mother, mothers, mother's, day, Black, books, motherhood, Alice walker, in search of our mother's gardens, pay her bills
by Booker Jones

May 7, 2024

These Books On Black Motherhood Are Right On Time For Mother’s Day!

Originally Published May 11, 2023

As Mother’s Day approaches, millions will celebrate the mothers in their lives. Mothers who have birthed, raised, or nurtured in any capacity will be treated to dinners, gifts, cash, and other acts of kindness.

Books make great gifts, too. Several books have been written that celebrate Black mothers and motherhood. Maya Angelou penned her opus, Mom & Me, Me & Mom, a book that details the trials and triumphs of having a relationship with her mother. Angelou also penned I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which explores her relationship with her grandmother, who raised her and her brother.

Angelou’s contemporary, Toni Morrison, penned the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Beloved, where Sethe, the story’s main character, manages to escape slavery only to be haunted by her baby girl, who she killed to save from the horrors of slavery.  

While many other books celebrate Black mothers, BLACK ENTERPRISE composed a list of reads celebrating different aspects of Black motherhood. 

…

1.) Anna Malaika Tubbs: The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation 


While many people recognize the names James Baldwin, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, not much is known about Berdis Baldwin, Alberta King, and Louise Little, the mothers of the activists and civil rights leaders.  

Baldwin, King, and X’s work and words endure. However, the mothers of these men were highly-educated and self-taught. Their self-didactic habits were passed down to their sons as an act of resistance. This text gives us insight into the brains and the magic in them that produced iconic leaders.

Purchase The Three Mothers here.

2.) Jacqueline Woodson, Red at the Bone


Red at the Bone tells a multi-generational story of womanhood. The main character is Melody, a Brooklyn teenager raised by her grandparents. While Melody feels her grandparents’ healthy love, curiosity leads her to uncover the shocking details of her mother, Iris, who birthed Melody as a teenager. She discovers that Iris was conflicted over an unplanned pregnancy and her independence. 

Red at the Bone explores young girls’ identity, sexuality, education, and class. 

Purchase Red at the Bone here.

3.) Brit Bennett, The Mothers


Brit Bennett’s debut novel follows a strikingly beautiful and rebellious Nadia Turner. After her mother’s suicide, Turner falls into the arms of a pastor’s son and football star, Luke Shepard, whose promising football career is cut short by an injury. 

Turner and Shepard’s relationship begins as puppy love and becomes serious after an unexpected pregnancy. As Turner and Shepard trudge into adulthood, barely making ends meet as general laborers, The Mothers ask a powerful question: Do we really have to live subject to our parent’s decisions and the decisions adults made as children? 

Purchase The Mothers here. 

4.) Dani McClain, We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood

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There is no solid blueprint for parenthood, so McClain set out to understand how to raise a Black daughter in a racist society. The Columbia University graduate spoke to Black mothers active in social movements. 

McClain’s interviews with Black mothers produced We Live for the We. Readers follow McClain as she raises her daughter from infancy through her teenage years. Outside of McClain and her daughter’s journey, McClain uses thorough research and critique to help provide Black mothers with solid information on parenting.  

Purchase We Live for the We here.

5.) Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose 


Next to The Color Purple, In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose is probably Alice Walker’s best work. In this collection of essays, Walker examines the collective motherhood of Black women.

Witnessing the camaraderie of her mother, her aunts, and Black women writers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author keeps the stories and information gleaned from these in her mind when she sits down to write. 

Purchase In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose here.

6.) Jamaica Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother 


Jamaica Kincaid’s 1996 novel follows Xuela Claudette Richardson, whose mother died in childbirth. Without her mother’s love, Xuela trudges through a depressing life filled with meaningless sex, relationships, and a profound lack of hope. 

All of the hurt leads to Xuela performing a self-inflicted abortion.

The Autobiography of My Mother speaks to the overwhelming number of Black women who die during childbirth. Kincaid’s novel also tells of enslaved mothers killing their children to spare them the horrors of slavery.  

Purchase The Autobiography of My Mother here.

7.) Candice Brathwaite, I Am Not Your Baby Mother


Candice Brathwaite has a national conversation about the dangers expectant Black mothers face. After giving birth to her daughter, Esmé, Brathwaite began having serious health issues, such as a lump in her abdomen and profuse sweating, which doctors passed off as hormonal changes. These health issues, which doctors ignored, led to Brathwaite falling into septic shock. It took Brathwaite nearly one month to recover from her illness. 

I Am Not Your Baby Mother gives voice to mothers experiencing life-altering and potentially fatal health issues after giving birth.

Purchase I Am Not Your Baby Mother here.

8.) Ann Petry, The Street


Lutie Johnson is an attractive and stoic woman living on Harlem’s infamous 116th Street with her 8-year-old son, Bub. Set in the 1940s, Johnson, who has survived the emotional toll of an alcoholic father and a cheating husband, is determined to create a safe space for Bub. 

Johnson attempts to steer her Bub away from negative temptations that flood post-war Harlem, a place many Southerners imagined as the promised land of well-paying jobs, beautiful homes, and less racism. 

Purchase The Street here.

9.) Terry McMillan, Mama

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In Terry McMillan’s 1987 debut novel, readers meet Mildred Peacock, a single mother raising four girls and one son. After forcing her cheating husband, Crook, to leave, Mildred accepts poverty wages to work dead-end jobs to support her family. Her journey is pushing her to the brink of mental breakdown. 

Purchase Mama here.

10.) Nefertiti Austin, Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, And Parenting in America 


Nefertiti Austin brings readers into the obstacles and harsh comments, asking her why she would want to adopt a “crack baby” and telling her she’ll never be able to raise a Black boy alone. 

Throughout Motherhood So White, Austin examines the history of adoption in the Black community while weaving in her personal narrative in her fight to create a family. Unsurprisingly, she learned that motherhood is looked at through a white women’s lens.

Purchase Motherhood So White here.

11.) Hafizah Augustus Geter, The Black Period: On Personhood, Race and Origin  


Hafizah Augustus Geter, a queer Nigerian-born daughter of a Nigerian Muslim woman and an American Black man, Geter’s memoir disrupts every idea that tells her she’s not worthy of living the life she desires.  

Despite Geter losing her mother when she was 19 years old, by remembering her mother’s lessons on revision, Geter goes through life stiff-arming shame, disability, gender inequality, and white supremacy. 

Purchase The Black Period here.

RELATED CONTENT:  Tatyana Ali Celebrates Black Maternal Health Week With Launch Of ‘Baby Yams’ Quilt Line

Alabama A&M University, John Stallworth
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 7, 2024

Former Pittsburgh Steeler John Stallworth Donates Over $1M To Alabama A&M University

The NFL Hall of Famer presented the university with a check for $1,214,721.00.

On May 3, a former NFL player donated over $1 million to his alma mater, Alabama A&M University (AAMU), to help support student scholarships.

According to HBCU Gameday, former Pittsburgh Steeler John Stallworth was at the Alabama A&M spring commencement last week to deliver a speech and, after doing so, presented the university with a check for $1,214,721.00.

Stallworth, who graduated from AAMU in 1974, is also in the NFL Hall of Fame (2002) after winning four Super Bowls.

“Playing football was never the end goal,” he says. “My goal was to own my own business. Football was the vehicle I chose to get there. I left A&M with a bachelor’s degree in business and returned in the off-season to receive my MBA, all in preparation for realizing my dream of having my own business.”

He also had a message for the 2024 graduates preparing to embark on their post-collegiate careers.

“Class of 2024, all the events of your life determine the person you will grow to be. The highlights and the lowlights, we’re shaped by them both,” he said. “If we’re truly honest with ourselves, whether looking back over the last four years or the last 50, I think we can agree that those lowlight events -– those times we prayed would never happen again, those days that we were thankful we just made it through -– coupled with the highlights, give us a deeper understanding of ourselves.”

In the NFL, Stallworth played wide receiver, catching 8,723 yards and scoring 63 touchdowns on 537 receptions. He made first-team All-Pro in 1979 and was awarded the NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1984.

Stallworth played his entire NFL career with the Steelers from 1974 until he retired in 1987. He was inducted into the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor in 2017.

Black Men, Georgia, Georgia voters, 2024 Election, Biden
by Sharelle B. McNair

May 7, 2024

Black Men In Georgia Admit To Not Being As Excited About Voting For Biden Ahead Of November 2024 Election

Are we really surprised here?

Black men in Georgia aren’t as excited as they were in 2020 to vote for President Joe Biden in  November’s 2024 presidential election. 

The demographic’s vote made a major difference in the controversial 2020 election — less than  12,000 voters pushed the vote blue. But things have changed since. A poll from February 2024 revealed 76% of potential Black voters said they would support Biden’s reelection bid, a drop from 87% who voted for him in 2020. 

Some young and older voters are just ready to move on from the rematch between Biden and former president Donald Trump. James Butler, a 42-year-old voter based in Atlanta, said, “I guess it’s the best we got,” pushing his lack of enthusiasm this time. The same goes for Georgia State University student Phillip Dunwood. “I think my vote’s the same, but I’m less enthusiastic,” he said. 

“It’s more like, ‘Alright, let’s get it over with.'”

Organizers with the Black Voter advocacy group, New Georgia Project, are concerned about the slow-growing support of President Biden from younger men.

“Young Black men are more likely to say that they will vote for Trump,” researcher Ranada Robinson said. “But, what I am most concerned about this year is that about 30% was undecided at the time of our poll.” 

She found that a major reason is the online misinformation, which pushed Biden’s interest away. “Particularly online, there are some narratives that misplace the credit for some of the wins that we’ve seen in America,” Robinson said.

“There’s also some misplacement of blame. When you see certain Supreme Court decisions or some of the things that have long-term impacts of past administrations, this administration is suffering the consequences of it.”

The Biden-Harris campaign has noticed the narrative and is making strides to change it. Vice President Kamala Harris started a multistate tour on May 5, beginning in Atlanta, focusing on investments in Black communities and wealth opportunities for minority families under the Biden administration.

Campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said they plan to “keep talking about the record and the work that is being done to advance the economic opportunity for young Black men across this country.” 

In the meantime, the GOP and conservative-led groups are using every trick in the book to persuade Black men to the Republican side. The party depends upon groups like the Georgia Black Republican Council to get in well with the Black community. 

Mentorship is one method member Darryl Wilson said the group is using to help court Black men into considering voting red in November. “We’ve done Black conservative summits. We’ve done ‘barbershop-political forums.’ We bring government to the people in the local communities, wherever they can ask direct questions and get direct answers,” Wilson said.

A network of African American GOP activists, the Black Conservative Federation (BCF), launched a vote policy plan in April titled “Black Men Matter.” Through outreach and programming, the plan aims to target Black men in six battleground states — Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania.

However, some Black men have no plans to move their vote from one side to another. Voter Alexander Hoskin told Forbes he plans to vote for Biden in November. After the State of the Union Address in March 2024, the father of three appreciated Biden’s push on mental health and prescription drug costs. As a person with diabetes, he was on the receiving end of a policy that lowered the cost of prescription drugs for those suffering from diabetes. 

However, Hoskins and fellow Democratic voter Brandon Jones want to see more from Biden if reelected. “Instead of constantly telling us what you’re going to do, President Biden should tell us what you are trying to do,” Jones said. 

“We don’t live in a dictatorship, so a president can’t say, ‘I’m gonna do something without Congress.’”

Colman Domingo, MET Gala
by Daniel Johnson

May 7, 2024

Colman Domingo Pays Homage To Chadwick Boseman, Leon André Talley At Met Gala

Domingo’s look was in part, a homage to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman and André Leon Talley, a fashion journalism icon, both of whom are deceased Black icons who made their marks wearing capes at the Met Gala.

The Met Gala is one of the most talked-about nights in fashion each year and functions as a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This year’s event, held on May 6, was intended to celebrate the 2024 Costume Institute’s exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.”

Colman Domingo, a mainstay on the red carpets of Hollywood, discussed the inspiration behind his outfit ahead of the event.

As E-News reported, Domingo’s look was partly a homage to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman and André Leon Talley, a fashion journalism icon, both of whom are deceased, who made their marks wearing capes at the Met Gala.

“They both wore capes at the Met,” Domingo said. “Everything I do, I feel like it’s gotta be for the culture. It’s gotta be more than just for me. I wanted to honor these brothers who were here before me as well.”

Domingo told Women’s Wear Daily that he and Willy Chavarria were set up by his stylists, who told him that the king of the red carpet should collaborate with a reigning CDFA award winner.

“This feels like sort of the icing on the cake for my award season,” Domingo remarked. “I know that there’s been a lot of attention on my looks and style and the storytelling that I do with clothing and fashion, and I knew that this was going to be a major moment. So when [The Met] was offered, my stylists [Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald] did some reachouts to see who’d be interested in dressing me. I will quote what Wayman and Micah said: ‘Well, the king of the red carpet should be paired with the latest CFDA award winner.’”

Domingo continued, “There were times where I felt like it looked like coronation tailoring, in many ways. I feel like it could look very much like British royalty at times, and I wanted this to be at the top of that. I’m like, if we’re going for coronation and being the king of the red carpet, [The Met] will be the true coronation.”

Domingo was styled in an oversized white and black Willy Chavarria suit featuring diamond earrings, silver statement rings, and a bouquet of white flowers wrapped in a black satin cloth.

The actor’s look, E-News noted, was not only exquisite, but it perfectly embodied the night’s “Garden of Time” theme. As Vogue Magazine reported, the theme and dress code for the event were inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story, which shared the title of the theme.

As Lit Hub describes the story, “The dress code for the event is “The Garden of Time,” which was inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name, in which Count Axel and his wife live and listen to Mozart in a magnificent villa, surrounded by a garden of crystal flowers, as an angry and unruly army advances upon them. To keep the “approaching rabble” at bay, Axel must turn back time by plucking the flowers, one by one until they are all gone, and there is no time left.”

Black Americans, Hollywood, Film, Content Creator, Actor, Actress
by Jeffrey McKinney

May 7, 2024

Hollywood Missing $49.4B Windfall By Not Boosting Projects With Black Americans

Fresh report suggests that Hollywood could benefit by addressing current disparities and grow economically by doing so.

A new analysis suggests that Hollywood sacrificed $49.4 billion over roughly a decade by not engaging the Black American community more on industry projects.

According to a fresh report by Creative Investment Research, the calculation measures what Tinseltown gives up by undervaluing projects geared toward diverse audiences. The finding also surmises the film industry loses $15.3 billion annually by not partnering more with Black filmmakers, studios, and their audiences.

The discoveries come after consulting firm McKinsey & Co. recently indicated Hollywood foregoes $30 billion annually by not banding with Black, Latinx, and Asian-American/Pacific Islander communities through assorted ways. It reported that $10 billion a year could be gained by ending the Black inequity gap alone.

William Michael Cunningham, an economist and owner of Creative Investment Research, told BLACK ENTERPRISE his firm’s report suggests that Hollywood’s economic performance is intrinsically linked to its ability to diversify and include more representative content and creators.

“By addressing current disparities, the industry not only stands to gain economically but also to secure a more sustainable and innovative future.”

Cunningham declares that his firm’s analysis broke down several identified areas to quantify the revenue impact of increased diversity in Hollywood. They include audience expansion, global market reach, ancillary products, risk mitigation, longevity and loyalty, and brand value enhancement.

He proclaims that the largest impact could come from risk mitigation through diversity. Cunningham stressed that the industry could benefit substantially by avoiding box office flops through more consistent audience engagement with diverse content.

“A conservative estimate of a 10% reduction in losses from flops would equate to $2 billion in saved costs annually, contributing $20 billion over a decade.”

Cunningham shared that more substantial social impact and brand value could be game-changing. He projected that enhanced stock value, attracting better talent, and securing more favorable deals could help boost the valuation of major studios by $6 billion. He says that’s based on those studios’ current market cap of around $200 billion.

He is also upbeat about the prospect of global market reach. Films with diverse casts and culturally resonant stories, like “Black Panther,” have shown the ability to significantly increase box office receipts.

“Assuming diverse films capture an additional 2% of the global box office market, approximately $42 billion in pre-pandemic years, this could mean an extra $840 million annually. Given a sustained effort over 10 years, this could contribute about $8.4 billion.”

Further, he claims expanded audience engagement and increased consumer spending on ancillary products in the overall U.S. merchandising and entertainment markets might add $6 billion in revenue.

Another area Cunningham cites is the longevity and loyalty of diverse content. He projected syndication, reruns, and streaming rights can add significantly to a film’s lifetime revenue.

“If diverse content extends the average revenue-generating lifespan by even 20% and considering the U.S. film and TV industry’s revenue from these sources is about $25 billion annually, this could generate an additional $5 billion over a decade.”

Usher, Mary J. Blige, Lovers And Friends Festival
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 7, 2024

Usher, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys Prevented From Performing At Canceled Lovers And Friends Festival

Usher "disappointed" Lovers and Friends was canceled less than 24 hours before it was set to take place.

Usher and many other performers and attendees were left “disappointed” by the Lovers and Friends Festival being canceled less than 24 hours before it was set to take place.

The “Confessions” singer was among the star-studded lineup of performers set to hit the stage at Las Vegas Festival Grounds on Saturday, May 4, before it was canceled due to the threat of high winds, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The third annual hip-hop and R&B festival was sold out with headliners including Usher, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Lil Wayne, the Backstreet Boys, and many more.

However, one day before the event on Friday, festival reps took to social media to announce its cancellation due to an unforeseen weather advisory.

“Lovers &Friends Festival organizers have been monitoring the weather for several days and proactively preparing for a windy Saturday,” the statement read. “However, the National Weather Service has now issued a High Wind Warning, including dangerous 30-35 mph sustained winds with gusts potentially more than 60 mph. Following advice from the National Weather Service and in consultation with local public officials, we must make the safest decision for our fans, artists, and staff, and cancel tomorrow’s Lovers &Friends Festival.”

The statement continued. “This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision to make as we are aware that fans have traveled from all over the world to enjoy this incredible lineup of superstars and have been looking forward to this event for several months. We’ve worked hard to create an amazing event for you, and we are just as disappointed as you are.”

Artists were just as blindsided as fans as videos showed performers like Mary J. Blige still making her way to Las Vegas to perform. Others hit up nearby clubs to perform impromptu sets for the many fans who flocked to Vegas to attend the show.

https://twitter.com/DiaryOfKeysus/status/1786790003114217883
https://twitter.com/KaliMinajbitch/status/1787184320911962377

Usher, one of the founders and organizers of the event named after his 2004 hit song with Ludacris and Lil Jon, sent a message to his fans, letting them know how “disappointed” he was that the show couldn’t go on.

“Mannn… I’m just as disappointed as you are. We were getting ready to turn up and celebrate today,” Usher wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I have to follow the orders of city officials and the National Weather Service for everyone’s protection and stand strong in my belief that everything happens for a reason.”

He added, “I’m sorry we won’t get to see each other today, but know that I am always working on something to express my heartfelt gratitude for each and every one of you who continue to support me. I’ll see you soon.”

TikTok food critic Keith Lee, who was also set to attend the festival, organized a last-minute pop-up event featuring a few of the food vendors booked to sell food to festival attendees.

RELATED CONTENT: Usher Bet On Himself Using ‘Every Dollar’ For Vegas Residency

Black New Orleans Teens, Trigonometry Proofs, Pythagorean Theorem, St. Mary's Academy
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 7, 2024

Black New Orleans Teens Provide Trigonometry Proofs for Pythagorean Theorem, Once Thought To Be Impossible

Two New Orleans teens joined an exclusive club of mathematicians when they discovered trigonometry proofs for Pythagorean's Theorem.

Two teens in New Orleans joined an exclusive club of mathematicians last year when they discovered trigonometry proofs for Pythagorean’s Theorem.

Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson were in their senior year at the all-girl Catholic school St. Mary’s Academy in December 2022 when they joined a school-wide math contest that came with a cash reward, CBS News reported. Students of the academy, started by a Black nun for young Black women after the Civil War, were tasked with finding a new proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. The winner would receive a $500 cash prize and bragging rights.

“I was motivated because there was a monetary incentive,” Jackson said.

“Cause I was like, $500 is a lot of money. So I — I would like to at least try,” Johnson added.

The participants were given a few prompts on how to come up with proof, and the rest was on them. While Johnson and Jackson were both familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem’s a² + b² = c² concept, the idea of coming up with a proof using only trigonometry was considered nearly impossible.

With geometry and only a little trigonometry under their belt, their mission of coming up with proof using only trigonometry wasn’t easy, but they were up for the challenge.

“I was like, ‘I started something. I need to finish it,'” Johnson said.

The students spent two months during the fall/winter semester working on the proof, and by December 2022, Jackson and Johnson joined mathematician Jason Zimba, who in 2009 became one of only a few to develop a proof of the theorem using trigonometry. The since-graduated scholars never considered themselves math geniuses but went on to receive global praise after submitting their proofs to an American Mathematical Society conference in Atlanta in March 2023.

After their proof “blew up,” Jackson and Johnson received a write-up in South Korea, a shout-out from former first lady Michelle Obama, a commendation from the governor, and keys to the city of New Orleans. Jackson cites what she believes is the reason behind their worldwide recognition.

“Probably because we’re African American, one. And we’re also women. So I think — oh, and our age. Of course our ages probably played a big part,” she said.

“I’d like to be actually celebrated for what it is — a great mathematical achievement.”

Jackson is currently on a full scholarship in the pharmacy school at Xavier University in New Orleans while Johnson, the class valedictorian, is studying environmental engineering at Louisiana State University.

Steel Cylinder, Steel pipes, pipeline
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 7, 2024

Pittsburgh Mother Dies After Being Struck By Steel Cylinder

Aleia Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene after the cylinder rolled down a hill from a construction site and hit her in the head

A Pennsylvania woman was killed when a steel cylinder from a construction site rolled down a hill and struck her in the head.

Authorities have stated that the cylinder broke free from the construction site at the University of Pittsburgh’s Victory Heights and hit 51-year-old Aleia Lopez, who was later pronounced dead at the scene. The incident took place on May 3. A registered nurse who was near the site of the accident tried to administer CPR to Lopez but was unable to save her.

Lopez was an employee at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, and the facility released a statement regarding her death.

“We are saddened by this tragic incident. Our immediate concern is the well-being of our employees, patients, and visitors. While this was not a UPMC construction site, this tragedy impacted our campuses, and we are providing support services to our employees. Our deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family, friends and colleagues.”

The Pittsburgh Public Safety Department released a statement as well about the accidental death.

“At 10:40 a.m., Pittsburgh Police and EMS were dispatched to the 3700 block of Terrace Street in Oakland for a reported female with a head injury near the Petersen Events Center.

Within minutes, medics were on the scene and located an adult female victim with significant, grave injuries to her head. She was pronounced deceased at the scene at 10:45 a.m.”
People reported that Lopez’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for the costs associated with a funeral, as well as to cover the financial hardship for the family due to her death. With a goal of $50,000, people have fully funded and exceeded the amount by raising almost $80,000 ($78,310). Lopez’s mother, Melanie Hall, mentions that she is survived by her three children, Angelia, Leilani, and Ethan.
Angel Reese,
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 7, 2024

Angel Reese’s Debut Was Not Televised, But An X User Livestreamed The Game For Fans

“Would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here?? no promises on the quality but I can try.”

The Chicago Sky’s first game of the WNBA season started with the rookies they picked up in this year’s draft, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. However, the league did not televise their professional debuts, causing confusion and disappointment.

People are wondering why, especially with Reese’s college rival, Caitlin Clark (who now plays for the Indiana Fever), who happens to be white, being shown on television. According to The Associated Press, the Sky game was listed as available to watch.

However, someone on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, did their part so the fans who couldn’t access the game could see the debuts of Reese and Cardoso. X user, @heyheyitsalli wrote, “would y’all want me to try and stream the game on here?? no promises on the quality but i can try.”

With that message, she not only gained respect from the users, but she was able to fulfill the dreams of many users to watch the Chicago Sky season-opening game.

The numbers were incredible, with 615,800 plus viewers tuning in. Alli shared a screenshot of 173,381 live viewers at the time she posted the message.

When asked about Alli’s performance, the Lnyx coach, Cheryl Reeve, said she deserved “three bucks” per viewer.

“Anybody who watched it should send three bucks to the person—I don’t even know who it is,” Reeve said. I think that what I would say is that the growth is happening so fast. It’s so accelerated. And I’ve been saying this in our own organization—that business as usual isn’t going to work anymore.

The Sky lost to the Minnesota Lynx 92-81. Reese scored 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes, while Cardoso scored six points and pulled down four rebounds in 13 minutes.

Frederick Douglass Tunnel, Amtrak, Baltimore
by Sharelle B. McNair

May 7, 2024

Group Of Baltimore Residents File Civil Rights Complaint To Stop Construction Of Frederick Douglass Tunnel

Think it should go somewhere else?

Residents from a historic West Baltimore neighborhood filed a complaint in hopes it would stop the construction of a proposed Amtrak tunnel named after Black abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass.

Reservoir Hill residents allege the proposed Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program will hurt Baltimore’s Black and low-income community members.

“To name a tunnel and a project like this after someone who actually fought for freedoms, truth, and equality for all is really, really disappointing,” Reservoir Hill Association President Keondra Prier said.

New York University School of Law’s Civil Rights and Racial Justice Clinic is representing the Reservoir Hill Association. Filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which allows federal agencies to block the recipients of federal funding from enlisting programs that have an “unjustified discriminatory impact,” the association wants the Department of Transportation (DOT) to open a Title VI investigation into the racial disparities of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program.

“As part of this investigation, the DOT should require Amtrak to halt its construction of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel and a ventilation building planned for the neighborhood,” the group wrote in the complaint. 

The $6 billion project would replace the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, after 150 years, which connects routes through Amtrak’s northeast corridor ]– servicing Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. The tunnel has started to deteriorate, requiring trains to go as slow as 30 mph and creating delays; the construction would modernize the structure. 

However, residents feel differently. The tunnel currently passes beneath Bolton Hill, Upton, and Sandtown-Winchester. New construction would allow trains to pass beneath West Baltimore neighborhoods, including Reservoir Hill, Penn North, and Midtown-Edmondson, subjecting the community to noise pollution, solid waste, and rodent issues. 

The complaint alleges Reservoir Hill will be impacted the most, including destroying homes, businesses, and houses of worship, as well as the ventilation facility being proposed to be built across the street from Dorothy I. Height Elementary School. “Across the street from an elementary school shows the level of disregard that Amtrak has come to our community with,” Association BP Working Group Chair Carson Ward said.

Parents and neighbors of the school have also expressed concern, with one parent highlighting that city kids have a higher asthma rate.

“Baltimore City’s kids have a higher rate of asthma than every single surrounding county, and we just continue to bear the brunt of whatever’s commercially needed for the city in our neighborhood to protect the other neighborhoods, and this is step one, two, three, four and five as far as I’m concerned: no vent facility across the street from the elementary school,” Darryl McClain said.

The asthma rate was confirmed by the Maryland Department of Health, which stated over 33% of high school students in Baltimore had been diagnosed with asthma compared to the statewide rate of just under 26%.

Opponents of the construction want the DOT to step in, pushing for a discussion of the project with those who are said to be affected, as the complaint claims community meetings haven’t been effectively advertised and Amtrak officials have been unresponsive.

“At the end of the day, the issue is that under the law, Amtrak is supposed to engage with the community in a way that you feel like your voice is heard, that all the decisions are very transparent and very clear, that the measures of why they decided to put something in your neighborhood and then to come up with a plan on how to make that beneficial to everyone,” Prier said “And if you ask anyone along the alignment, they’ll tell you that none of those things have been accomplished.” 

Residents also hope Amtrak is forced to choose a new location and consult with the community on the building’s design as demolition began in February 2024.

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