Veterinarian, Westminster Kennel Club', Veterinarian Of The Year, Dr. Treyton Diggs

by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2024

Treyton Diggs Named Westminster Kennel Club’s Veterinarian Of The Year

According to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 2.2% of veterinarians in America are Black.

Dr. Treyton Diggs was selected as the 2024 Veterinarian of the Year by the Westminster Kennel Club, becoming the first Black Veterinarian as well as the first Louisianan to win the award. Diggs was selected for the honor due to his “values, dedication, and moral compass in animal care.”

As 4WWL reports, Diggs appreciates the honor, but directed the credit to his staff.

“I am truly humbled and honored to have been selected for such a prestigious award from The Westminster Kennel Club, which significantly highlights my career and who I strive to be personally and professionally,” Diggs told 4WWL . “I share this award with my amazing colleagues who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me in making a difference, and validating the impact of veterinary medicine while simultaneously teaching our children and students that dreams accompanied with dedication, perseverance, and grit can become a reality.”

Diggs graduated from Tuskegee University, one of the few HBCUs with a veterinary medicine school. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent data shows that only 2.2% of veterinarians in America are Black.

Shows like National Geographic’s Critter Fixers, which follows Black vets Dr. Vernard Hodges and Dr. Terrance Ferguson, and Animal Planet’s The Vet Life, featuring Dr. Diarra Blue, highlight the success of Black veterinarians. Despite these positive representations and the national Vet for a Day program by Hodges and Ferguson, which introduces teenagers to veterinary medicine, the statistics for Black veterinarians remain low.

According to Ferguson’s estimate, the pair have helped 63 veterinarians from diverse backgrounds get into veterinary programs. He noted that when he was young, he didn’t have access to when programs such as Vet for a Day.

“When I was young, I didn’t see a Black veterinarian, so I said, ‘You know what? I want to let kids know that it does not matter what color you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re handicapped,” Ferguson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2021. “Whatever your restrictions are, you can become one—even if you don’t see it.’”

by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2024

International African-American Museum Celebrates One Year Anniversary

In its opening year, the $100 million museum saw 187,657 visitors.

Charleston, South Carolina’s International African American Museum is celebrating one year in operation following 20 years of planning and development. In its opening year, the $100 million museum saw 187,657 visitors, five exhibits, and 7,148 yearly memberships.

“I think our engagement levels were far beyond what we expected,” Dr. Tanya Matthews, the museum’s president and CEO, told Live 5 News. “Of course, we wanted to open the doors and we really knew that folks were excited.”

Matthews continued, “I think as we go into the next year, we have a bit more confidence about how we can activate our space and how creative we can be in our space. We’ve learned how to activate our east and west yard with everything from upscale cocktail parties, to young designer fashion shows have been in the space with us. We use our classroom space, of which we now know we need more because apparently the grownups want to take the same classes that the young folks want to do. I think both our visitors and our members and our donors have figured out: ‘Oh my goodness, tomorrow there’s going to be something new.’

The five exhibits, which rotate, were birthed by the long incubation cycle for the museum’s opening. Matthews also told Live 5 News that she believes that the museum’s ability to adapt its storytelling will continue to appeal to visitors.

“After 20 years of planning, we had a lot of things we wanted to come out the gate with. We’re particularly excited about our newest changing traveling exhibition, Follow the North Star, because we were able to incorporate some of the stories from our genealogy center that our visitors had left with us in this exhibition. So we incorporated that into the exhibition. And I think folks have gotten really excited.” Follow the North Star exhibit, curated by James E. Bartlett, traces how Black Americans self-definitions of freedom were pursued in various ways.

“I think one of the most reinforcing conversations we’ve had with museum visitors is how inspired they feel when they’re leaving the museum,” Matthew said. “A lot of them say we understand the history and we knew we want to learn some tough, tough stories, but we never expected to leave inspired by the resilience, by the triumph.”

According to National Geographic, approximately 80 percent of Black Americans can trace at least one ancestor to the Charleston area and the museum, which is strategically placed on Gadsen’s Wharf, the largest port of entry for enslaved people from 1783-1807, is acutely aware of this history. But, as the museum’s website states it’s “a place that can now be fully explored, interrogated, and honored. Together, we can move forward.”

lawsuit, JaMarcus Russell,,Connie Bobo,, Missouri,

by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2024

Former NFL Star JaMarcus Russell Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged $74,000 Donation Theft

Russell was also fired as a volunteer high school assistant coach.

JaMarcus Russell, the number-one draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, is accused of stealing a $74,000 donation to Williamson High School that was intended as a donation to the school’s athletic department.

Chris Knowles, a local business owner in Mobile, Alabama, said Russell approached him about making a donation to help the school purchase athletic equipment. Knowles then wrote a $74,000 check intended for the school. As ESPN reports, Knowles’ check never reached its intended recipient because Russell allegedly cashed the check at Navigator Credit Union in July 2022 and then withdrew $55,000 of the money.

According to Mobile County Public Schools officials, “JaMarcus Russell was relieved of his volunteer coaching duties at Williamson High School during the fall of last year.” In addition to his firing, Russell is also not allowed to return to the Williamson High School campus. He attempted to attend an event featuring the school’s during the week of June 22 but was informed that he was not welcome there.

Former No. 1 NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell was fired as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Williamson High School in Mobile, AL, and is facing a lawsuit accusing him of taking a $74,000 check meant as a donation to the school. https://t.co/TNONWnoHv7
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 29, 2024

https://twitter.com/jasrifootball/status/1807090140247965833?t=FfbwdHcZgQ9XR3hQRZ3XhQ&s=19

JaMarcus Russell is both a defendant and plaintiff in an odd legal dispute where he's accused of soliciting a $74,000 check to donate to his high school football team, where he was a volunteer coach, and then keeping it. But he blames guy who wrote check. https://t.co/5LqSyxb06e.
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) June 29, 2024

The school district told WKRG, “Earlier this week, it was reiterated to Mr. Russell that he is not permitted to be around the football program or on school campus.”

According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the credit union, which was obtained by The Athletic, although payment on the check should have resulted in Russell’s account being overdrafted, it was instead paid out due to an error.

Knowles informed WKRG that he had the check stopped after Russell failed to produce a receipt of the donation and he would not answer his phone calls. Russell was relieved of his duties during the fall of 2023, but the school district neither confirmed nor denied that the firing was related to the lawsuit, officially declaring Russell’s firing the result of personnel matters.

Russell’s attorney, Donald Briskman, informed WKRG that he could not comment on the case and in March 2024, nearly eight months after the credit union filed its lawsuit, Russell filed a counterclaim against Knowles for stopping the payment on the check. Russell did admit to depositing the check, but denied any wrongdoing, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

The case is scheduled for an October 2024 trial.

Russell starred on the high school football team at Williamson High School before attending Louisiana State University, where he compiled 6,625 yards and 52 touchdowns in three years before being drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2007. Russell’s 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in three seasons make him one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

by Shanique Yates

July 1, 2024

Mother And Son Elevate Black-Owned Beauty Supply Store With 7-Figure Expansion

The mother-son duo of Nneka Slade and Kameron Coleman are on their way.

An Ohio mother and son are taking their beauty supply store imprint to greater heights.

Nneka Slade, 49, and her son Kameron Coleman, 25, own the Play Beauty Supply store located in the city of Richmond Heights. After acquiring the store in 2020, they have officially inked a deal, worth 7-figures to expand their stake in the industry across Ohio.

“We never dreamed about this happening,” Slade, told The Akron Beacon Journal per AfroTech. “We didn’t even know what was going to happen but if we failed, we were going to fail big, something like this doesn’t happen.”

In March, the mother-and-son duo acquired another beauty supply store, Star Beauty Plus, in Maple Heights. Despite the generation gap between the mother and son, the pair credits the success and growth of their business to the many lessons they’ve learned from one another throughout the process.

“She leans on me to bring in the new 21st-century ideas, the delivery, websites, marketing. It’s a balance with each other,” said Coleman of his mother.

“We learned a lot about each other,” Slade added. “I’m more of the left brain-organized, structured, and Kameron is more of the right brain-creative, risk taker. There’s a nice balance that happens.”

A Black-owned beauty supply store in Ohio is a rarity. Slade, who worked as a cosmetologist for three decades before her foray into owning the company, understands the assignments. This is why all products at Play Beauty Supply are curated with minority groups in mind.

“People that come in now to the store are excited to see that it’s Black-owned,” said Slade. “They come in shedding tears because they can buy the products they need for their hair. People come in from all over either around or out of town, and most are coming from Akron and Canton areas. We are so happy about the support we have received.”

Prior to purchasing Play Beauty Supply, Slade and Coleman took the e-commerce approach to selling hair extensions. After spending time in hair salons and working directly with stylists to create visibility around their products, the two decided to go all in with a storefront.

COVID Vaccine, black churches, outreach, Rev. W. Franklyn, CDC, center for disease control,

by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2024

CDC Partners With Black Churches To Continue COVID-19 Outreach

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $3 million to the Conference of National Black Churches.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $3 million to the Atlanta-based Conference of National Black Churches as part of the CDC’s larger $18 million effort to assist community organizations.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, the effort may also result from a request by the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, the chairman of the CNBC. “Black people have not always gotten the greatest attention by the CDC. I said that to them, and they owned it and wanted to correct it.”

Richardson, who is seeking more in-depth conversations about overall health, continued, “Pastors are trusted messengers. Pastors are with people in the most intimate times of crisis—in sickness, in death…Churches are trusted spaces. Not only did they provide vaccinations during the crisis, they served tons of food to families in need.”

The CNBC is an umbrella organization that includes the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the National Baptist Convention USA, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The organization represents 31,000 congregations nationally and 3,000 congregations in Georgia.

CNBC has received funds from the CDC in the past for its efforts to vaccinate the communities in which its member churches reside. This latest round is part of the CDC’s Bridge Access Program, which gives free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance and adults whose insurance does not cover the vaccine. The program will allow for free vaccines through the end of 2024.

According to the NAACP and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on Black Americans, healthwise and economically. A 2021 Pew Research study found that 64% of regular worship attendees at historically Black churches said that their pastor encouraged them to get at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. That number is almost 25% higher than the percentage of other religions, which indicated that 39% of their clergy did the same.

A 2021 study from the Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy revealed that the partnership between Black faith leaders, public health officials, and Black medical professionals increased COVID-19 vaccinations in the Black community in San Bernardino County, California.

As Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir, an assistant professor at Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy and the primary author of the paper, said in a press release, “The U.S. is considered a highly religious nation, and prayer, as well as the promotion of medical treatment by religious leaders, has been historically important in establishing trust in healthcare among Black Americans. The pastors’ leadership was integral to the success of this initiative, as they are well acquainted and had established direct communication with individuals in the Black community.”

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

July 1, 2024

Eddie Murphy Reflects On David Spade’s ‘Racist’ SNL Joke About Him From ’90s

Murphy felt he was a constant target of racist jokes and media attention at the beginning of his career.

Eddie Murphy still harbors anger over what he considered a racist joke made by David Spade on Saturday Night Live episode in 1995.

Murphy spoke of the incident in an interview with The New York Times. The 63-year-old recalled how Spade made fun of his career during a sketch, going after Murphy’s 1995 film Vampire in Brooklyn failing at the box office. In Spade’s “Hollywood Minute” segment, the comedian showed a picture of the star and joked, “Look children, it’s a falling star. Make a wish.” Murphy felt the sketch had racist intentions and was a “cheap shot.”

“It was like: ‘Yo, it’s in-house! I’m one of the family, and you’re f*ck*ng with me like that?’ It hurt my feelings like that,” explained Murphy, who became a superstar and resurrected SNL in the early 1980s. “This is Saturday Night Live. I’m the biggest thing that ever came off that show. The show would have been off the air if I didn’t go back on the show, and now you got somebody from the cast making a crack about my career?”

He added, “And I know that he can’t just say that. A joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was OK to say that. And all the people that have been on that show, you’ve never heard nobody make no joke about anybody’s career. Most people that get off that show, they don’t go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal. It was like, ‘Yo, how could you do that?’ My career? Really? A joke about my career? So I thought that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought—I felt it was racist.”

Moreover, Murphy noted how media outlets racially targeted him, especially as he gained more traction. He also explained how his words would get misconstrued to project a “ghetto” image of the actor.

“Just think about it: Ronald Reagan was the president, and it was that America. You would do interviews, and you’re like: ‘I didn’t say that. I don’t talk that way,’” Murphy shared. “They would be writing it in this weird ghetto—I used to have weird [expletive] that would go on. Then I got really popular, and there was this negative backlash that comes with it. It’s like, I was the only one out there. I’m this young, rich, Black one. Everybody wasn’t happy about that in 1983. Even Black folks. You’d get cheap shots from your people.”

Despite the initial hurt, Murphy did note that his relationship with the SNL team and Spade had smoothed over. He returned to host the show in 2019, which led to him winning his first Emmy Award.

“In the long run, it’s all good,” explained the comedian. “Worked out great. I’m cool with David Spade. Cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to ‘SNL.’ I’m cool with everybody. It’s all love.”

Biden Administration, Haitian Migrants, Haiti, Port-au-Prince, International, Global

by Mary Spiller

July 1, 2024

Biden Administration Extends Protected Status For Up To 309,000 Haitian Migrants

The Biden administration cited Haiti's continuous political and economic unrest as the reason for the extension.

On June 28, the Biden administration announced an 18-month extension of the temporary protection status for over 300,000 unauthorized Haitian migrants from Haiti, a designation that will protect them from deportation in the United States.

According to NPR, a temporary protected status, or a TPS, is not an effective permanent legal status for immigrants, however, it “protects against deportation, allows migrants to get a work permit, and sometimes travel authorization.”

The TPS extension will assist immigrant Haitians who are already legally under the temporary protected status and allow Haitians who have been in the United States since the beginning of June to participate in an application for their initial TPS.

The Biden administration’s extension period will officially begin August 4 and will continue through February 3, 2026.

As reported by the Federal Register, information about registering for the TPS will be provided on the website. More information can be found here.

Alejandro Mayorkas, a Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement that the extension comes “due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti. We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of June 3, 2024.”

The main reason for the TPS extension published is because of Haiti’s “simultaneous economic, security, political, and health crises.” As previously reported by NPR, Haiti is currently experiencing unusually extremely high levels of gang violence and violent crimes.

In addition, the Biden administration’s TPS proclamation talks about the disruptive and lasting effects of Haiti’s environmental disaster, which includes a massive 7.0 earthquake in 2010 that devastated the country. They linked the country’s economic and political instability as products and reasons why people have had to flee the country and seek refuge.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

July 1, 2024

Atlanta Barbershop Owner Says Business Has Dropped After Duped Into Hosting Trump Event

The barbershop owner believes he was misled into hosting an event for the Trump campaign.

Rocky Jones, a barbershop owner in Atlanta, claims customers have dwindled after he unintentionally hosted a Trump campaign event.

The day before Donald Trump faced President Joe Biden in the controversial first debate in Atlanta last week, Trump affiliates hosted the Black American Business Leader Barbershop Roundtable at Rocky’s Barbershop. Jones initially believed it was an apolitical event meant to discuss the issues facing Black entrepreneurs.

Instead, Jones was the reluctant host of a Trump campaign event for Black voters. The former President even called in as a surprise to attendees.

“I’m like, why is the ex-president calling somebody in my barbershop? This has nothing to do with small Black businesses,” said Jones to 11Alive.

It was the kind of attention the small business owner didn’t want. “We had some calls Thursday. We definitely got some calls, some backlash, some angry people that don’t know me and I have to deal with that,” Jones said.

The entrepreneur did not disclose his political affiliation but did not want politics to interfere with his business. While he was originally happy to conduct a conversation on Black entrepreneurship in Atlanta, Jones was unaware his establishment would serve to promote Trump’s reelection.

“I thought it was going to be something real private,” he said. “I’m thinking about Black businesses in Atlanta, small Black businesses in Atlanta. And I’m like, ‘OK, so when are we gonna start talking about this?'”

The Trump campaign responded to the controversy revealing by revealing the contract. The campaign said that the two parties signed an agreement to host the event at Rocky’s. Newsweek reports the campaign also paid Jones $4,800 to host it at his property, explicitly written in the agreement as a “political event.” Jones plans to return the money.

The roundtable hoped to rally Black Trump supporters, and potential new ones, ahead of November. As young Black voters migrate from Biden, Trump hopes to chip away at this crucial electorate by hosting events such as this.

Frederick Richard, men's gymnastics, Paris Olympcs

by Daniel Johnson

July 1, 2024

Frederick Richard Leads USA Men’s Gymnastics To Paris Olympics

Frederick Richard became the first American man to medal at the World Championships in 2023.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Men’s United States gymnastics team appears poised to win an Olympic medal. Led by Frederick Richard, the first American man to medal at the World Championships last year, the team is brimming with confidence after qualifying Saturday for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris.

As The Athletic reports, Richard, in particular, capped a brilliant performance at the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials in Minneapolis with a declaration post-performance. “What can you expect to see from me and the team in Paris?” Richard asked the crowd after securing his spot. “Medals. You can expect to see some medals in Paris.”

“I’m an Olympian.”⁰⁰Frederick Richard is GOING TO PARIS! #USAGTrials24 pic.twitter.com/vDfnN2KUAs
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 29, 2024

https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1807153283661783138?t=j0JsyhOXjc1ZZBvIWe6wgw&s=19

https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1796362323034038781?t=0zu3PQlyC-LkDuFDmx3ktw&s=19

“I knew whatever team was chosen is a deadly team, and I stand to say that now that I actually see it — this medal, it’s like, we shouldn’t be aiming for just a medal. We should be aiming for gold,“ Richard said, according to People. “And we’re going to land on something. That’s how I feel.”

Unlike the selection process on the women’s side and in other Olympic sports like basketball, men’s gymnastics is more similar to track and field, where the numbers ultimately determine who gets the slots on the team. However, unlike track and field, the math governing men’s gymnastics is a little more complicated.

The top three scores from each day of competition in the U.S. Championships and Olympic trials are run, and then the top four scores from those competitions are run, which resulted in Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda, Asher Hong, and Stephen Nedoroscik getting the invitations to join the national team, with Khoi Young and Shane Wiskus named as traveling alternates.

“You’re not human if you don’t have those types of emotions for these incredible athletes,” men’s gymnastics program director Brett McClure told The Athletic. “Every athlete put it all on the line, have been training their entire lives for this. It’s absolutely gut-wrenching. It’s horrible for the ones who don’t quite make it, and it’s great for the ones that do The math locked it. That’s why the team is what it is.”

When the outlet pressed him on if it was the best team, McClure said, “This is a great team. Based on the results from two competitions, these are the guys that are the best. For this process, absolutely.”

RELATED CONTENT: Eat Like an Olympian: Simone Biles

Bank of America, employee, disabled client

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

June 30, 2024

8-Year-Old Girl Dies After Mother Allegedly Leaves Her In Hot Car While Working

Her mother, Ashley Stallings, found the child unresponsive, foaming at the mouth and taking shallow breaths.

A North Carolina woman faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after her 8-year-old daughter died after being left alone in a hot car.

According to police, Ashley Stallings, 36, went to work June 26 and left her daughter in her vehicle with the air conditioning on. However, the police arrived in the scene that afternoon to discover the young girl in the vehicle unresponsive and having a medical emergency. She later died at a hospital in Charlotte, from a brain herniation due to hyperthermia.

Police arrested Stallings the next day.

According to her affidavit, which was obtained by ABC News, Stallings believed her daughter turned off the air conditioning without knowing how to turn it back on. She returned to the vehicle to check on the girl after the girl stopped responding to her texts—about 90 minutes. There, the mother found the elementary schooler foaming out the mouth and taking shallow breaths on the backseat floorboard.

Stallings broke into the car with a hammer and attempted to drive to the hospital before stopping for help at a nearby business.

“She admitted she knew the temperature was 94 degrees outside and that she should not have left the victim inside the car alone,” according the affidavit. Stallings was working her shift at an Amazon facility while the incident occurred.

The incident marked at least the fifth hot car death so far this year, according to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety. ABC News reported that a car can heat to 124 degrees in only 30 minutes when it’s 90 degrees outside, according to the National Weather Service.

“This is an incredibly tragic incident,” Amazon said in a statement. “During this difficult time, we’re supporting our employees and have made counseling resources widely available.

An investigation by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department remains ongoing. Stallings is currently being held on a $250,000 bond. She is expected to appear at a trial set for July 16.