Timberland
by Rafael Pena

January 29, 2024

Timberland Celebrates Black Cowboys With Black Pioneer Collection

Timberland, a VF Corp-owned footwear brand, has launched the Black Pioneer Collection and an accompanying campaign to mark Black History Month.

In a tribute to Black pioneers of the past and present, Timberland, a VF Corp-owned footwear brand, has launched the Black Pioneer Collection and an accompanying campaign to mark Black History Month, according to Footwear News. The collection, a collaborative effort by Timberland footwear designers Shari-Lee Whyte and Andrew Townes, introduces reimagined editions of the iconic Premium 6-inch Boot and the Euro Hiker.

The design of both footwear styles incorporates “hairy” green suede accents, symbolizing the lush greens and textures of nature, set against a rich hue of premium, seam-sealed, waterproof Timberland leather. The Black Pioneer Collection extends beyond footwear, featuring an array of apparel pieces such as an embroidered tree hoodie, a utility mixed-media jogger, a short-sleeve embroidered pocket tee, an anti-UV long-sleeve shirt, Brookline utility cargo shorts, and a canvas and leather backpack.

Townes emphasized the significance of showcasing the outdoors and inclusivity for everyone through this collection. “This allowed us to bring awareness to Black Pioneers and outdoorsmen across the globe,” he stated. Whyte added, “We took the concept of fresh traditions with the charm of old-school Americana and elements of contemporary African American dress to create an outdoor-inspired lifestyle collection.”

To bring the collection to life, Timberland collaborated with the legendary Oklahoma Cowboys, a family-run and community-rooted organization, for an ode to the enduring and transformative power of community. As part of its commitment, Timberland will donate $50,000 to the Oklahoma Cowboys Foundation, which raises awareness of and celebrates the significant role of Black cowboys and cowgirls in Oklahoma’s equestrian heritage.

This initiative follows Timberland’s recent collaboration with Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week, where the brand made waves with a fall 2024 men’s show debut. The collaboration featured a classic industrial boot in wheat-colored or black waterproof nubuck leather, embossed with the Maison’s monogram, marking a noteworthy presence in the global fashion scene.

The Black Pioneer Collection is now available on Timberland.com, Timberland stores, and select specialty retailers worldwide. This move reinforces Timberland’s commitment to diversity, heritage, and community and reflects its dedication to both style and substance.

RELATED CONTENT: Timberland Honors Black Creators and Nonprofits in New Black History Month Campaign

John David Washington Rumored To Be Next Up For Kang The Conqueror Role
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 29, 2024

John David Washington Rumored To Be Next Up For Kang The Conqueror Role

The rumor mill keeps spinning on who could replace Jonathan Majors as Marvel's new Kang the Conqueror, and new reports say it could be Denzel Washington's son, John David Washington.

The rumor mill keeps spinning on who could replace Jonathan Majors as Marvel’s new Kang the Conqueror, and new reports say it could be Denzel Washington’s son, John David Washington.

A tweet surfaced on Saturday, Jan. 27, citing industry insider Daniel Richtman, who claims that Washington may be the next actor to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe and fill the shoes of the supervillain Kang the Conqueror.

Majors was just heating up in the role after appearing as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and season 2 of the Disney+ series Loki. But after the actor was convicted last month on two misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment, Marvel made a swift move to drop Majors from the MCU.

A jury found Majors guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari inside a taxi in New York City. The case became high-profile following his arrest last March. Following a two-week trial that ended in mid-December, Majors was found guilty of third-degree assault and one count of second-degree harassment.

Majors’ Kang was being set up to become the next supervillain in the MCU after Thanos. With the role too big to let fall by the wayside, Marvel appears to be on the search for a replacement.

Social media has expressed their views on Washington potentially becoming the next Kang and appear to be in support of MCU replacing Majors, rather than throwing away a good role.

“He would have been a great “Black Panther” replacement too,” one fan wrote.

“Hmmmm I think I like this,” added someone else.

There also fans who still want MCU to consider casting actor Colman Domingo as the new Kang.

“i wonder if they ever looked at colman domingo, he seems like he’d be amazing as a villain,” one person wrote.

RELATED CONTENT:  Marvel Fans Are On Board With Colman Domingo Replacing Jonathan Majors As ‘Kang the Conqueror’

 

birdman, New Orleans, projects
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 29, 2024

Birdman Recalls Buying 50 Cars For ‘Everybody That Had A License’ In New Orleans Projects

Bryan "Birdman" Williams is the "#1 Stunna" for a reason since he's probably the only person in New Orleans who can say they bought cars for their neighborhood.

Bryan “Birdman” Williams is the “#1 Stunna” for a reason, since he’s probably the only person in New Orleans who can say they bought cars for their neighborhood.

The Cash Money co-founder appeared on Jalen Rose’s Renaissance Man podcast where he opened up about the origin of his “#1 Stunna” moniker. It was after a friend told him about the stunts on the 1980s television series MacGyver that Birdman decided he was going to be “the number-one stunna” of his community.

Once he started making money from music, Birdman sought to share his success with the neighborhood that raised him.

“Back then, we ain’t really have sh*t,” he recalled around the 22:30 mark. “I said I’m about to change our identity of how we look at […] We might’ve had one car, with no AC, you know, n****s riding with the windows down. I didn’t understand why we had to have one car, one house.”

It was after taking a trip to New York City and seeing people driving around in luxury cars and big jewelry that Birdman decided he wanted to bring that energy back to his city.

“In New Orleans, we ain’t know nothing about none of that,” he said. “We ain’t know nothing about Rolls Royces and foreign whips. We wore Dickies suits, dope boys… that was normal for our city.”

He continued, “Honestly I went to New York and seen them n***as in foreign cars and all that sh*t […] rocking big chains and I’m like, ‘Man, I’ma bring that sh*t down bottom.’ We ain’t never seen this sh*t down bottom, and that what influenced me, bro.”

The “Still Fly” rapper set a maximum budget of $15,000 per car and purchased “50 whips” for people in his hometown.

“I bought 50 whips for everybody. $15,000 was the maximum [I spent] for some of them, but a couple of my partners, I spent a little more, but yeah, everybody in the project that had a license, I bought them a car,” he shared.

shell, Shell’s
by Derek Major

January 29, 2024

Oil Sector In Nigeria Thrown Into Turmoil Amid Shell’s Onshore Asset Sale

Shell’s exit from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector has thrown Africa’s biggest oil exporter into turmoil but is also raising hopes local farms could help reverse the output decline.

Reuters reported that Shell, which pioneered Nigeria’s oil industry, has left the Niger Delta due to  pollution, oil theft, and pipeline vandalism, which have limited investment and have hurt production and government finances.

Shell announced the move earlier this month and is selling its subsidiary to five mostly local firms, continuing an ongoing trend of Western Oil giants divesting from onshore Nigerian oil fields.

A decade ago, Shell’s operations were producing as much as 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) ; however, by 2022, production had fallen to 131,000 boed.

Other oil companies who have left the region in recent years include Exxon, Italy’s Eni, Norway’s Equinor and China-based Addax.

“Nigeria has had well-established problems in policy in the oil sector, and the FX policy concerns have put constraints on investments. That’s probably partially why you have seen the majors pulling out and disinvesting to some extent,” Goldman Sachs senior economist Andrew Matheny told Reuters.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who took office last May, pledged to remove obstacles impacting oil producers, including ending crude theft and pipeline vandalism. However, it may have been too late by then, as many of the asset sales were already underway when Tinubu took office.

According to Statista, oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, and production started in the late 1950s. In the following decade, oil exploration was open to foreign companies, and the oil industry grew constantly to become a global giant. Today, the Nigerian petroleum industry accounts for about 9% of Nigeria’s GDP and for almost 90% of all export value.

“The majors reduced investments in the onshore for many years,” Roger Brown, chief executive of Nigeria’s Seplat Energy, told Reuters.

According to Brown, a combination of local issues and the fact that major oil companies must compete for cash with their assets in other regions, such as Guyana, that can often look more attractive has also contributed to the decline in Nigeria.

Things are not all bad, however. As Western petroleum companies leave the region, locals are attempting to pick up the slack. 

Earlier this month, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, announced he had opened one of the world’s biggest oil refineries in Nigeria to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on other countries for its oil imports. The $19 billion project began production earlier this month.

RELATED CONTENT: Green Insider: What’s Slowing Our Transition to Alternative Energy?

Jess, Hilarious, Host, Breakfast Club, Permanent, Co-host, Angela Yess
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 29, 2024

Jess Hilarious Officially Joins ‘The Breakfast Club’ As Third Co-Host

After weeks of speculation, iHeartMedia has officially announced Jess Hilarious as the new co-host on "The Breakfast Club."

After weeks of speculation, iHeartMedia has officially announced Jess Hilarious as the new co-host of The Breakfast Club.

Jess and Charlamagne announced her getting the coveted job on Jan. 29 by sharing the same video on their Instagram pages.

“To Whom It May Concern,” Charlamagne’s post read.

It included a video montage of sound clips from various podcasts and social media posts in recent weeks that speculated if Jess was joining the morning show after an initial announcement that seemingly produced no results.

Power 105.1 followed up with an official statement from Jess and an iHeartMedia exec confirming the announcement.

“I’m looking forward to joining forces with one of the largest media platforms,” Jess Hilarious said. “I’m confident that taking the third seat at The Breakfast Club will show people that Jess Hilarious is not just comedy, but culture.”

The media company’s VP of programming supported the decision, following a year of rotating guest hosts where Jess remained a clear standout.

“I’m very excited to have Jess Hilarious join The Breakfast Club. She is a force in her own right, an actress, comedian, podcaster, and now, the co-host of The Breakfast Club,” Thea Mitchem, iHeartMedia Executive Vice President of Programming said.

“Jess was the standout choice to join Charlamagne and DJ Envy to build upon The Breakfast Club’s legacy of entertaining, informing and enlightening the community.”

It was late last month when Jess was first announced as the new co-host. She made the announcement at a holiday party in her hometown of Baltimore.

However, in the days and weeks that followed, no official announcement was made and many started to speculate if the offer was rescinded. Most recently, Jess posted a rant on social media that called Charlamagne and DJ Envy “trash” for their comparison of SZA to Mary J. Blige. The post left many wondering if Jess was confirming that she would no longer be a co-host on the show.

But, it might’ve all been a part of a bigger marketing plan as Jess shared another video post highlighting the official photoshoot she had with her new co-workers Charlamagne and Envy.

“I wanted to be on The Breakfast Club. Who wouldn’t want to be third co-host on a hall-of-fame show,” Jess says at the start of the video.

Jess Hilarious’ first day begins on Feb. 5. She replaces Angela Yee, who left the show in 2022 to host her midday show Way Up With Angela Yee.

RELATED CONTENT: Guest Hosting Pays Off For Jess Hilarious, Joins ‘The Breakfast Club’Permanently

Controversy Over A Lesson Plan About Slavery Sparks Concern In Houston’s Independent School District
by Daniel Johnson

January 29, 2024

Controversy Over A Lesson Plan About Slavery Sparks Concern In Houston’s Independent School District

After presenting three bullet points giving very brief and oversimplified context points, seventh grade students were asked to decide if Texas should allow slavery to placate slaveholding Texans, if Texas should follow Mexico in outlawing slavery despite the feelings of enslavers, or if Texas should delay making a choice in the matter for 20 years, thus leaving the system of slavery unchallenged

The already deeply unpopular state takeover of the Houston Independent School District added another reason for parents to hate it after a lesson distributed as part of the HISD central curriculum department asked students to place themselves in the shoes of Texans considering how to implement its government in 1836 as part of the Texas Constitutional Convention. The problem was that the lesson asked students to choose if slavery was wrong via three multiple-choice answers. After presenting three bullet points giving very brief and oversimplified context points, seventh-grade students were asked to decide if Texas should allow slavery to placate slaveholding Texans, if Texas should follow Mexico in outlawing slavery despite the feelings of enslavers, or if Texas should delay making a choice in the matter for 20 years, thus leaving the system of slavery unchallenged.

As Houston Public Media reported, the lesson drew the ire of former HISD school board trustee Kathy Blueford-Daniels, who immediately questioned what signal this would send to HISD’s predominantly Black student body, saying, “For those Black kids, it says that you’re not worth anything,” she said. “For those children to have to see their peers make a decision with one of those answers is ludicrous.” An HISD spokesperson provided Houston Public Media with a statement after they reached out for comment, writing, “This seventh-grade social studies lesson does not meet our curriculum quality standards. We will immediately stop using it and will replace it with a more appropriate lesson to teach students about the Convention of 1836.”

Houston Federation of Teachers President Jackie Anderson also called into question the policies of the district takeover, such as barring full-length books from being worked into teacher lesson plans. Anderson told Houston Public Media, “Again, look at the schools it’s happening in — Black and brown schools,” Anderson said. “They have books on the west side. They have books in River Oaks. They have books in Pen Oak. Why is this happening only to Black and brown students?” Anderson also called for a pause on the takeover’s plans, saying the state management board needs to “trash all of the garbage that Miles is putting out.” Superintendent Miles, who is overseeing the reform changes instituted by the State of Texas, plans for at least half the school district to be using the New Education System by the 2026-2027 school year. 

His NES program has been marked by parent protests, massive teacher turnover, and student protests, often led by Houston’s teachers union, the Houston Federation of Teachers.  The crux of the union’s unhappiness with the NES system is a radical change to how teachers are paid as well as eliminating libraries and turning them into disciplinary centers. The payment system Miles is looking to implement is similar to the one he installed at Dallas ISD, which led to a 22% increase in teacher turnover, as well as middling gains in state education benchmarks and more scandals than positive benefits for teachers, even though other districts eventually adopted the Dallas ISD plan.

In addition to problems of Miles’ making, the Texas State Legislature, which is run by the state’s Republicans, passed a bill in 2021 that was sponsored by a group Texas Governor Greg Abbott openly supports, the 1836 Project. According to Chloe Latham Sikes, deputy director of policy at the Intercultural Research Association, the aims of the legislation were to curb any discussion of race, gender identity, or sexism in Texas classrooms, telling The Texas Tribune, “It’s not just about what a teacher may or may not say,” Sikes said. “It’s also how they go about their class, how they design the class — how they might address really sensitive issues of race and gender and identity and sexism in their classrooms. All of this is really about routing out any acknowledgment of the salience of sex, race, gender and silencing those conversations, which, in the end, ultimately hurt students of color and students in the LGBTQ community.”

RELATED CONTENT: Family Of Former Slaver Apologizes For Role In Guyanese Slave Trade

Tim scott, GOP, Black Jobs, Trump, Black republicans, Black voters
by Daniel Johnson

January 29, 2024

Tim Scott Stumps For Trump In ABC News Interview

Though Scott's assertions would be false if applied across the entire political spectrum, the fact that Trump is for all intents and purposes the figure that Republican voters have rallied around the most indicates that Scott is not wrong concerning his party's base.

Tim Scott, during an interview with ABC News, insisted voters are not concerned about Donald Trump’s litany of lawsuits.

Scott told host Martha Raddaz, “The one thing I think the electorate is thinking about most often is how in the world will the next president impact my quality of life? How will America regain its standing in this world? They were better off under Trump.”

Scott continued, “Myself and all the voters that support Donald Trump supports a return to normalcy as it relates to what affects their kitchen table,” before turning his attention to the effect of Trump’s legal troubles on polling numbers, saying that the “perception that the legal system is being weaponized against Donald Trump is actually increasing his poll numbers.”

A pair of polls jointly conducted by ABC News and Ipsos in 2023 indicated that 63% of respondents believed that some of Trump’s allegations were at least serious, while 65% felt that his indictment on election interference charges carried the same concern. When asked about a potential divide between Trump and himself based on the fact that Scott does not believe the election was stolen in 2020, Scott focused on common ground.

“The American people are more concerned about tomorrow than they are yesterday. And because of that, the race that we’re seeing coming to light today is [President] Joe Biden’s four years versus Donald Trump’s four years,” Scott said.

“We don’t need to litigate what happened in 2020. What I’m focusing on is what’s going to happen in 2024 and beyond.”

Scott seems to believe Haley is wasting time and resources by continuing her run, contrasting his departure from the race to her refusal to exit.

“When I dropped out of the race in November, it was because the writing was clear on the wall then,” Scott said.

“It is now more clear that what Republicans, conservatives and a lot of independents want today is four more years of Donald Trump.” 

Furthermore, Republican strategists like Sarah Chamberlain, president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, believe that Scott’s stumping for Trump could help pull over more reserved members of the Republican Party who may not be inclined to vote for the former president, as well as potential Black voters.

Chamberlain told The Hill, “I think the primaries are over so I would not send him to any primaries.”

Like Scott, Chamberlain believes Trump will win the party’s nomination.

“I’d send him to Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin — where there is a large African American population in the swing state that needs to vote for Trump in order for Trump to win.”

In contrast to Chamberlain, Mondale Robinson, the founder and principal of the Black Male Voter Project, does not see the appeal specifically for Black men regarding Scott. Robinson told The Hill, “I don’t really know if Black men are excited about Tim Scott,” Robinson also argued that Scott has a history of failing Black voters. 

“He does not show up with the needs, issues, and policies most important to our community,” Robinson said.

“He proves that when he votes for Trump, when he comes out and endorses Trump, and also when he shows up for the Republican Party as a platform, that seems like it’s actively against Black people.”

Scott surged ahead, defending Trump against Haley’s criticism of the ex-president’s mental faculties despite his attacks on her. Based on Scott’s reply, it is clear he believes that Trump will be the nominee once November rolls around.

“His language is far more provocative than mine,” Scott replied.

“But this is not about simply my opinion of one candidate. I also think that talking about someone’s age is inappropriate when, especially, they are competent, qualified, and ready to go to be the next president of the United States.”

RELATED CONTENT: People Close To Trump Urge Him To Select Woman Or Black Man As His Running Mate

New York City, Michael Smith
by Daniel Johnson

January 29, 2024

Michael Smith To Become Oldest Rookie Cop In Washington, D.C. History

Smith will become the oldest graduate of the program, making him the oldest rookie police officer in the city’s.

Michael Smith, a 60-year-old former professional athlete, is set to make history when he graduates from the Washington, D.C. police academy in April. Smith will become the oldest graduate of the program, making him the oldest rookie police officer in the city’s history. Smith spoke to NBC Washington about what the upcoming graduation means to him personally. “I’m proud that I have an opportunity to give back to the community and fulfill one of my dreams, but I think that age has nothing to do with it,” he said. “If you’re physically fit and mentally fit and you’re willing to really dedicate the time necessary to fulfill this opportunity and dream, you can do it. I’m a prime example. A perfect example.”

Michael Smith, who grew up in New York City, wanted to be a police officer when he was younger but he was a good enough basketball player to play professionally overseas for 15 years. Smith still had a love for the game, so he coached overseas for an additional ten years before exiting the game of basketball for good. Along the way, he even got to share the same court as NBA Hall of Famers Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Michael Jordan. Now, he’s bringing his talents to D.C. to achieve what he calls his all-time dream.

Though the city caps the retirement age for officers at 65, Smith is determined to make his mark. “I’m just here to fulfill my dream and show myself, my family, who are behind me 100%, to fulfill my bucket list, my ambition, lifetime dream,” Smith told NBC Washington. “And if it’s four or five years, I’m going to dedicate 100% to do it. I’m giving my best and show everybody during those five years that Michael Smith enjoyed his time and he did the best he can. And I hope that also passed down to the younger generation and my colleagues.”

Because Smith will be forced to retire in less than five years, he will not receive any pension, but Smith says it doesn’t really concern him. What would be more important to him would be attaining the rank of sergeant, which his father held as a member of the NYPD, but Smith told NBC Washington that realistically there’s just not enough time for him to cross that off his bucket list. “I wish I could have enough time to maybe be a sergeant like my father,” Smith explained. “My father was a sergeant, like I said, in NYPD, and that was my ambition. If I could have stayed here and least had enough time to at least be the same as him, that would have been a beautiful objective for me to go out.”

RELATED CONTENT: Pamela Smith Makes History As Washington, D.C.’s First Black Female Police Chief

Educator Teaches 3rd Graders About Finances By Charging Them ‘Rent’ For Classroom Essentials
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

January 29, 2024

Educator Teaches 3rd Graders About Finances By Charging Them ‘Rent’ For Classroom Essentials

A North Carolina math teacher has gone viral on TikTok for her modern-day approach to teaching her third graders the realities of financial management.

A North Carolina math teacher has gone viral on TikTok for her modern-day approach to teaching her third graders the realities of financial management.

Shelby Lattimore has a “class banker” pass out decorated envelopes filled with faux money dubbed “Miss Lattimore Bucks” that equates to each student’s earnings for their classroom jobs.

“We have a teacher assistant, line leader, door holder, recess basket, lunch basket. We have a cleanup crew,” Lattimore told NBC News.

She then charges them “rent” for classroom essentials like their desks and textbooks and allows them the freedom to decide on how to spend their earnings.

@shelby_thatsmee Hard Life Lessons in 3rd Grade, my students had to pay rent for the first time! Year Two of collecting classroom rent and it is still the best feeling ever! #rent #money #teacher ♬ original sound – Ms.L

“All jobs do not get paid the same. The jobs that are every day, like line leader and teacher assistant, like those jobs that you have to do something constantly, get paid more than jobs that are like every now and then or once in a while,” she explains.

It’s not only providing her third graders with early lessons on money management but teaching the children to value the hard work parents and caregivers provide them.

“Watching my students now become appreciative of possibly what their guardians are going through, of course in a safer environment, just kind of gives them that responsibility to then move forward as they become adults,” Lattimore shared.

She is hopeful that her lessons will help bridge the financial learning gag in a Charlotte school with predominantly Black and Latino students.

“Charlotte is known for generational poverty,” Lattimore said. “A lot of my students of color, Hispanic, Black, whatever it may be, they see their parents, they see their guardian, they see their grandmothers, grandfathers, whatever, may be living check to check. They see the money management of not thinking long term necessarily and the consequences of it.”

RELATED CONTENT: Education Visionary: A Spotlight On Karren Dunkley’s Impactful Career And Forward-Thinking Approach

taxes, states, middle-income earners, study
by Derek Major

January 29, 2024

Two-Thirds Of Americans Believe They Pay Too Much In Taxes

A majority of U.S. taxpayers believe they pay too much in taxes, with many feeling they receive a poor value in return, according to a new poll

A majority of U.S. taxpayers believe they pay too much in taxes, with many feeling they receive a poor value in return, according to a new University of Chicago Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

The Associated Press reported about 7 in 10 say they pay too much in local property taxes, while 6 in 10 feel the same in state sales tax. The AP and University of Chicago’s poll of 1,024 adults was conducted Dec. 14-18, 2023. 

When it comes to party affiliation, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say taxes are unfair and see taxes as poor value. Adults 60 and older are more likely than younger adults to view taxes positively.

Additionally, the poll showed that many U.S. adults have a low level of confidence that their tax dollars, whether it’s the federal government or local school districts, are not being used in the best interest of “people like them.” 

The poll also indicated that people are more trustworthy of governing bodies closer to home. According to the poll, 16% of respondents are extremely or very confident in their local school district, while 6% of respondents are confident in the federal government.

Chris Berry, a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy professor who was involved in the poll, said public opinion about taxes and trust in the government has dropped and the poll results indicate increased political polarization.

“One of the things you’ll hear said is, ‘There’s no Democratic or Republican way to collect the trash or pave the streets,’” Berry told the AP. “We tend to think of local government as less partisan.”

Half of respondents say they would prefer fewer government services if it resulted in a lower tax bill. The IRS started accepting tax returns for the 2024 tax season Monday. Additionally, the IRS is rolling out its free file tax return pilot this season and has collaborated with Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and New York for filing season 2024 to integrate state taxes into the program.

RELATED CONTENT: IRS Changes For 2024 Can Increase Paychecks, Lower Taxes For Americans

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