by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

October 6, 2024

Former BLM Leader Sentenced To Prison For Wire Fraud Charges

Sir Maejor Page founded the Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta.

Sir Maejor Page, a former Black Lives Matter leader from Atlanta, has been sentenced to a prison in Ohio for wire fraud and money laundering charges.

The activist, whose real name is Tyree Conyers-Page, founded the Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta (BLMGA). As donations for the organization came in, Page prosecutors say the funds went to Page’s travel, personal items, and a home in Toledo, Ohio.

A six-day trial in April found the ex-leader guilty for fraud.

During his trial, Page asserted that some the money he spent on himself was justified. According to the Toledo Blade, he claimed that he took the funds as part of his “reasonable salary” for managing the racial justice group. However, he also admitted that he did not discuss what he received with other members of the organization.

Suspicions over Page’s finances came to a head in April 2020, as the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a complaint on his leadership and alleged misuse of the group’s funds. Their investigation found Page registered BLMGA as a fake non-profit to receive donations. The social media page he created for it sought to raise awareness and crowd-source funding, the latter prominently done through GoFundMe.

Page was the sole manager of the bank account. Its contents reached over $370,000 in July 2020 following protests over George Floyd’s death. However, the money did not go to supporting the movement, despite Page’s claims otherwise. Instead, he used $112,000 to purchase the Toledo home and an accompanying lot. The money also went to support his lavish indulgences, which he showed off on social media.

While Page became a locally known activist, Fox 5’s Investigative team uncovered other darker parts of his past. His previous run-ins with the law included impersonating a police officer in 2014, and doing so again two more times. After an arrest for the January 2016 impersonation incident, Page stopped organizing with the Black Lives Matter of Atlanta. He moved on to establish BLMGA.

Page, who has albinism, also had some acting roles, most notably in American Horror Story, before focusing on activism.

Page will serve 42 months in an Ohio prison for one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.

by Daniel Johnson

October 6, 2024

‘Hassan Hates Portland’: Satirical Web Series Explores The Black Experience In The City

Filmmaker Mischa Webley's web series attempts to tackle benevolent racism in Portland through satire.

Hassan Hates Portland, a web series written and directed by Black filmmaker Mischa Webley, satirizes the daily Black experience in the Oregon city.

Through humor, Webley aims to highlight how well-meaning white people often impose their attempts at allyship on Black individuals as they navigate their everyday lives. The first episode premiered on Oct. 3.

As Webley told KUOW, “We’re sort of seeing Portland through [Hasaan’s] eyes, and he’s somewhat in the background, where he’s experiencing these things, but a lot of them are happening at him.”

According to the Williamette Week, Webley’s project, though fictional, is based on very real experiences.

“It really took a lifetime of experience,” Webley told the outlet, “and I’ve been trying for a while to make fun of it and satirize it and make it funny. It just seemed like it’s not a perspective that’s out there, especially about Portland. That was the big driving force of making it.”

Webley continued, “By focusing on the small scale, you sort of capture that these are things we all do every day…whether it’s taking a walk or getting coffee. And instead of that being a really simple transaction, sometimes that can turn into a whole thing that then lives rent-free in your mind for a long time.”

Webley also indicated that the series is also intended as a correction of sorts of a common narrative about the city. “There’s a story around [Portland] that it puts out about itself, that also gets put on it,” Webley told the outlet. “It just always felt incomplete to me, whether it’s Portlandia or Fox News—they just seem to kind of be missing it, so I wanted to add to that. And I think Portland takes itself too seriously, and I wanted it to laugh at itself.”

Webley also told KUOW that the experiences depicted in the show come from personal experience.

“You end up with this dynamic where [people of color] might have white folks—I’ve been in this experience—trying to explain racism to you. If you go to a place that’s really diverse…if you bring a certain kind of ignorance, you’re going to hear about it. But people who live in an echo chamber don’t hear about it—it’s reinforced.”

Webley said that the show has received positive responses online, which has encouraged him that the show’s intention has shone through to its audience.

“It’s taken off online in the way I could only have hoped for. And I think it reaffirmed that we were speaking to something that people were waiting [for] to be said. And that’s kind of been a big note. I’ve heard back from a variety of different people online who’ve reached out just to say, ‘Thank you. I’m glad somebody said it,'” Webley told KUOW.

Although Webley hopes that the show is picked up by a streaming service or TV network, he is also okay if the web series ends with the run on YouTube.

“My biggest hope with the project is that this gives us enough traction and visibility to get the opportunity to do that,” Webley told Williamette Week. “At the same time, I’ve been in the business for a long time. Every project has to be its own reward, so if this is what it is, that’s fine. It’s already gotten really great attention. That makes me feel like we’re tapping into something.”

Melissa Butler, The Lip Bar, HBCUs, HBCU Lip Gloss

by Ann Brown

October 6, 2024

The Lip Bar Launches HBCU-Inspired Lip Glosses Just In Time For Homecoming Season

The Lip Bar has partnered with HBCU Culture Shop to launch a limited-edition collection, the HBCU Lip Gloss Collection.

The Lip Bar, known for its inclusive beauty products, has partnered with HBCU Culture Shop to launch a limited-edition collection of seven new lip gloss shades inspired by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Just in time for Homecoming season, the HBCU Lip Gloss Collection celebrates the vibrant culture of HBCUs while offering beauty enthusiasts unique shades to elevate their looks.

The Lip Bar Founder Melissa Butler, a proud graduate of Florida A&M University (FAMU), expressed her deep connection to HBCUs. “My first customers and employees went to HBCUs,” she tells Essence. “I wanted to show some love in honor of how much love HBCUs have given men and women for centuries, especially FAMU. I owe so much to my HBCU and the richness of the culture is unsurpassed.”

The collection offers a range of shades that embody the spirit of HBCUs. Butler’s personal favorite? A fierce red called “Rattlers,” that pays tribute to her FAMU roots. Other shades in the collection include “HBCU Girly,” “Hampton U,” “Spelman,” and “Jaguars,” featuring warm tones like neutral brown, taupe, and deep brown, which Butler reminisces about wearing during her college years. “We were deeply into smoky nude glosses, ice blue shadow, and eyeliner,” she told Essence. “We wore business casual to the club and our hair was fried. Flat irons hated to see us coming.”

The lip collection comes with HBCU-branded packaging and an exclusive makeup bag.

The new HBCU-inspired glosses enhance The Lip Bar’s diverse beauty product lineup, offering a unique sheer wash of color that represents a fresh innovation for the brand. “The sheer wash of color in the HBCU Collection is an innovation we have not done before,” Butler noted.

The limited-edition HBCU gloss collection is now available on The Lip Bar’s website while supplies last. This collection allows fans to celebrate Homecoming in style with shades that honor their school pride.

$3.9M Restoration Project To Preserve Brooklyn’s Weeksville Houses, One Of America’s Oldest Black Communities

by Daniel Johnson

October 6, 2024

$3.9M Restoration Project To Preserve Brooklyn’s Weeksville Houses, One Of America’s Oldest Black Communities

Weeksville was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest and first Black communities in America.

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the NYC Department of Design and Construction are collaborating on a $3.9 million restoration project for the Hunterfly Road Houses at the Weeksville Heritage Center. Weeksville, located in the Crown Heights district of Brooklyn, was founded in 1838 and is one of America’s oldest and first Black communities.

As Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo told PIX 11, “Weeksville Heritage Center tells such an important story in our city’s history and preserves the legacy of Black talent and community that have been so integral to the fabric of New York across generations.”

Raymond Codrington, the president and CEO of the Weeksville Heritage Center, told the outlet that honoring the original founders of Weeksville is important work.

“These houses embody the distinct history of freedom and self-determination that the founders of Weeksville used to build this community. Today we honor the people and effort it took to build and then preserve these houses while we also look forward to the future of Weeksville Heritage Center and our community,” Codrington said.

Weeksville draws its name from James Weeks, a former enslaved person from Virginia who purchased the tract of land in 1838.

Predating Weeks’ purchase, however, was the abolition of slavery in New York State in 1827, which allowed the area to become a beacon for Black Americans from all around the East Coast.

In 1970, New York City designated the houses as landmarks, and in 1971, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Families lived on Weeksville’s grounds until the 1960s, when the preservation process of the neighborhood’s houses began. The current renovations are expected to run through spring 2026, and tours of the homes will continue.

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the houses anchor Brooklyn’s present to its storied past.

Zulmilena Then, the preservation manager at the Weeksville Heritage Center, oversees the maintenance and restoration of houses and told the trust that the houses are important to Black Brooklyn.

“Growing up in Brooklyn, I didn’t know about Weeksville until I was an adult,” Then said. “These buildings are an anchor to our people and connection to … our past. [They] add to the pride that one feels about the neighborhood itself.”

According to Prithi Kanakamedala, a historian and professor at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, “Weeksville is not an exception,” Kanakamedala said. “It’s a symbol of what was possible for free Black communities in the 19th-century United States, specifically in the city of Brooklyn. Black men in early 19th-century Brooklyn were seizing freedom for themselves and not waiting to see which way things were going to go in terms of legislation, in terms of legal rights.”

Kanakamedala continued, “It is an intentional free Black community that is self-determined. It intentionally has its own schools, newspapers, churches, businesses.”

The late Joan Maynard, a Brooklyn resident and the first Black trustee of the National Trust led the campaign to preserve the houses of Weeksville, eventually becoming the first executive director of the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, now the Weeksville Heritage Center.

Maynard’s work laid the groundwork for the present work on the houses, which she encapsulated in a 2001 interview for The New York Times, telling the outlet, “The Weeksville houses were a source of hope to the people who once lived here and they can be hope for the people who live in this community now.”

Sheena Wright, NYC mayor, administration

by Daniel Johnson

October 5, 2024

Sixth Senior Member Of NYC Mayor’s Administration To Resign

First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who had her home raided by federal investigators in September, is expected to resign this month.

As the investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams continues, a sixth member of his administration is expected to resign.

CNN reports that First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who had her phone seized and her home raided by federal investigators in September, is expected to resign in October.

Wright, who previously faced scrutiny from The Gothamist due to her role on the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) procurement board, which awarded a $154 million contract to her now brother-in-law, Terence Banks, would become the sixth member of the Adams Administration to resign over the investigation into Adams upon her resignation.

Currently, Adams is facing five federal counts of bribery, corruption, wire fraud, and soliciting and accepting donations from foreign nationals. At his arraignment hearing on Sept. 27, Adams entered a not guilty plea.

According to prosecutor Hagan Scotten, in addition to Adams’s indictment, there is the distinct possibility that Adams could face additional charges and that additional defendants could be added.

On Oct. 2, at a court hearing, Scotten indicated that the federal government’s case against Adams and others is still being built.

In his statement announcing his departure from his post, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks, who married Wright in a private ceremony in Martha’s Vineyard on the weekend of Sept. 29, said the Adams administration had moved up his timeline.

“Last week, I announced my planned retirement, and I was ready, willing and able to stay in my post until December 31st to conduct a responsible transition for our staff. The Mayor has decided to accelerate that timeline,” Banks said.

Banks will now leave his position on Oct. 16, nearly two months ahead of his original plan. Banks’ early exit comes mere days after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul instructed the mayor to remove aides from his administration who were involved in investigations.

According to Politico, Adams’ choice on Wright’s husband was likely the last straw for her. According to an individual who claimed to be familiar with her thought process, “She’s been unhappy in City Hall for a long time. She always felt undermined by others in City Hall—including by Ingrid—but what just happened to her husband sped up her timeline.”

The marriage of Banks and Wright in late September sparked rumors that the marriage was at least partly motivated by politics, a characterization that Banks refuted in comments he made to Fox 5 reporters.

According to NBC News New York, he told reporters for the news station, “I think anybody that would criticize me has probably never been in love,” Banks said. “The reality is that Sheena and I have been together for quite some time. We’ve been planning our marriage for a while.”

According to Banks, he and Wright were motivated to get married due to their parents’ ages and related health issues, “and any suggestion otherwise to me is just ridiculous on its face.”

According to ABC 7, a whopping 69% of New York residents believe that Adams needs to resign. In addition, 63% of New Yorkers believe that if he does not voluntarily resign, Gov. Hochul should remove him from his position.

In addition to Wright, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, Adams’ senior advisor Tim Pearson, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, and his brother, David Banks, have all been involved in ethics investigations or probes. Lisa Zornberg, Adams’ chief counsel, resigned over the mayor’s initial reluctance to cut ties with his appointees. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan also announced his intention to step down at the end of 2024.

Chicago, Mayor, Brandon Johnson, national guard, Trump,

by Daniel Johnson

October 5, 2024

Entire Chicago Board Of Education To Resign, Mayor Brandon Johnson Announces

Johnson's office said that the change aligns with a new appointment process.

According to Mayor Brandon Johnson, the entire Chicago Board of Education will resign. On Oct. 4, the mayor’s office announced that the change aligns with a new appointment process, suggesting the need for a fresh start. However, critics argue that the mayor’s office should be held more accountable for this shift.

According to ABC7, Alderman Brian Hopkins, who represents the 2nd Ward, said he thinks the school board members who are resigning need to explain why they are resigning. “For years, we’ve heard the far left of Chicago scream about elected school board, elected school board now they’re getting an elected school board, and yet they want to take it over in a last-minute coup and appoint people. That’s wrong,” Hopkins said.

According to Mayor Johnson’s statement, “Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Chicago Board of Education are enacting a transition plan which includes all current members transitioning from service on the Board later this month. With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools.”

The statement continued, “Together, Mayor Johnson and the Board fulfilled many objectives of the Johnson administration’s vision for Chicago’s public schools, including shifting away from inequitable student-based budgeting, completing the change to a school safety model that does not rely on school resource officers and focusing on Black Student Success.”

The statement concluded, “None of the members leaving the current Board planned to continue onto the hybrid Board, and none are running for election. With the unprecedented increase in Board membership, transitioning new members now will allow them time to orient and gain critical experience prior to welcoming additional elected and appointed members in 2025.”

Despite the explanation, speculation and criticism of how the mayor’s office has handled commitments to paying teachers shifted to the City of Chicago by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has surfaced.

According to Scott Beneken, a parent of a CPS student, “If it potentially has ramifications down all the way down to the student level, it would be great to know exactly what happened behind the scenes.”

However, the City Council Budget Committee Chairman, Alderman Jason Ervin, doesn’t think the board’s resignation will spark chaos.

“CPS has to make choices regarding its finances, and if that means they have to borrow resources to make that happen, or make adjustments and expenses to make that happen, that’s their decision,” Ervin told ABC7. “But not paying their pension bill is not an option… They are the board, those people still have to function and operate. I think it won’t have any impact on what’s going on in the classroom, and that’s where we are most concerned about.”

According to NBC Chicago, Chicago CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who is currently under contract, was allegedly recently asked by Johnson to resign at a monthly meeting in September, but the board did not act on his request.

Some resigning board members asked Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to intervene, but the governor’s office said he didn’t have the legal authority to do so.

Johnson is expected to name new board appointees on Oct. 7, who will serve until elections for the board begin in 2025.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 5, 2024

Businessman Convicted Of Defrauding NBA Star Dwight Howard In $7M WNBA Investment Scam

Calvin Darden Jr. was convicted after deceiving Howard into thinking he was investing in the Atlanta Dream basketball team.

Former NBA player Dwight Howard’s interest in buying a stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream turned into a nightmare. A businessman has been found guilty of defrauding the NBA star in the failed deal.

According to The Associated Press, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Calvin Darden, Jr. on Oct. 4 after Howard admitted in a New York City trial that he gave Darden $7 million, thinking it was going toward an investment into the WNBA team.

When sentencing is handed down next year, Darden may receive a prison sentence between 11 and 14 years.

The prosecutor said that the conman spent most of the $7 million, at least $6.1 million, received from the former Los Angeles Lakers player. He bought two cars for $500,000, spent $110,000 on a piano, placed $765,000 as a down payment on a $3.7 million home, and purchased luxury watches for $90,000 while also spending another $500,000 in upgrades for his home. He also bought art for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors plan to seize all of Darden’s assets, including his Atlanta home and the aforementioned items.

The alleged investment offered by Darden took place when the Dream owner, Atlanta former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, was selling the team. In 2021, the team was sold to a three-member investor group, which included former player Renee Montgomery.

Darden was previously convicted after another scheme he was involved in landed him in trouble. Prosecutors revealed that Darden partnered with a sports agent to swindle former NBA forward Chandler Parsons. Darden influenced Parsons to send $1 million to aid in the development of current NBA player James Wiseman.

Howard did get his dream of owning a professional basketball team earlier this year when he announced that he had become part owner of a Taiwanese basketball league and one of its teams.

by Daniel Johnson

October 5, 2024

Susan Rice Slams Trump As GOP’s ‘Surrender Monkey’

She labeled the former president not only a national security risk but a global threat.

In an Oct. 3 interview with MSNBC‘s Lawrence O’Donnell, Susan Rice, former director of the Domestic Policy Council (2021-2023) and former National Security Advisor (2013-2017), sharply criticized Donald Trump’s foreign policy agenda, labeling the former president not only a national security risk but a global threat.

According to The Hill, Rice compared Trump to Neville Chamberlain, a Nazi Germany-era British leader who infamously attempted to pacify Adolf Hitler.

“The fundamentals of national security — that America needs to be strong, that we need to stand with our allies, we need to stand for our values, we have to mean what we say,” Rice said. “These are very fundamental things that never used to be under serious question. And along comes Donald Trump, who really is like the Neville Chamberlain of the Republican Party.”

According to Britannica, in addition to Chamberlain’s controversial decision to allow Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, he also recognized fascist Benito Mussolini’s regime and Italy’s supremacy in Ethiopia.

Although Chamberlain eventually abandoned his policy of appeasement after Hitler seized the remainder of Czechoslovakia, it was too late to prevent the conquest sparked by his actions and those of French Premier Édouard Daladier in signing the Munich Agreement, giving Germany the Sudetenland, an agreement is widely criticized today for emboldening Hitler.

Rice continued, referring to Trump as a “surrender monkey” about his deference to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“He’s an appeaser, he’s a surrender monkey, and that’s what we’re seeing in his approach to Ukraine,” Rice said before pivoting to a Kamala Harris endorsement letter that she and over 700 national security leaders signed. In that letter, the national security experts endorsed Harris for president, citing the latter’s temperament and experience as a reason Harris would make an ideal and effective commander-in-chief.

“That is why more than 700 Democrats, Republicans and independents, very senior national security leaders, came together to oppose Donald Trump and support Kamala Harris,” Rice said.

The letter stated, “We do not agree on everything, but we all adhere to two fundamental principles. First, we believe America’s national security requires a serious and capable Commander-in-Chief. Second, we believe American democracy is invaluable.”

It continued, “Each generation has a responsibility to defend it. That is why we, the undersigned, proudly endorse Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States. Our endorsement of Vice President Harris is an endorsement of freedom and an act of patriotism. It is an endorsement of democratic ideals, of competence, and of relentless optimism in America’s future.”

That endorsement followed 100 former GOP national security leaders’ endorsement of Harris. In that letter, they described the former president’s behavior as “chaotic and unethical” in contrast to Harris, whom they said “possesses the essential qualities to serve as president.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 5, 2024

R. Kelly’s Ex-Wife And Kids Ready To Reveal Their Stories

The singer's former wife, Drea Kelly, plans to release her tome, 'Under the Red Carpet.'

The former wife of R&B singer R. Kelly has announced that she is releasing a book, while their daughter has an upcoming documentary.

Drea Kelly posted a video clip on her social media account to tell her more than 566,000 followers it’s time to tell her story. “Under the Red Carpet” is the book’s title, which she says will tell people who she is and her journey as Kelly’s wife and beyond. In the video, she states that she has gone through “blood, sweat, and tears, literally.”

“I am a BEAST and a BUTTERFLY. God said it is so. The time has come to disrupt the deception. For years people have spoken on my life without knowing ANYTHING about me. How crazy is it to speak on someone you NEVER MET or had a conversation with as FACT. Well, the time has come to speak without fear! No more forcing a smile to get thru the pain of being me. No more “be nice” to please an unpleasant world. My book is going to set so many free and if you have a problem….it’s not with me! Take it up with GOD. This is HIS will and it is so 🙏🏾💜✍🏽📖”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dr. Drea Kelly (@officialdreakelly)

The announcement comes right after Kelly’s daughter, Joanne Kelly, announced that she will appear in a documentary, “R Kelly’s Karma: A Daughter’s Journey.”

The trailer was released on Sept. 24, promising also to tell the story of the man we knew as the “Pied Piper of R&B.” The doc will reveal “a heartbreaking secret that shattered her childhood and changed her forever.” The documentary will include interviews with her siblings, Jaah and Robert Kelly Jr., as well as his former wife, Drea.

Along with Drea’s forthcoming book and the children of R. Kelly releasing their untold story about their father, the family is ready to spill the tea and share their personal experiences with the “I Believe I Can Fly” songwriter.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 5, 2024

Rapper Lucas Coly Found Dead In Las Vegas

He reportedly died by suicide in Las Vegas, according to the coroner's report.

A rapper who became popular through social media has reportedly died, according to a post by his manager.

According to US Weekly, a manager for 27-year-old Lucas Coly confirmed his death in an Instagram post on Oct. 3. Without giving details, his unnamed manager, who uses the moniker idiscoverstars (I Discover Stars), posted about the loss on his social media accounts acknowledging the rapper’s death.

Post by @idiscoverstars

View on Threads

The media outlet reported that Coly died by suicide in Las Vegas based on findings by the Clark County Office of the Coroner and Medical Examiner.

His manager left another heart-wrenching message for Coly on social media.

“Being your manager was one of the reasons I stayed here. There’s a hole in my heart right now Lucas. We used to speak on our struggles all the time but smile for the fans. So many people hurt us again and again but we had each other. I don’t know what to do now. Id be a hypocrite if I told you not to, and I go and do the same. Honestly Lucas it hasn’t set in yet because I refuse to believe you are gone. Heart ripped to shreds. God send him back here. Please 💔 I’m broken over here.”

Penn Live reports that the artist was born in France and came to the United States when he was eight. His songs, including “I Just Wanna,” “Break Your Back,” and “Numb, ” have millions of views on YouTube. Coly was known to incorporate French into his songs. He recently released a single titled “No Comp” in August.

Fans came to know the rapper when his popularity rose through the social media platform Vine about 10 years ago when the app was popular among teens.