American Heart Association Launches Business Program To Support Black Maryland Farmers

by Jaimee Ratliff

September 20, 2023

American Heart Association Launches Business Program To Support Black Maryland Farmers

The American Heart Association and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield are launching a business accelerator program to benefit the two percent of Black farmers in Maryland.

The first-time program is called EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator for Maryland Black Farmers. Its mission is to provide solutions to areas facing food inequities in Maryland, CBS News reported, while empowering Black farmers.

“Farming is more than just food in the ground now,” said Rhonda Ford Chatmon, vice president of health strategies with the American Heart Association of Baltimore & Greater Maryland division. “It just allows them to do more—that are more committed to and that they’re here to serve.”

As with many Black-owned businesses, lack of growth and sustainability are key factors in the low percentage of Black farmers, an issue the accelerator program seeks to fix.

“Part of the work we do as a Heart Association is teaching them what to do with that nutritious food but also help people build capacity to grow, to supply their own needs,” Ford Chatmon said.

The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerators have found success in previous years, offering support to social entrepreneurs, community ambassadors, organizations, and individuals committed to positively impacting community health.

Cynthia Wallace, executive director of The Oasis Project in Pittsburgh, participated in the accelerator’s faith-based program in 2021.

“I think nutrition is something that is really not only about eating the food to people but talking to them about why eating healthy is so good for you just holistically,” Wallace said.

Operating in the city’s predominately Black Homewood neighborhood, the Oasis Farm & Fishery provides urban farming education to people of all ages at three different locations.

In Maryland’s historically Black neighborhoods of East and West Baltimore, one in four residents live in areas with limited access to fresh produce. Urban farming and community efforts to provide healthy options to the city’s residents are integral to bridging the gap between socioeconomic status and lack of nutritional food.

mel tucker, sexual harassment, michigan state

by Jaimee Ratliff

September 20, 2023

Michigan State University To Fire Head Football Coach Mel Tucker Over Sexual Harassment Allegations

Michigan State University (MSU) will fire head football coach Mel Tucker amid accusations of sexual harassment, the school announced on September 18.

Tucker, who has been suspended without pay from all team activities since September 10, was informed of the university’s plans in a written statement. He will have seven days to present MSU with substantial reasons why he should retain his position.

“I, with the support of administration and board, have provided Mel Tucker with written notice of intent to terminate his contract for cause,” the school’s Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller said. “This notification process is required as part of his existing contract. The notice gives Tucker seven calendar days to respond and present reasons to me and the interim president why he should not be terminated for cause.”

Michigan State officials claimed Tucker admitted to actions that violated his contract when he allegedly made “unwelcome sexual advances” toward Brenda Tracy, a white woman. The mother and nurse was reportedly gang-raped in 1998 by four male college students. She now advocates and speaks up for sexual abuse survivors.

Though publicly maintaining that their interaction was “completely consensual,” Tucker’s actions are believed by MSU to be “a material breach” of his duties as head coach while demonstrating ‘conduct which constitutes moral turpitude'” and “has brought ‘public disrespect, contempt, or ridicule upon the University.”

In early 2021, Tracy was brought in by Tucker to educate players on sexual misconduct, including non-physical interactions. Tracy claims their relationship soured after Tucker made sexually explicit comments about her body and masturbated during a phone call in 2022. Tucker claims that Tracy initiated their intimate interactions.

Tucker’s hiring in 2021 marked only the second time a Black man has held the coveted head coaching position for MSU. His $95 million deal made him the highest-paid Black college football coach in history.

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

Man Accused Of Killing Multiple Elderly Women Killed By Cellmate

A man accused of killing dozens of elderly women last year was killed by his prison cellmate.

Billy Chemirmir‘s body was discovered by guards at a rural East Texas prison the morning of Sept.19. Chemirmir, who was a Kenyan living in Dallas, was convicted in 2022 after being found guilty of murdering two women, though he is believed to have murdered 22 victims over a two-year killing spree, according to the Associated Press.

Officials announced Chemirmir, 50, was found dead in the cell, with all evidence pointing toward his cellmate. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Hannah Haney said that Chemirmir’s cellmate was also serving a murder sentence.

Haney told the AP that the convicted killer was killed by his cellmate, but did not divulge what led to Chermirmir’s death or the cellmate’s name.

According to police reports, Chemirmir would commit his murders by targeting elderly women in the Dallas area and then stealing their belongings. Civil suits were also filed, accusing him of an additional six murders.

“My mother died in fear,” said Shannon Dion, the daughter of one of Chemirmir’s victims, 92-year-old victim Doris Gleason, said in a press conference. “This man did not have a peaceful passing. There’s some relief in feeling that he didn’t get off easily.”

Chemirmir was caught in 2018 after a 91-year-old woman survived his murder attempt and detailed the deadly scheme, connecting him to a murder. Chemirmir was indicted on 22 capital murder charges and serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole at the time of his death. He remained adamant that he was innocent.

The investigation into Chemirmir’s murder is being conducted by the Office of Inspector General. He was imprisoned at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas.

Kirk Franklin, Father, Biological, documentary

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

Kirk Franklin Details Finding His Birth Father In New Documentary

Kirk Franklin discovered a long-held secret in a recent documentary titled Father’s Day– the same as his upcoming album. The film was released to the gospel singer’s YouTube channel on Sept. 15.

Franklin decided to document the journey behind the scenes, as shared in conversation with People. However, as the recording sessions started, the songwriter discovered who he thought was his father was not. The man responsible for bringing him into the world lived relatively close to where he grew up. The “Stomp” composer detailed that he didn’t have an easy life growing up. Adopted by an older woman in his community after his young mother struggled to raise a child, the musician believed for years that another man was his birth dad, as both parents would be inconsistent figures in his life before he became famous.

Franklin inadvertently discovered his birth father after hiring a musician from his hometown. That person revealed the name of another man his mother had dated. The potential father, Richard Hubbard, was willing to submit a DNA sample to confirm the parentage and also happened to be a longtime member of the community in which the gospel singer was raised.

An on-camera reveal by a doctor confirmed that Hubbard was indeed his father, fulfilling a lifelong wish for Franklin to know his true identity.

“To live over half a century with somebody who lived in the same city as you…” expressed Franklin, 53. “I suffered so much as a young man without guidance. I struggled with love, intimacy, faith, identity. And to know that the answer was less than 10 minutes away.”

Upon meeting Hubbard, who unknowingly became a father as a young teenager, Franklin referred to his dad as a “great guy” as he navigated beginning a new relationship with his half-siblings.

The revelation led Franklin to pursue a renewed relationship with his estranged son, Kerrion. As they begin their path toward healing, the Grammy winner is happy that three generations of his family will be able to be there for one another as Black men.

“He is beginning to reveal and testify to his struggles, his own battles with certain things that have at times cost him,” shared the loving husband and father. “I know many young Black men struggle with these same things, and as he continues to get help and healing, he’s going to help so many. He has me and now his grandfather, that will be there to help in any way we can.”

To catch more glimpses of Kirk Franklin’s journey with faith, music, and parenthood, Father’s Day is available to stream now, as the accompanying album is set to be released on Oct. 6.

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

Afro-Cuban Artist Places Black People In Classic Renaissance Art In Spelman College Exhibit

Harmonia Rosales‘ new exhibition at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art focuses on blending West African religion and faces with classic Renaissance art.

According to CNN, the exhibit is comprised of 20 pieces centered on returning to one’s identity. For seven years, the artist has created paintings and sculptures in this theme as a means of shifting the focus in Western art away from a white-centric model. Instead, Rosales places Black people as the central characters.

The exhibit, “Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative,” includes the deities and stories from the West African religious traditions of the Yoruba.

According to Brittanica, the faith stems from Nigeria and part of other nations in the surrounding region. Its supreme, or most important state of existence, is found with Olódùmaré, which created humankind. Subsequent deities, called Orishas, have designated rulings while being heavily intertwined with the natural environment.

In her work, Rosales has featured certain Orishas that tie into the artistic work’s theme. For example, her take on the Virgin Mary in Lady of Regla instead showcases Orisha Yemaya, the mother of the world. Orisha worship also spread to Cuba and Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade and is now practiced throughout the diaspora.

Rosales’ decision to build upon this tradition is a reaction to the religious restrictions placed upon enslaved Africans, who were forced to abide by white slaveowners’ beliefs, thereby relegating their own culture and spiritual guidelines to the margins.

As for her motive behind incorporating this faith in her work, Rosales wants to bring it wider attention, and believes blending it in the artwork within Greco-Roman and Christian history is the way to do it.

” … It’s what’s been mainstreamed. I’m trying to educate the masses on a religion that has been hidden for quite some time,” said Rosales. “I want to make it very linear, understandable, and digestible, so then we can dive deeper. I’m taking the express route of teaching people who they are. The only way to do that is by reimagining certain famous images.”

Rosales has retained critical painting techniques from this artistic foundation, especially in her depictions of the Black figures that are the stars in her works. She continues to utilize the classical methods, using thin coats of paint, for example, so that her subjects’ skin appears so natural that a viewer would almost dare to reach out and touch them.

Her Creation of God invokes a new interpretation of Michelangelo’s famous mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by showing Orishas instead of biblical characters, to further expand her vision. Rosales’ work is unintentionally but inescapably political, especially amid the national fight to ensure Black history is told, and tells a story of empowerment that the artist hopes all her people may look to for upliftment.

“Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative” is on view at the Atlanta-based gallery until Dec. 2, 2023.

by Stacy Jackson

September 20, 2023

White High School Teacher ‘Scared’ After Students Report Her For Teaching About Race

A South Carolina English teacher was scared to return to the classroom after her students claimed her lessons on race made them feel “ashamed to be white.”

Six months after being reported to the district’s school board, English Language and Composition teacher Mary Woods described feeling “scared” on the first day of school. The 47-year-old white educator returned to Chapin High School on Aug. 7 after being accused of making her all-white advanced placement class feel “ashamed to be white” because she assigned the students Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me in February. The New York Times bestseller is a deep dive into the Black American experience.

Woods claimed she felt “betrayed” after two students emailed complaints to a school board member four days after she assigned the Coates book. The emails were obtained by The Washington Post. One student wrote, “I feel, to an extent, betrayed by Mrs. Woods. I feel like she has built up this idea of expanding our mind through the introduction of controversial topics all year just to try to subtly indoctrinate our class.”

Two parents also reportedly complained. Woods was instructed not to continue with her original plans for the rest of the school year.

Now that the new school year is underway, Woods has to contend with the fragility of her students and grapple with the fear and angst she feels from the unwarranted callout. She texted a fellow educator, “Will you walk in with me? I’m scared.”

The self-professed white liberal teacher was not the first to face backlash for addressing race in academics. BLACK ENTERPRISE reported last year that hostile parents forced Cecelia Lewis, a Black woman middle school educator, out of her position in Georgia. The white parents were reportedly angry about rumors that the Cherokee County School District planned to teach critical race theory (CRT) even though CRT is only taught at the college level.

Ironically, the Chapin High School students are seemingly the only students who felt their teacher made them feel “ashamed to be white.” A 2021 study from Inside Higher Ed revealed that white students didn’t feel demonized, targeted, guilty, or ashamed after studying the history and cultures of other races. Moreover, those students opined that what they learned humanized their peers.

Black Student Suspended Over Locs; School Says It’s the Dress Code, Not Racial Discrimination

by Jaimee Ratliff

September 19, 2023

Black Student Suspended Over Locs; School Says It’s the Dress Code, Not Racial Discrimination

A Black student at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, has been suspended twice for wearing locs because school officials said he violated the district’s dress code.

Darryl George, 17, has served an in-school suspension since August 31 because his hair falls below his eyebrows and earlobes, the Associated Press reports.

The high school junior wears his dreadlocks pinned up to adhere to the school district’s dress code, which states that male students’ hair must not extend “below the top of a t-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.”

Despite the student wearing his locs up, both the principal and vice principal, of Barbers Hill stood by the suspension.

Greg Poole, who is white and has been district superintendent since 2006, maintains that the hair policy is rooted not in racism but in a sense of collective responsibility and is a lesson on sacrifice. “When you are asked to conform … and give up something for the betterment of the whole, there is a psychological benefit,” Poole said. “We need more teaching [of] sacrifice.”

Darresha George, Darryl’s mother, vehemently disagreed with the district’s assertion that her son’s hair negatively imposes upon the learning of his fellow students.

“My son is well groomed, and his hair is not distracting from anyone’s education,” she said. “This has everything to do with the administration being prejudiced toward Black hairstyles, toward Black culture.”

For George and the men in his family, their hair honors those who came before them and connects them to the God they serve, said Darresha George. “Our hair is where our strength is. That’s our roots. He has his ancestors locked into his hair, and he knows that.”

School officials stand by the district’s dress code and informed her that they plan to put her son into an alternative school if his “violations” continue, according to the AP.

Barbers Hill High School is one of two in the district and has a 35 percent minority enrollment. It made headlines in 2020 when school administrators barred then-senior DeAndre Arnold from returning to school and attending his graduation ceremony unless he agreed to cut his dreadlocks. Arnold left Barbers Hill and graduated from nearby Sterling High School.

The state’s CROWN Act, intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bar employers and schools from penalizing people because of their hair texture or protective hairstyles, was enacted on September 1, the AP reported. The move made Texas one of 24 states to have set the law into action.

George served his suspension on September 15.

Lawmakers passed a federal version of the CROWN Act in the House of Representatives last year. Still, they failed to do so in the Senate, leaving the decision up to individual state legislature.

by Stacy Jackson

September 19, 2023

West Philly Rowing Champion Operates Only Black-Owned Rowing Club In America

West Philadelphia rowing champ Brannon Johnson runs BLJ Community Rowing, the only Black-owned and -operated rowing club in America. She also trains other Black rowers how to carve out their own spaces in the predominantly white sport.

According to BLJ’s website, the club started with an initial mission to use rowing as a vehicle for change. BLJ’s priority is to bridge the gap between the traditional rowing world and the diverse West Philly community by removing boundaries, providing access and creating opportunities within the elite sport.

“I definitely stumbled into my mission,” Johnson told 6ABC, “and I love that it’s not about me. I love that it’s about this community.” Johnson said that holding each other accountable and pushing one another to do better and be better is major in the space she has created.

The rowing maven has traveled the world to race and train in the sport. “I had better options because rowing was available,” Johnson said. It afforded her the opportunity to meet many different kinds of people. “I didn’t see anyone that looked like me around the sport, so … it’s important to me that I give that option to as many people as … possible in the Black and brown communities.”

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A post shared by BLJ Community Rowing (@bljcommunityrowing)

One of Johnson’s students attested to the trainer’s ability to help with overall confidence on and out of the water.

“It’s definitely been nice having somebody to look up to and somebody that holds me accountable,” high school rower Kaiya Johnson said.

Rowing coaches Asiyah Harrison and Jaden Oates have both observed the lack of Black presence in the sport. Harrison praised Johnson for her outstanding contributions and for showing her what it’s like to be an entrepreneur and “a Black woman in such a white male-centered space.” Oates said his high school rowing team, which is predominately Black and Hispanic, embraces other rowing teams of color whenever they cross paths.

“It’s not that many of us,” he said.

BLJ Community Rowing offers adult and youth programs. Churches, schools, companies, and organizations are welcome to participate in the corporate program, where employees can learn about and practice camaraderie, teamwork, health and wellness.

BLJ is located at 2200 Kelly Drive in Philadelphia, in front of St. Joseph University’s boathouse along Kelly Drive.

Brandy Norwood, Cinderella, cinderella, descendants, rise of red, money, Disney, Disney original

by Stacy Jackson

September 19, 2023

Singer Brandy To Drop A Christmas Album

Brandy Norwood is reportedly preparing a Christmas album to be released this year, and A&R executive Jaha Johnson gave fans a little sneak peek inside the studio session. According to a video posted to Johnson’s Instagram Story, Norwood has tracks lined up for an upcoming Christmas album.

According to Vibe, Johnson wrote via his Instagram Stories September 13, “One of my favorite things to do is sequence the album. Christmas will never be the same.”

The video exposed 11 potential tracks that Johnson sequenced on a whiteboard. Song titles included “Feels Different,” “Celebrate My Baby,” “Someday at Christmas,” and “Silent Night.”

Norwood’s vocals graced the background, singing her rendition of “The Christmas Song,” another title that appeared on the whiteboard of songs.

Brandy is finally dropping a Christmas album. OMGGG!!! 😭😍🔥🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/0LMVRyEUcx

— writtenbytruth.bsky.social ✍🏾🗣 (@writtenbytruth) September 14, 2023

A release date has not yet been confirmed, but the whiteboard song selections could be an extension of Norwood’s Christmas gig, which she announced last year. In March 2022, the actress revealed her starring role in the Netflix original film Best. Christmas. Ever.

“Get ready for the Best Christmas Ever. I’m so excited to join this phenomenal cast for this special holiday film coming soon to @netflix,” Norwood captioned an Instagram post.

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A post shared by 4 e v e r b r a n d y ♠️ (@brandy)

The comedy, directed by Mary Lambert, follows Norwood’s character, Jackie, as she faces a twist of fate that connects her with an old college friend who tries to prove Jackie’s life isn’t so perfect. The friends eventually have to make things right when the holiday comes close to shambles.

Fans can catch Norwood on Netflix starring as Jackie when the comedy film releases on November 16.

New York, Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer

by Sharelle Burt

September 19, 2023

Senate Prepares For New Looks After Majority Leader Eases Dress Code

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is now allowing legislators to come as they please to Senate chambers with a relaxed dress code, NBC News reports. Notices went out to the Senate sergeant-at-arms and certain staff members on September 15, stating the change would go into effect September 18.

Prior to the new policy, the Senate enforced an informal dress code, requiring lawmakers to dress in business attire. Because the policy isn’t a formal one, many legislators have been seen in athletic wear, denim, shoes and no socks, vibrant wigs and more.

Some lawmakers turn heads with their keen fashion sense; some, like John Fetterman (D-PA), who wears a hoodie and baseball shorts on the Senate floor, challenge the status quo. According to the Associated Press, Fetterman often kept off the Senate floor in his casual gear, voting from doorways in order to avoid trouble.

As for Schumer, we won’t be seeing him in more relaxed attire. “There has been an informal dress code that was enforced,” he said in a statement. “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit.”

Professional attire standards in politics have been trending for the past few months. In February, state representative Justin Pearson (D-TN) was criticized for wearing a dashiki on his first day on the Tennessee House floor. His appearance seemingly threatened Republican lawmakers, prompting them to respond to a tweet of Pearson wearing the garment with his fist raised.

“If you don’t like rules, perhaps you should explore a different career opportunity that’s main purpose is not creating them,” the GOP account tweeted.

Numerous conservative officials have expressed their disdain for casual dress on the Senate floor. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted off on Twitter, calling the former dress protocol “one of society’s standards that set etiquette and respect for our institutions. Stop lowering the bar!”

The Senate no longer enforcing a dress code for Senators to appease Fetterman is disgraceful.

Dress code is one of society’s standards that set etiquette and respect for our institutions.

Stop lowering the bar!

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) September 17, 2023

Presidential candidate and Florida governor Ron DeSantis also addressed the change, blaming it on Fetterman, according to Florida’s Voice. “We need to be lifting up our standards in this country, not dumbing down.”

DESANTIS: “The US Senate just eliminated its dress code because you got this guy from Pennsylvania [Fetterman] – who’s got a lot of problems […] he wears, like, sweatshirts and hoodies and shorts […] We need to be lifting up our standards in this country, not dumbing down.” pic.twitter.com/IZDlkmPcPA

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 18, 2023

The new dress code applies only to elected officials. People on the legislator’s staff will still be required to wear business attire, as will outsiders who walk onto the Senate floor.