help provide rim protection, which despite having Anthony Davis, the Lakers struggled to reliably provide. They also agreed to a deal with Deangelo Russell who is coming back on a team-friendly deal with a player option after the second year of his deal.

Reactions from Laker Nation seem to be mostly positive as they have managed to retain most members of the team that went on a Cinderella-type run during last year’s playoffs while adding more youth and versatility to their roster, which was GM Rob Pelinka’s stated goal going into the free agency period. The future for the Lakers looks bright, and they are positioned to make a push for the playoffs this year as any team with LeBron James on its roster has to be.

 

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Adidas, Kobe Bryant
by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2023

Nike To Relaunch Kobe’s Shoe Brand

Nike plans to relaunch its Kobe line of shoes on August 24th, 2023. According to TMZ Sports Nike’s CEO, John Donahue revealed this information during one of the shoe giant’s earnings calls. Affectionately known to the sneaker community as Kobe Day, the date contains the two numbers that the late Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant wore during his playing days. Nike and Bryant enjoyed a good relationship, however, the deal expired in 2021, and his widow Vanessa Bryant did not agree to a new deal with Nike before it expired. In March of 2022, she released a statement reading: “We’re excited to announce our partnership with Nike is going to continue! I am so proud that my husband’s shoes are still the most worn by players on NBA courts and that the demand for his shoes remains so desired by his fans around the world. With this new partnership, fans will soon be able to have access to Kobe and Gigi Nike products for years to come and with Nike donating 100 percent of the net proceeds yearly for Gianna’s shoes to our Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation”

Kobe and his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant were tragically killed in January of 2020 in a plane crash that also claimed the lives of John Altobeli, Keri Altobeli, Alyssa Altobeli, Payton Chester, Sara Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan. The Kobe line of Nike shoes is, as Mrs. Bryant declared, one of the most popular lines for players to wear with many citing comfort and shoe design as factors in their choice. PJ Tucker, a forward with the Philadelphia 76ers has been one of the players leading the charge on that front as his player edition versions of Kobe Brand shoes have taken the internet by storm over the last few years, helping to keep the Kobe shoe brand at the front of shoe enthusiasts minds.

Shoe collectors like Darryl Glover have detailed the impact that the death of the basketball illuminary has had on the shoe market domestically, telling Footwear News: “Prior to 2020, I could generally get my hands on every Kobe release. Now, it has been nearly impossible…With the help (of) family and friends, I have been able to get my hands on (a) few pairs, but without them I would have been unsuccessful.” In addition to this, Nike’s distribution model for the shoes in the past has been one of scarcity, essentially inflating the value of the shoes by decreasing their availability to the public, something that the Bryant family is not a fan of. There is also another view of the shoe announcement, collector Matt Powell thinks that this is Nike making a play to increase sales and he also thinks that if Nike increases the units it sells, it could backfire: “It’s exactly the wrong thing to do here in terms of sustainable long-term business…If they kept the quantities relatively tight, I think it would keep consumer interest up, it would help support the resale market and this shoe could go on for a while. If they put a lot of pairs in the market, if the kid isn’t going to be able to get the multiple on the resale price, I think interest will wane very quickly.”

 

NFL Suspends Players For Betting On Games
by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2023

NFL Suspends Players For Betting On Games

Four members of the Detroit Lions have been suspended, two of them, Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill were suspended for 6 games. Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore were suspended the entire season as was Shaka Toney who plays for the Washington Commanders. In addition to these players, two members of the Indianapolis Colts, Isiah Rodgers and Rashod Berry were suspended indefinitely along with free agent Demetrious Taylor. Nicolas Petit-Frere of the Tennesee Titans was also suspended like Williams and Berryhill for 6 games, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The NFL is getting into sports betting in a move that has come with its fair share of criticism. For decades, the NFL was against sports betting, but following the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that opened up the practice nationwide, it has become so prevalent that it is included in many of their live broadcasts. Now the NFL is looking to cash in on it, but that has left the players in a strange position. They have come to view themselves as both commodity and consumption, a viewpoint that Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones seems to have, sharing a tweet that reads

“I understand that rules are rules, But I can risk my life so that my team wins but I can’t risk 1K on my team winning.”

The NFL has instituted what amounts to six clear rules around player betting:

  1. Don’t bet on the NFL
  2. Don’t gamble at your team facility, while traveling for a road game or while staying at a team hotel
  3. Don’t have someone bet for you
  4. Don’t share team “inside information”
  5. Don’t enter a sportsbook during the NFL playing season
  6. Don’t play daily fantasy football

The first modern casualty of the NFL’s prohibition of gambling by its players was Calvin Ridley, during the 2022 season Ridley bet on the Atlanta Falcons to win games. Ridley estimates that he spent around $1500 in bets that season and as a result of violating the NFL’s gambling policy, Ridley was suspended for an entire season. Ridley forfeited the 11 million dollar salary he would have otherwise earned that year as well. The NFL does not have a track record of handing out consistent penalties for player misconduct be it domestic violence or their level of involvement in cheating scandals. However, on the issue of player gambling, the suspensions so far have been fairly uniform.

The message from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office seems to be crystal clear, they are willing to suspend players in order to protect their idea of the integrity of the league (and the league’s money) on the issue of players placing bets. Of course, all of the players suspended are Black players because the NFL is largely a league filled with Black players. Black people in general are not big sports bettors comprising anywhere from 15-29 percent of sports betting across the various sites used for sports betting. In general, this is probably because the average Black person does not have disposable income or see the benefit to them of betting on sports. In any case, if there are any more gambling infractions, the NFL will not hesitate to swing the hammer down hard in order to get its point across regardless of what the individual players might think of it.

 

by Stacy Jackson

June 30, 2023

Republican Senator Tim Scott Says Enough Is Enough, Calls For An End To Legacy Admissions

Republican Sen. Tim Scott is calling for the end of legacy admissions.

The Hill reported Scott told Fox News that education should be the goal of the entire community. He said, “I think the question is how do you continue to create a culture where education is the goal for every single part of our community?” He proposed that ending legacy admissions is the solution to achieving this goal. “One of the things that Harvard could do to make that even better is to eliminate any legacy programs where they have preferential treatment for legacy kids, not allow for the professors — their kids to come to Harvard as well.”

Scott’s remarks followed the Supreme Court’s decision to rule out affirmative action on June 29, 2023. NBC News reported the Court’s majority opinion on Harvard and the University of North Carolina programs. The Court said the programs “lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points, those admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said legacy admissions are the equivalent of “affirmative action for the privileged” on Twitter.

Black Enterprise reported Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent in the decision. “If the colleges of this country are required to ignore a thing that matters, it will not just go away. It will take longer for racism to leave us,” she said. The Hill reported Vice President Kamala Harris agreed with Jackson and said on Twitter, “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a denial of opportunity. It’s not about being colorblind. It’s about being blind to history, blind to empirical evidence about disparities, and blind to the strength that diversity brings to classrooms.” CNN reported former President Barack Obama said affirmative action helped him and his wife Michelle Obama. He said affirmative action “allowed generations of students like Michelle [Obama] and me to prove we belonged.”

Scott’s call to end legacy admissions also comes on the heels of a public disagreement between himself and Obama. Black Enterprise reported the two had a difference in opinion about race in America.

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