Kamala Harris, day of unreasonable conversations, 107 Days, book tour, Trump adminsitration

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 19, 2024

Biden-Harris Administration Reveals Historic HBCU Funding Of $16 Billion

Harris announced the record-level achievement in a statement.

The Biden-Harris administration announced that federal HBCU investments and support now total more than $16 billion.

The funding eclipses the $7 billion originally allocated to the institutions, reported by HBCUBuzz. The new amount will comprise $11.4 billion from 2021 to 2023, stemming from federal grants, contracting awards, and debt relief. The vice president released a statement on the record support measure, which includes funding from fiscal years 2021 to 2024.

“As a proud graduate of Howard University, I know firsthand that our HBCUs are centers of academic excellence,” shared Harris. “For generations, these anchors of our communities have played a pivotal role in building and contributing to America’s leadership at home and abroad.”

Over $4 billion will also ensure education benefits for veterans and HBCU students needing federal financial aid through Pell Grants and work-study programs. The accomplishments hope to extend throughout the year, establishing the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to strengthening HBCUs.

She added, “We know that when we invest in the success of our HBCUs, we are investing in the strength of our Nation -– today and for generations to come.”

As the Biden-Harris ticket seeks reelection this year, these historic funding levels hope to promote their cause to diverse voters. Biden has faced some weariness from Black and young voters thus far in his campaign, leading to new initiatives and engagements by both he and Harris to revitalize the crucial demographic.

Significantly in focus is Harris, whose historic feat as the first Black woman vice president resonated with Black voters in 2020. Last year, the HBCU alum traveled to many minority-serving institutions for her Fight For Our Freedoms tour. For many HBCU graduates, Harris also shared a congratulatory video message for their commencement ceremonies.

However, as the race heats up, Biden-Harris’ achievement toward HBCUs hopes to signify that their work toward the Black community deserves another term.

P Diddy, combs, lawsuit, Howard University, video, cassie, Revolt, CEO

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 19, 2024

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Apologizes After Surveillance Footage Shows 2016 Assault On Cassie Ventura

Diddy claims that he takes full responsibility for the actions exposed in the video.

Sean “Diddy” Combs speaks out following a CCTV video released of him abusing his former partner, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. The footage showed Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in the 2016 incident.

Combs posted the apologetic video as an Instagram reel on May 19, captioning it as “I’m truly sorry.” He stated that his “inexcusable” behavior stemmed from a dark time in his life.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LOVE (@diddy)

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” shared Combs. “I was f*cked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”

CNN released the footage from a Los Angeles hotel security camera, which aligns with Ventura’s now-settled lawsuit detailing the abusive incident with Combs, released to the public on May 17. The video showed a presumed Ventura attempting to leave the hotel room she shared with the Revolt founder.

However, Diddy seemingly walked out of the room with merely a towel on to track down Ventura. Upon finding her at the elevator, he struck her down while later kicking her multiple times. The footage also shows Diddy throwing a vase at the “Me & U” singer.

In his apology video, he continued, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help, got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

Regarding legal action, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office shared that the date of the incident is outside the time to prosecute an assault. Following the video’s reveal, Ventura’s attorney stated that the footage “confirmed” the allegations against the entertainer.

“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” explained the lawyer, shared by the Hollywood Reporter. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Ventura’s lawsuit, filed in November 2023, sparked a trend of others coming forward with abuse and sex trafficking allegations against the media mogul. In light of his multiple accusations, Combs has left Hollywood and removed himself from many of his enterprises.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 19, 2024

Sex Offender Allegedly Fakes Death To Evade Registry, Starts New Family In Arizona

Upon his arrest, Benjamin Hollins lived in Arizona with a family who had young children.

A presumed-dead sex offender has been found alive in Arizona with a new family. Benjamin Hollins allegedly faked his death to avoid being named on the sex offender registry.

Hollins was considered deceased after a woman claimed he jumped off the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge in October 2023. Despite a body never being found, officials assumed the man died from a suicide attempt. However, a new revelation uncovered the incident as a ruse.

However, authorities later arrested Hollins on May 14 in Arizona, according to People. They discovered that the 50-year-old bribed the woman to make a false police report to get the police off his trail. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office called his scheme a waste of county resources.

“Now a lot of resources were wasted looking for his body, which was clearly not found because he wasn’t dead,” explained Sheriff Mark Lamb.

The sheriff added, “Nice try, Benjamin. We found you: You’re not dead. We’re gonna hold you accountable.”

Hollins was deemed a sex offender in California over two decades ago. Upon moving to Arizona in 2018, he was not registered in the state, but he worked as a behavioral health counselor. However, Hollins attempted to commit another sex crime with a 16-year-old patient. He was ordered to register annually as a sex register in addition to probation.

After deeming his fake death a success, Hollins returned to Arizona to live with a family, which included young children. However, further investigation into the true status of his whereabouts led to police finding him in the Mesa, Arizona, home. The family was also shocked to learn about his background and the scheme to avoid the registry.

Hollins faces multiple charges while behind bars, such as failure to confirm identification as a sex offender and failure to provide a change of name and address as a sex offender. His next trial date is May 21.

by Daniel Johnson

May 19, 2024

Muriel Bowser Faces Scrutiny After Trips To Masters, Las Vegas

The mayor’s trips to the council of shopping centers have received scrutiny since at least 2017.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser faced criticism over a pair of trips alleged to have taken place using taxpayer money during May. Earlier in May, Bowser took a trip to The Masters that appeared on her public calendar of events as a “sports and economic development visit.” According to the mayor’s spokesperson, two women chairing a Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force invited the mayor and her team to the event.

As Fox 5 reports, one of those chairs is the CEO for EDENS, Jodie McLean. EDENS does millions of dollars in business in Washington, D.C. When Fox 5 reporter Stephanie Ramirez asked Bowser for additional clarification, she bristled, telling Ramirez, “We tried to be transparent, so I don’t know what questions you have that remain. We disclosed – I don’t know what questions you have that remain; we expect an invoice if it hasn’t – we haven’t received it yet from EDENS… I believe that the estimated costs were in the range of $5-$6,000, and that’s for air travel … per person.”

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser was questioned today by @RamirezReports about a trip to The Masters in Georgia last month. She’s set to take a business trip to Las Vegas this weekend. “We expect an invoice… I believe that the estimated costs were in the range of $5-$6k… per person.” pic.twitter.com/KFOndlqJz4
— DMV News Live (@DCNewsLive) May 11, 2024

Bowser continued, defending her trip to Augusta National Golf Course, “Listen, voters have placed their trust in me to make the best decisions for the District for the last 15 years, including three elections as mayor. We made no secret about the fact that we make sports investments. We are the sports capital, and we are going to promote the District in every corner of the world, and that has been my experience as mayor.”

When Fox 5 asked why the trip had so much secrecy around it, Bowser replied, “You know the reason why you know about the trip? Because it was on my public schedule. That’s not a secret.”

According to the mayor’s public calendar, the next trip is described as an “economic mission” to the International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas, held from May 19-21. “On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, Mayor Bowser will attend the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) LAS VEGAS to attract retail to the District of Columbia. This economic mission is coordinated by the Washington, DC Economic Partnership, which has organized the District’s presence at ICSC since 2001.”

The mayor’s trips to the council of shopping centers have received scrutiny since at least 2017. At the time, D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) defended the trip, telling the Washington Post, “It’s great. D.C. has changed, and we can make a different pitch than we could make years ago. It used to be that we had to tell them about the vision of what D.C. could become. Now, everybody wants to come open a store in the District. Frankly, if we weren’t here, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs.”

Others, like Monica Kamen, then the co-director of the D.C. Fair Budget Commission, believed there was a better way for taxpayer money to be allocated, given the gentrification concerns in the District. Kamen told the Post, “There’s been a lot of development in D.C. that has led to massive gentrification and a rise in the cost of living, and we need to be looking at how we continue development without further displacing people. A week before the budget vote, I would hope that that is where most of their focus was — on how to maximize spending for those in need . . . not in Las Vegas talking about giving away too many tax dollars to retailers.”

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 19, 2024

Airbnb Host Claims App Banned Him Over Racist Posts About Black Women

The host referred to the race of guests in numerous posts, even calling Black women 'ghetto.'

An Airbnb host believes the app banned him over racist tweets he made about Black women. Despite being a superhost, the X user’s words left him without the stream of income.

Petey B, whose X account name is realpeteyb123, vented about his situation to the social media app on May 14. He wrote in the lengthy post that Airbnb considers him racist due to his alleged discriminatory action.

Airbnb threw me out of their community and canceled all of my future guests because they deemed me as racist based on my account here on X.

I even had a guest coming in this weekend. I feel terrible that all these people have to find new lodgings last minute because they want to… pic.twitter.com/JMbtwu2qnW
— Petey B (@realpeteyb123) May 14, 2024

“Airbnb threw me out of their community and canceled all of my future guests because they deemed me as racist based on my account here on X,” he shared.

He blamed the “woke company” for the guests having to source new accommodations at the last minute. He revealed his shock at Airbnb’s policy to terminate working with anyone suspected to be racist despite being a “superhost” for users.

“I was a superhost, had 200+ reviews and had amazing reviews from people of all ethnicities,” he wrote. “Never once did I discriminate against any guest. They say because of my rants about Black American females I was discriminating. On the contrary, all I did was have to manually approve guests to make sure they aren’t throwing parties. I rented my villas to African Americans and all ethnicities.”

Although he claimed not to make racially insensitive comments toward guests, Petey B has mentioned their race online before. In a prior post about renters trying to reverse the credit card charges, the man exposed the story to X, stating that the issue is common for Black female customers.

“All my friends and family who own restaurants suffer with black female patrons doing chargebacks,” shared the former Airbnb host, as reported by Newsweek. ” You can call these posts racist, or we can deal with the problem at hand. If you think I’m racist, you can kiss my a**.”

In another instance, he referred to Black women as “ghetto” for their conduct at a restaurant. The women responded to someone smoking a cigarette at a restaurant in Greece.

“My friend told her nicely that it’s allowed and they began screaming and acting hysterical and called over management,” he wrote. “Management told them it’s allowed. They said they don’t care and aren’t paying. Management told them they aren’t allowed to leave, are calling the cops and blocked them from moving. BTW the girls were ghetto.”

Despite not believing his posts were discriminatory, Airbnb considered otherwise. In its tough stance against racism, the app told Petey B that his future with them was canceled indefinitely.

“This decision is in line with our community standards and policies, which we take very seriously to ensure a safe and respectable environment for all our users,” the lodging website told him. “All upcoming reservations will be canceled and we will assist our guests with relocating.”

by Daniel Johnson

May 19, 2024

Survey: 70 Years Brown V. Board, Segregation Haunts American Education System

A ProPublica report found that segregation academies in the South highlight how the conservative push for “school choice” aims to resegregate schools.

A Washington Post-Ipsos survey indicates that a vast majority of Americans support the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools should be outlawed, but a closer look at the education system reveals that public schools were never functionally desegregated. As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, schools remain segregated largely through the practice of “educational redlining,” which has a direct impact on which schools receive funding.

As The Hill reports, a 2022 report from the Education Trust found that school districts with predominantly non-white students receive on average $2,000 less per student than school districts with predominantly white students. This translates to approximately a $13.5 million gap in funding for a school district with 5,000 students in it.

Jalisa Evans, the chief executive officer and founder of the Black Educator Advocates Network, told the outlet that educational redlining has led to continued inequities in funding. “Today, schools with large numbers of Black students are underfunded,” Evans said.

A ProPublica report found that across the South, segregation academies underscore the argument that the renewed push for “school choice” from conservative governors is just another push to resegregate schools. According to a graduate thesis by Auburn University student Amberly Faye Sheffield, Wilcox County, Alabama, is a site where this is most evident.

“Following the federal enforcement of Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Wilcox County underwent a series of desegregation attempts that led whites in the rural county to adopt new resistance tactics such as “freedom of choice,” district zoning, and, finally, segregation academies.” Sheffield wrote. “According to this research, segregation academies presented white resisters with the most successful method of white resistance and allowed them to override federal enforcement of integration in Wilcox for decades after Brown ruled to end segregation in school.”

Stefan Lallinger, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, told the Washington Post that although Americans generally agree on Brown v Board, where the fundamental disagreement resides in how to fix the segregation embedded in the current education system. “The Brown decision speaks to our highest ideals as a nation. It’s who we say we want to be as a country,” said Lallinger. “Where the rubber meets the road is where people’s personal decisions about where to send their kids to school clash with those ideals.”

That disconcertion exists across racial lines; both Black and white Americans say that they are in favor of neighborhood schools, even if that means segregated schools. For Black Americans, that figure is split at 50%, but 80% of white Americans are fine with resegregating schools.

Ann Owens, a professor of sociology and public policy at the University of Southern California and the author of a study that found that racial segregation in 100 of the biggest school districts in America has increased by 64% since 1988. “When we switched from a commitment to integration and equity to school choice, it’s not terribly surprising that we see rising school segregation. We’ve abdicated our responsibility to integration, and unfettered choice does not magically lead to integration,” she told Vox.

Owens continued, emphasizing that the concentration of Black and Latinx students in high-poverty districts “drives a lot of inequality and disparate outcomes that we see. It’s not that sitting next to a kid of a particular racial group is on its face beneficial. It’s that resources from home, social resources, and political resources in our society are linked to race.”

Peru, Transgender, Intersex people, LGBTQ+ Community, International, Global

by Jameelah Mullen

May 19, 2024

LGBTQ+ Community Outraged As Peru Classifies Transgender, Nonbinary, And Intersex People As ‘Mentally Ill’

The Peruvian Health Ministry claims the decision aims to ensure public health services can 'guarantee full mental health coverage' for the LGBTQ community.

Government officials in Peru announced that they will classify transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people as “mentally ill.”

The Peruvian Health Ministry said that the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the LGBTQ community, the Telegraph reported.

The decree, signed by President Dina Boluarte, will change the language in the Essentials Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect that trans and intersex people have mental disorders. Conditions that will be recognized as mental health disorders include “transsexualism,” “dual role transvestism,” “gender identity disorder in childhood,” “fetish transvestism,” and “ego-dystonic sexual orientation.”

However, LGBTQ+ people will not be forced to complete reconversion therapies, Peru’s Ministry of Health (MINSA) said in a statement.

“The sexual orientation and gender identity of a person does not constitute in itself a physical or mental health disorder and, therefore, they should not be subjected to treatment or medical care or to so-called reconversion therapies, as established.”

LGBTQ activists slammed the new law, calling it a major step backward in the fight for their rights.

“Besides the ‘new Section 28’ in England, today is also a very sad and revolting day for the LGBTQ community and human rights advocates in Peru,” an X user said.

Besides the ‘new Section 28’ in England, today is also a very sad and revolting day for the LGBTQ community and human rights advocates in Peru.

Dina Boluarte issued an official decree defining “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorders” as MENTAL ILLNESSES. pic.twitter.com/K6lvNndgHn

— Faith. 🌙✨ (@ihgdabc) May 15, 2024

“After years after the decriminalization of homosexuality, the @Minsa_Peru has nothing better to do than to include trans people in the category of mental illnesses,” Jheinser Pacaya, director of OutfestPeru, wrote on X.”

A 100 años de la despenalización de la homosexualidad el @Minsa_Peru no tiene mejor idea que incluir a las personas trans en la categoría de enfermedades mentales. Exigimos y no descansaremos hasta su derogaracion. pic.twitter.com/gKczZeq0OI

— Jheinser Pacaya 🏳️‍🌈 (@jheinserrr) May 14, 2024

Percy Mayta-Tristán, a medical researcher at Lima’s Scientific University of the South, said that this decision displayed a lack of awareness about LGBTQ+ issues.

“You can’t ignore the context that this is happening in a super-conservative society,” he told The Telegraph.

“Officially pathologizing LGBT people in Peru may seriously undermine efforts to improve rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Mayta-Tristan said.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Trump, ballroom, DC Hillbillies

by Mary Spiller

May 19, 2024

Rep. Jasmine Crockett Says Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Comments About Her Appearance Were ‘Absolutely’ Racist

Marjorie Taylor Greene inappropriately commented on Crockett's 'fake eyelashes' during a meeting.

Democratic Texas representative Jasmine Crockett has spoken out about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments about her eyelashes. After the viral comments made during a meeting, Crockett told The Hill that Greene’s words about her physical appearance show that she’s “absolutely” racist.

Crockett said, “She is racist. I mean, I don’t have any questions about that. Because, I mean, I don’t know that she’s ever attacked her colleagues.” She pointed out that Greene has never attacked any of their white colleagues’ appearances, but the Georgia representative insulted Crockett about her false eyelashes.

She specifically mentioned Greene’s many conflicts with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo).

“Her and Boebert aren’t getting along. Boebert has clip-ins in her hair. And Boebert wears lashes, too, sometimes — it looks like. I don’t know. But she doesn’t attack her for any of her [physical embellishments]. She doesn’t do that, right? But she decided to do it to me. So absolutely [she’s a racist],” Crockett expressed.

“She probably will raise money, because the racists are going to be so happy to give it to her.”

The incident that Crockett references occurred at a meeting regarding Attorney General Merrick Garland. However, the push for a resolution was sidelined when Greene commented on Crockett’s appearance, which led to chaos breaking out in the meeting.

“Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland,” Crockett said at one point during the hearing. She continued, “Do you know what we’re here for?”

“I don’t think you know what you’re here for,” Greene responded to Crockett. As many viral clips have shown, she proceeded to say, “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”

The out-of-pocket remark led several other representatives to snap back at Greene for her inappropriate statement, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling the statement “disgusting” and told her to apologize.

Crockett also pushed back following Greene’s remarks during the meeting. She pushed against the ruling committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky) for his response To Greene’s unprofessionalism.

She said, “I’m just curious, just to better understand your ruling. If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach blond bad-built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”

by Mary Spiller

May 18, 2024

Ye And Taylor Swift Are Battling Again–On The Charts. ‘Vultures 1’ Usurps ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ On Billboard’s Vinyl Albums Chart

"Vultures 1" is Ye’s third No.1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

Ye’s most recent album drop Vultures 1 carved its way to the top of Billboard’s Vinyl Albums chart in the United States this week. Its position has been bolstered by its first-time release on vinyl, as the first in a series of three albums set to be released between Ye and fellow rapper Ty Dolla $ign.

As reported by Forbes, Vultures 1‘s success is largely due to the surge of vinyl purchases that came after the drop. Its popularity has allowed Ye’s new album to overtake Taylor Swift’s most recent and highly popular album.

As one of the biggest names in the music industry and a longtime rival of the 46-year-old Atlanta-born, Chicago-reared artist, Swift saw her latest album The Tortured Poets Department pushed down from the number 1 spot on this week’s Vinyl Albums chart once Vultures 1 debuted. Despite its initial release back in February of this year, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s project is new to Billboard’s popular list of bestselling titles in the vinyl format.

Swift’s album currently sits at the number 2 spot after being at the top for several weeks.

Vultures 1 is Ye’s third No.1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, after he sat at the top with his albums Ye and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Overall, he’s had five top 10 appearances on the Billboards list. This album marks the first time $ign has been featured on the Vinyl Albums list at all.

As previously reported, Ye and Swift have a long-standing dislike for one another following several very public and messy disagreements and back-and-forths with one another, stemming initially from Ye interrupting the 34-year-old country singer while she was accepting an MTV Video Music Award to say he felt it should have gone to Beyoncé instead.

Notably, the conflict rekindled when Ye released his song “Famous” on his 2016 album The Life of Pablo. On it, he rapped about allegedly having sex with Swift and called her a “bitch.”

by Daniel Johnson

May 18, 2024

High School Baseball Team Suspends Season Due To Racism

Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach canceled the remainder of its baseball season after an investigation uncovered a culture of racism in the school’s baseball program.

Kempsville High School in Virginia Beach canceled the remainder of its baseball season after an investigation uncovered a culture of racism in the school’s baseball program. While details of what led to the investigation are still being uncovered, it is believed to have originated when a mother of a member of the team complained about her son being called racial slurs, including the N-word.

As WTKR3 reported, Principal Melissa George sent an email to parents stating that as a result of an investigation conducted by Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the school’s baseball team would be forfeiting a game on May 2, and would be attempting to determine what the baseball season, if any, would look like going forward.

“After our lengthy investigation after we received allegations of racism on the baseball team earlier in April, we have found that racism, hate speech, and harassment have been an ongoing issue for multiple years. Due to additional information we have through our investigation, at this time we are forfeiting (the May 2) game against PA (Princess Anne).”

George continued, “Working with the Senior Executive Director of High Schools, Dr. Walter Brower, the Chief of Schools, Mr. Matt Delaney, and Coach Penn, we came to the decision that we can not in good faith play baseball knowing the number of players involved. We will continue to work with VBCPS officials and school level personnel to determine what the remainder of the season will look like.”

George concluded, “Please know that this is much broader than the initial allegations brought forth and stems across multiple years. Should you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to Dr. Brower… More information will be sent out once a decision has been made.”

The allegations appear to stem from a mother of one of the players who has alleged that her son was called several racial slurs, including the N-word. She has posted several videos to her public Facebook page and is looking into getting a lawyer involved.

Another parent, Anissa Bowden believes that the problem extends well beyond the baseball program, telling the outlet, “It is traumatizing to a child who’s never had this happen before. And if it happens every single day of your life, you start thinking maybe they’re right. I will guarantee you that it’s not just an isolated incident on the baseball team.”

Virginia Beach NAACP President Dr. Eric Majette also called attention to the history of the Virginia Beach school system in his own statement. “We call attention to the ongoing acts of hate and racism within the Virginia Beach Public School System at Kempsville High School and are extremely concerned about how this situation has existed for quite sometime.”

Majette continued, “We applaud the brave young men who spoke up in an effort to advocate for equality within this system. It is unfortunate that racism still exist and that our youth have had to endure its ugly head. It must be stamped out everywhere. It is our goal to ensure that the residents do not live in fear or with undue anxiety, just because they are African American.”