• Women

by Derek Major

September 28, 2021

Jemele Hill Calls Out Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Josh Mandel For ‘Peak Caucasity’

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Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill appears to have hurt the feelings of Ohio GOP senatorial candidate Josh Mandel after she called him out for his comments on Critical Race Theory (CRT).

The incident began after the politician referenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while denouncing CRT, something Republican states have been banning left and right.

“By advancing the lie of Critical Race Theory, the liberals are stomping on the grave of Martin Luther King,” Mandel said on Twitter last week.

That prompted a reply from Dr. King’s daughter Bernice King, who politely advised Mandel to study her father’s past instead of adding his name to things he didn’t support.

“I invite you, if you truly desire to advance the cause of humanity toward true peace, to study my father’s teachings in full and in context,” Bernice King wrote, replying to Mandel. “He was not a drum major for a colorblind society, but for justice, which requires truth about our past and present.”

Mandel did not take Bernice King’s words kindly, telling her to “spare me your lectures” before claiming CRT teaches students to be racist.

That’s when Hill jumped into the situation, calling out Mandel for attempting to teach the daughter of a civil rights legend about her father.

“Imagine being the obnoxious moron who tried to lecture DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR’S DAUGHTER on her own father,” Hill wrote. This is some peak Caucasity.”

Mandel, upset at getting owned by a Black woman, couldn’t give up and attempted to get Hill by talking about her being fired from ESPN and comparing her to political pundits Keith Olbermann and Marc Lamont Hill.

However, Hill quickly responded, stating several facts, including that she wasn’t fired from ESPN (she left the network) and that Mandel has no clue what he’s talking about.

“Hi Josh: I know facts aren’t really your thing, but I wasn’t fired from ESPN. 2nd: I’m better at my job than you are at yours. 3rd: You don’t have the range to understand MLK’s work. If you did, you wouldn’t be out here loud, proud and wrong. Sit this play out, chief.”

Mandel is up against 11 candidates in the GOP primary for Rob Portman’s seat, who is retiring. The GOP candidate has had several issues during his campaign. In May, he had to deal with an exodus of fundraisers and less than a month later had several members of his staff walk out due to his girlfriend, who doubles as his finance director.

This upcoming season, Golden State Warriors player Andrew Wiggins will not play at the Chase Center due to state regulations regarding unvaccinated employees.

According to the NBA, due to local coronavirus regulations in New York and San Francisco, the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and Warriors must be vaccinated to play in their home arenas unless exemptions for medical or religious reasons apply.

Wiggin requested an exemption from the league for religious reasons, but the NBA denied that request on Sept. 24.

“The NBA has reviewed and denied Andrew Wiggins’ request for religious exemption from the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s order requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all participants age 12 and older at large indoor events,” the league said in a written statement. “Wiggins will not be able to play in Warriors home games until he fulfills the city’s vaccination requirements.”

The NBA has announced the following: pic.twitter.com/6t1spKMU35

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) September 24, 2021

The NBA is back on track to play a full regular season after the coronavirus pandemic affected how people were living their lives to avoid contracting COVID-19.

During the offseason, the NBA struck agreements to have virtually everyone involved in games, referees, coaches, stat-crew workers, and anyone else who will be in proximity to players on or off the court in NBA arenas to be vaccinated to participate.

About 85% of NBA players had gotten vaccinated at the end of last season. The figure is believed to have increased since.

Two states have made it clear that unvaccinated players will not be allowed even to attend, let alone play games in their home arenas.

According to a Twitter post from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, unvaccinated players in New York and San Francisco cannot enter the arenas of the Golden State Warriors (who play at the Chase Center in San Francisco), the New York Knicks (Madison Square Garden in New York) and the Brooklyn Nets (Barclays Center in Brooklyn).

• News

by Ashantai Hathaway

September 28, 2021

London Police Accused of Choking and Restraining Black Special Needs 13-year-old During ‘Brutal’ Arrest

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Police are being accused of strangling and restraining a Black teen in London after apparently believing his hair pick was a knife.

Benjamin Olajive, 13, got off the school bus last Tuesday on London‘s Streatham High Road when he was approached by Metropolitan Police officers. According to reports,  police were responding to a report involving someone wearing a blazer with a knife, according to The Daily Mail. However, the teen was carrying a hair pick.

Video recorded by bystanders shows several police handcuffing and strangling the teen, who has ADHD, as he screams for help.

As police used force against the teen, bystanders continued to plead for his release.

According to witnesses, the incident continued for around 45 minutes, during which Benjamin screamed “my wrists” as officers handcuffed him and allegedly “choked” him.

The 13-year-old was taken to Brixton police station on suspicion of causing criminal damage for kicking a police car, according to police. Police claimed he “physically resisted and tried to get away” from officers and “caused dents” in a police car after kicking it several times.

His mother, Zeyna Kada, is now accusing police of racial profiling and using excessive force on her son, saying they should “respect” people’s children. According to Kada, police repeatedly performed “hyperflexing wrist locks'” on Benjamin, and claimed video footage showed her son initially “complying” with officers.

“I am a mom raising a young Black boy. I see the news with all these shootings and I think ‘God help these children and help them to love one another,'” Kada said. “I am not saying don’t stop and search, but use reasonable force and respect, and take your hands off someone else’s child.”

According to reports, Kada now has plans to spend time educating her son about his rights. She also reportedly told her son that she is proud of him because he complied.

• Women

by Derek Major

September 28, 2021

Citi’s Diversity Head Says Company On Track To Have Female Leadership At 40% By Year’s End

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Citi Diversity, Equity and Inclusion(DEI) head Erika Irish Brown is working to ensure the multinational bank hits its goal to increase its Black and female leadership.

In 2018, Citi set goals to increase its female leadership in the company to 40% and its Black representation from 6% to 8% by the end of 2021. While Citi has not made its current figures public, Brown says she does expect Citi to hit those diversity goals on time.

“I’ve always tried to connect the dots between racial equity, commercial, and human capital initiatives that drive the business case for diversity,” she told Business Insider.

The financial industry is one that lacks both racial and gender diversity. At the entry level of U.S. financial services firms racial representation is about 40%. However, in leadership and management roles, that percentage falls off a cliff.

The worst part about the financial industry’s inability to adapt is that it’s costing firms money.

Last May, McKinsey & Co. published a report showing financial firms that had more gender diversity on their executive teams were 25% more likely to have high profitability than companies with low gender diversity. A separate McKinsey report from 2015 shows firms with more racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely  to have higher financial returns.

Brown says to change the status quo, leaders and firms need to take every opportunity to diversify their workforce.

“We have very specific development and retention programs for mid-level Black employees as well as women,” Brown said. These include active efforts to audit and close pay-equity gaps; and employee resources groups, such as Citi Women, a group for women and female-identifying employees. “We’re going to continue to develop those.”

Citi is investing more money and resources for its Owning My Success program, where senior Black executives mentor mid-level Black colleagues. The financial firm has also invested in HBCU programs and schools.

• News

by Ashantai Hathaway

September 28, 2021

Black Youth Hockey Team Member Left ‘Scared’ After Team Members Send KKK Photo to Group Chat

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A youth hockey team is under investigation after a photo surfaced that allegedly included team members wearing Ku Klux Klan Hoods.

A hockey team in Massachusetts allegedly sent the photo to players in a group chat,  which included one Black player, who told WCVB he was shaken by the image.

“I felt scared and sad because I’m the only Black kid on the team,” Laquan Mongo, 12, told the outlet. 

His mother, Natasha Lassiter, said it brought her to tears.

“I was mortified because he’s a kid and the other kid’s a kid. They’re kids. They’re just kids. They don’t deserve any of this.”

Crimson Hockey Club East is a youth hockey league in New England that is a part of the division of the Eastern Hockey Federation.

The Federation addressed the issue. In a statement the commissioner of business operations, David Turk stated:

“As a league, we have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior.” He later revealed that the player who sent the image was released from the hockey club and the league

“We are not investigating the incident, as per USA Hockey rules. The Crimson Hockey club passed along the information to the U.S. Center for SafeSport and USA Hockey National Office to investigate the incident,” he further later told Newsweek. “The league will follow whatever decision they come to.”

In addition, Turk said the player who sent the image is no longer a member of the Crimson Hockey Club or the Eastern Hockey Federation

On the Crimson Hockey Club website it states their core values are to, “Strive to make sure every player and parent feels at home in our program and gets the maximum coaching possible. We believe in a balanced training regimen that includes nutrition, off-ice training and video analysis on top of on-ice practices and skills. Players, parents, coaches, and family members are all expected to abide by following basic values and principles: integrity, respect, work ethic, honesty, learning, family, and leadership.”

Simone Biles chose to protect herself.

In a candid interview, the Olympian speaks her truth about why she believes the Tokyo Games should not have been a part of the her plans.

In a recent interview with The Cut, Biles admits on the outside she seemingly was not crippled but was  competing in the games while suffering from something far worse–a broken spirit.

“I should have quit way before Tokyo, when Larry Nassar was in the media for two years,” she said. “It was too much. But I was not going to let him take something I’ve worked for since I was six years old. I wasn’t going to let him take that joy away from me. So I pushed past that for as long as my mind and my body would let me.”

Biles has admitted that former USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nasser, sexually abused her and the gymnastics world attempted to cover it up. She says while she tried for years to block it out, the mental scars remain.

Despite it all, leading up to the Olympics, 24-year-old Biles continued while under intense pressure to live up to being the GOAT—greatest of all time. She was favored to bring home five gold medals. However, she decided to pull out of the competition citing mental health.

“Say up until you’re 30 years old, you have your complete eyesight,” Biles says. “One morning, you wake up, you can’t see shit, but people tell you to go on and do your daily job as if you still have your eyesight. You’d be lost, wouldn’t you? That’s the only thing I can relate it to. I have been doing gymnastics for 18 years. I woke up — lost it. How am I supposed to go on with my day?”

While she did compete in the balance beam competition,  in which she earned bronze, Biles is trying to put it all behind her and enjoy life post competition,  but admits she finds herself reflecting back. 

“Sometimes it’s like, yeah, I’m perfectly okay with it. Like, that’s how it works. That’s how it panned out.” She adds,  “And then other times I’ll just start bawling in the house.”

• Lifestyle

by Tai Saint-Louis

September 28, 2021

Will Smith Wants You to Stop Saying Defund the Police: ‘Because Then People Who Would Help You Won’t’

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As he readies the release of his memoir Will and the Richard Williams biopic King Richard – both due out in November – Will Smith sat down with GQ for a cover feature that may be his most honest interview to date.

Fully committing to his “F—- it 50s,” a concept he says he got from Denzel Washington, Smith opens up about a range of poignant, honest and sometimes shocking topics – from how his father’s abuse of his mother drove him to comedy, to how he once dreamed of traveling with a harem that would include Halle Berry and Misty Copeland.

As Smith broaches the topic of how last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests made it easier for him to get a greenlight for his upcoming film Emancipation, he frames Hollywood’s recent push for inclusivity as a rebranding opportunity for African Americans, a chance “for us to change our marketing for the new position we’re in.”

“I just want to encourage Black Americans to take the acknowledgment and seize upon the present global opportunities,” he tells writer Wesley Lowery.

“I would just like us to argue less about certain things and pay attention to the big ripe fruit. So ‘Abolish the police. Defund the police.’ I would love if we would just say ‘Defund the bad police.’ It’s almost like I want, as Black Americans, for us to change our marketing for the new position we’re in. So ‘critical race theory,’ just call it ‘truth theory. The pendulum is swinging in our direction beautifully.

“This is a difficult area to discuss,” Smith adds, “but I feel like the simplicity of Black Lives Matter was perfect. Anybody who tries to debate Black Lives Matter looks ridiculous. So when I talk about the marketing of our ideas, Black Lives Matter was perfection.

From a standpoint of getting it done, Black Lives Matter gets it done. ‘Defund the police’ doesn’t get it done, no matter how good the ideas are. I’m not saying we shouldn’t defund the police. I’m saying, just don’t say that, because then people who would help you won’t.”

What readers won’t find in the pages of Will are any names or intimate specifics about that period of time when Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith were considered their marriage an open relationship. While Smith confirms in the interview that Jada was not the only one with “entanglements” outside of their marriage, he chose not to go into any further details than what was already revealed after last summer’s infamous Red Table Talk interview.

This decision was made partly out of respect for all of the other people involved and he says the public has already made up their mind about what the Smiths’ relationship looks like on the inside.

“The public has a narrative that is impenetrable,” he explains. “Once the public decides something, it’s difficult to impossible to dislodge the pictures and ideas and perceptions.”

• Business

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

September 28, 2021

Black Business Owner Bounces Back After An Anti-Cop Rumor Attempted to Tarnish His Brand

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A Black business owner is picking up the pieces one year after a fake Facebook rumor attempted to end his business for good.

TC Cuthbertson was the victim of a defamatory claim against him and his business on Facebook last June, The Bucks County Courier Times reports. The heightened racial tension and criticism against police officers didn’t make things better. But it took a lawyer and a journalist to clear things up and help the entrepreneur save his business.

It all started after one person misunderstood Cuthbertson’s encounter with local police officers hanging out in front of his business, The Falls Banquet by EventRoostr. The cops were leisurely eating and talking, but it appeared alarming because it was so many of them. After asking the officers to give him a head’s up next time so many of them would be showing up, they amicably parted ways.

But an eyewitness watching from a distance went on a community Facebook page and called for Cuthbertson’s banquet hall to be boycotted because the Black business owner was anti-police. While the allegation was completely false, the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd left many believing the made-up rumor.

As a result, Cuthbertson was at risk of his business failing and being destroyed by angry locals, with one enraged pro-cop advocate even threatening to set the business ablaze.

“Let’s go burn it down. Cops won’t show,” one person said in a comment.

“Learning that my business was being smeared on a community (Facebook) page, and the rate at which it was spreading, was devastating, being in the hospitality business,” he recalled. “I know how much a negative reputation can destroy a business and the fact that the rumor was completely false made it even worse.”

A lawyer reached out to a journalist and fellow high school alum in hopes of helping Cuthbertson debunk the false claims. The Falls Police Department posted a disclaimer confirming that there was no hostility between the department and the banquet hall.

The journalist and fellow alum from Bishop Egan High School posted the column and a video podcast to bring more awareness about the truth behind Cuthbertson’s exchange with the police.

“Without that story correcting the record, I don’t know what our reputation would be in the community,” Cuthbertson said.

Once the community caught wind of the column, they blasted the woman who initially posted the lie on Facebook.

“The post came down immediately. We had customers come in and they said, ‘Hey, I read about you in the newspaper, really sad that type of thing had to happen to you. Let us know if you need any help.’ Things like that,” Cuthbertson said.

TC is living proof that you can be vindicated after being falsely canceled online.

• Technology

by Black Enterprise Shop

September 28, 2021

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