by Mary Spiller

October 7, 2023

Robert ‘Don Pooh’ Cummins Teams Up With Patti LaBelle To Bring Brooklyn Chop House Dumplings To Walmart

Owner of Brooklyn Chop House, Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, and the Godmother of Soul Patti LaBelle reportedly have begun an exclusive and lucrative partnership with Walmart stores to stock shelves with the restaurant’s famous dumplings.

According to AfroTech, the 79-year-old R&B singer and Cummins facilitated the new partnership through LaBelle’s company ZPAC, and the deal will allow for the Brooklyn Chop House’s Grocer Frozen Dumplings to be sold in over 1,000 different Walmart locations in the nation.

The BHC expressed their excitement over the new partnership.

They said in a press release, “We’re thrilled to partner with the legendary Patti LaBelle to bring the flavors of Brooklyn Chop House and BCH Grocer dumplings to homes across the nation through Walmart stores.”

Cummins described launching their frozen dumplings with the legendary LaBelle as monumental.

“They are a testament to the culinary creativity and passion that drives Brooklyn Chop House. Crafted with precision, these dumplings have become a beacon of excitement at my fine dining locations and franchised Brooklyn Dumpling shops. They represent a fusion of flavors that transcends boundaries, and now I am inviting everyone nationally to try our creative dumplings in the comfort of their homes,” the release stated.

The BCH Grocer Frozen Dumplings have various traditional and new flavors. While maintaining its commitment to quality, innovation, and authentic flavoring, the dumplings are available in “classic pork, mac and cheese, Korean BBQ-inspired beef cheese and bacon, and chocolate cake.”

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The package bolsters the dumplings as “a fusion of tradition, delivering a burst of flavors that are sure to tantalize taste buds.”

So far, the launch has proven to be incredibly successful. The dumplings have already sold out in some stores since their widespread launch. The BCH thanked their supporters in a commemorative social media post.

The company said, “We are overwhelmed with the response from so many friends, loyal customers, and those who have always wanted to experience Brooklyn Chop House menu items but have yet to be able to get to our NYC locations; what a feeling, what an unpredicted response!”

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A post shared by Don Pooh (@donpoohmusic)

by Mary Spiller

October 7, 2023

‘Look Around, Everybody On Mute’: Teachers Using Beyoncé’s Mute Challenge With Their Grade School Students

Some teachers across America have been using a new way to quiet down their young students. According to a TODAY news report, teachers have started adapting Beyoncé’s mute challenge in their classrooms.

The coolest new way to quiet students comes straight from Beyoncé’s “Renaissance World Tour.”

The “mute challenge” from Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour has taken the internet by storm, with different tour stops fighting for the title of being the quietest during the challenging part of her song “Energy,” which features Jamaican rapper Beam. The challenge consists of Beyoncé singing the lyrics, “Look around, everybody on mute,” prompting Queen B, her dancers, and everyone in the crowd to freeze and go quiet. The goal of the challenge is to get the thousands of stadium fans to be “on mute.” After the extended silence, Beyoncé continues to sing, “Look around, it’s me and my crew,” as the crowd gets excited again.

Atlanta first-grade teacher Amber Drummond participated in the challenge during Beyoncé’s first night in Georgia while on tour. She told TODAY that she noticed a similarity between the call-and-response methods she uses in her classroom and the mute challenge, and admitted it inspired her to try a new way of getting her students to quiet down. A “call and response” technique is typically used in grade school classrooms when the teacher says a word or phrase, and the students will calm down and give their attention to give a specific response.

Drummond said that she explained what “mute” meant to her first graders and then began trying it out. Drummond was shocked at its success.

The teacher and Beyoncé fan shared a video on social media of her class doing the challenge.

She captioned the post, “I prepped the D-Hive section on a Monday, they had it by Tuesday. This is the most talkative group of kids I’ve had in my 15 years of teaching. The #teachermutechallenge worked…imma take my win for today like I took our win in ATL day 1 when the Queen said we won the #mutechallenge.”

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A post shared by ✨Amber✨ (@braids_grades_repeat)

Since then, videos of teachers using the mute challenge have gone viral, and more and more classrooms have begun picking up unique and fun call-and-response techniques for the kids.

Fourth-grade Kansas City, MO teacher Jeremiah Kim speculated on why it worked so well in an academic setting.

Kim said, “Students respond better to people who are real. Human beings have a radar for when someone is being genuine or not. Kids — way more than we would expect.”

halloween, decorations, Halloween decorations, racist

by Daniel Johnson

October 7, 2023

Halloween Decorations Criticized As Racist Taken Down In Two Cities

In Georgia’s Barton County and Houston, Texas, there’s been controversy surrounding Halloween decorations displayed outside two family homes.

In Georgia, Fox 5 Atlanta reports that a woman named Rachel describes the decoration as something she threw together for her kids, saying “I’ve had tons of people driving by taking pictures, beeping, giving me a thumbs up saying that’s awesome. But then, I have other people calling the cops on me, saying it’s racist.” After someone tore down her decoration and called it racist, she put it back up. On Oct. 3, the decoration was taken down for good.

Bartow County NAACP President Dexter Benning expressed concerns about the decorations. He told Fox 5, “Black folks have endured so much in this country, and to depict someone being [hanged] is not a place that we want to be in 2023.”

Benning also said that the decoration appeared to be a Black person due to the brown gloves that were on the dummy’s hands.

Meanwhile, earlier in Texas, the Houston chapter of the NAACP protested a decoration outside of a Third Ward house.

James Dixon, the president of Houston’s NAACP chapter, described it to the Houston Chronicle saying.

“Every Houstonian, Texan, and American should be outraged by the ‘strange fruit’ displayed in Houston,” he said.

Community members also described the decorations as “immeasurably insensitive and racist.” Houston’s District D City Council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz knocked on the man’s door and informed him that the decorations were offensive.

“I told him he’s in a predominantly African-American neighborhood and when people are offended, sometimes things happen,” Shabazz told the Houston Chronicle. “But he didn’t seem to care. He was very abrasive.”

On Sept. 23, activists Quanell X and Candice Matthews went to the man’s home and cut the decoration out of the man’s tree. Quanell X told the Chronicle that he and Matthews wanted to talk to the man, but he refused to come outside so they could talk.

Dixon told the Chronicle that there needs to be an effort from elected officials to educate people about lynchings in America, saying, “It is our position that leading citizens in our city should join us in condemning this behavior whenever it arises, emphasizing that this doesn’t reflect the spirit of Houston’s respect for all people of every race.”

New York Mami Goes Viral For Confronting Teen Daughter’s Alleged Stalker Leading To His Arrest

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 7, 2023

New York Mami Goes Viral For Confronting Teen Daughter’s Alleged Stalker Leading To His Arrest

One New York mom was celebrated online after a TikTok video of her confronting her teen daughter’s alleged stalker went viral. Her actions led to his arrest.

A woman who goes by Dutchess Mami on TikTok faced off with Cesar Rojas, 33, in a video uploaded Sept. 27. The angered mom yelled at the alleged stalker, who had been lingering around John Jay High School in East Fishkill, New York.

“THIS IS ME CONFRONTÌNG A #PRWDARO AT [OUR] LOCAL #HIGHSCHOOL. IT lead to an arrest. This man asked several female students at our local high school to get in his vehicle. He stalked one student for 40 mins. While I was there. The student voiced concern, so I rose to the occasion, which led to his arrest,” the Dutchess County resident captioned in the TikTok post.

“You’re a predator. You asked my daughter and her friend how old they were. We got you on film,” the bold mother yelled in the TikTok video.

Rojas made an inaudible comment, and the mother of the 16-year-old continued.

“Why? You know they are 16 and 17. You’re a liar. You don’t see their bookbags. You know!”

@dutchessmami THIS IS ME CONFRONTÌNG A #PRWDARO AT PUR LOCAL #HIGHSCHOOL IT lead to an arrest. This man asked several female students at our local high school to get in his vehicle. he stalked one student for 40 mins. while I was there. the student voiced concern so I rose to the occasion which led to his arrest!!! #predator #kids #trustnoone #parents #CHILDREN #son #daughter #isntoveryet #justice #dads #moms #protect #bealert #bevigilant #seesomethingsaysomething #humantrafficking #kidnapping #abduction ♬ original sound – Mami’s Place

A press release posted by the East Fishkill Police Department on Instagram detailed the events that occurred last month. Rojas had allegedly stalked more than one young teen, following one in his car. The Yonkers resident was detained on Sept. 12

“On September 12th, 2023, the East Fishkill Police Department received a complaint of a suspicious male that approached a female student across from John Jay High School. The male was reported to have followed the female student in his vehicle and approached two other female students in an area off campus the same day. In response, this agency’s Detective Division commenced an investigation and worked tirelessly to identify the suspect. On September 17th, 2023, Mr. Rojas was placed in custody by the East Fishkill Police Patrol Division. Mr. Rojas was subsequently charged with Stalking 4th Degree and arraigned at the East Fishkill Justice Court. Mr. Rojas was released on his own recognizance with an appearance ticket and served with an order of protection mandating him to stay away from the victim and the victim’s school.”

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A post shared by Town of East Fishkill P.D. (@eastfishkillpolice)

The brave mama bear received praise from TikTokers for protecting her daughter. In the comments section, Dutchess Mami revealed that Rojas had been stalking the girls for two weeks.

“This is magical!!!! Good job, mama!!! Protect your babies always! ❤️”

Some of the responses came from places of trauma from women who hadn’t been guarded. They lauded the matriarch for stepping up.

One person thanked the Dutchess County mom for pulling for her child in a way that the TikTokers mother didn’t.

“This is healing a deep trauma. My mom never stood up for me. Thank u 🙏🏼.”

“I’m so sorry, but I’m glad it brought healing. I wasn’t protected either, so now, I protect,” Dutchess Mami responded.

“What I would’ve gave to has SOMEONE, ANYONE, do this for me. She invited them in instead of protecting me. Thank you so much for thissss,” another person wrote.

According to Stalking Awareness, “Among high school students in the past 12 months, stalking victims accounted for 19% of female and 14% of male students. 20% of students of color and 16% of white students. 27% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual, and 15% of heterosexual students. 26% of students exposed to parental violence during their childhood versus 13% of those who had not.”

To make matters worse, 37% of those stalked were followed or stalked through devices.

Keith Jefferson, Jamie Foxx, D'Jango Unchained

by Daniel Johnson

October 7, 2023

‘Django Unchained’ Actor Keith Jefferson Passes Away At 53

Actor Keith Jefferson, known for his roles in Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight passed away following a battle with cancer on Oct 6. He was 53.

Jefferson previously shared news of his diagnosis on Instagram and his agent, Nicole St. John, confirmed the news of his death with USA Today, adding that Jefferson died surrounded by loved ones and was well-cared-for by the staff at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.

St. John told USA Today, “He was a tremendous talent and it is a profound loss to the artistic community. He had several projects in the pipeline and was in the midst of a project that captured his unique and resonant voice. He had been looking forward to returning in the new year.”

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A post shared by Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx)

Jamie Foxx, a close friend of Jefferson, who was his co-star in Django Unchained, mourned him publicly in an Instagram post on Oct. 5.

“Everything hurts right now having a hard time looking through these pictures reliving the memories of us having a great time going to miss you man gonna miss you…every since we met back in college, you have been an incredible soul God rest, NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO SEE THE WORDS ABOUT MY FRIEND RIP Keith,” Foxx wrote.

Foxx closed his remarks with three broken heart emojis.

Foxx was a frequent collaborator with Jefferson, going back to The Jamie Foxx Show. Jefferson also acknowledged Foxx as one of the members of his support system, saying on an Aug. 9 Instagram post, “I have a loving family and the best friends in the entire world. From my mom to J. Foxx and everybody in between. I love you wholeheartedly.”

Jefferson and Foxx are set to appear in the film The Burial together, which will be Jefferson’s final project. IMDb describes The Burial as a film based on a true story, in it, a funeral home owner helps save his family business while exposing a corrupt web of racial injustice and power imbalances. Directed by Maggie Betts, the film releases on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 13, 2023.

Jefferson, like Foxx, hailed from Texas, and according to IMDb, Jefferson was a star athlete at Houston area Eisenhower High School. Jefferson was the son of the late Edward Jefferson, a local minister.

by Daniel Johnson

October 7, 2023

New York City Subway Shooter Frank James Gets 10 Life Sentences

Frank James, the man responsible for the mass shooting in New York City’s subway system that wounded 10 people in 2022, will serve the rest of his life behind bars after his sentencing on Oct. 5. He received 10 life sentences plus 10 years.

As CBS New York reported, James was remorseful as he told the court, “They in no way deserved to have what happened to them.”

James also said that the shooting was, in part, motivated by a desire to call attention to the lack of mental health services. His lawyer attempted to have James’s sentence reduced to 18 years because of James’s diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, but Judge William Kuntz would not budge on that front, telling his attorney that James’ actions, “cannot be excused or explained away with mental illness.”

Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for New York’s Eastern District, said after the trial was over, “Not just those who were wounded physically, but also those who witnessed this horrific act and others who put themselves at risk to help will live with these traumatic events for the rest of their lives.”

On April 12, 2022, disguised as a construction worker, James made his way to the Sunset Park, Brooklyn, subway station, when the N train pulled into the station, he set off smoke bombs and started shooting. Once James finished, 10 people, ranging in age from 16 to 60, had been shot.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland described the impetus behind the sentencing of James, “Nothing can undo the damage that Frank James’s mass shooting inflicted on the 10 victims who were shot or the dozens more who suffered other injuries, but this sentence ensures that he will spend the rest of his life in prison for the devastation he caused.”

Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Steven Dettelbach, whose agency was among the first on the scene, said in the press release, “When a gun was recovered on the subway platform, ATF conducted an urgent trace of the crime gun to identify the purchaser, ultimately leading to the name of the shooter. Today’s sentence not only reflects the heinousness of the crimes committed, but it reflects the extraordinary work of all the law enforcement and prosecutors involved. It takes the best of the best to catch the worst of the worst.”

The press release also detailed James’ actions after the shooting had concluded; he purchased a burner phone, which he used to stay up to date on the news coverage of his attack. The FBI discovered that James used the phone to watch 31 videos reporting on his attack on the subway and he also watched a James Bond chase scene from the film No Time To Die 10 times before eventually turning himself in using the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline after a 34-hour manhunt.

Biles, Simone Biles, Greatest ever, Gymnastics

by Daniel Johnson

October 7, 2023

Simone Biles Wins Her 6th All-Around World Title, Making Her Most Decorated Gymnast In History

Simone Biles is ending any debate about her status as the greatest gymnastics athlete of all time.

With her latest performance, she became the most decorated gymnastics athlete to ever compete. Biles won her sixth all-around title on Oct. 6 at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Biles began her medal collection at the competition almost ten years ago as a 16-year-old girl; and now, as a 26-year-old woman, she is still chasing more medals with her eye on the Paris Olympics.

“Because 10 years ago, I won my first worlds. Now we’re back here. So it was emotional,” Biles explained. “It means everything to me, the fight, everything that I’ve put in to get back to this place, feel comfortable and confident enough to compete,” Biles told the crowd after her historic win, according to The Associated Press.

Biles once again showcased her dominance by beating her closest opposition by nearly two points. Biles has won 27 world championship medals, 21 of those are gold and even though she had a bit of a stumble on her floor routine during this latest event, everything else was nearly flawless. Biles said that competing in the team event made her more nervous, because that’s the event she was competing in when she experienced the “twisties” which later caused her to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics.

“I was so much more nervous for team finals because that’s when everything occurred (in Tokyo), so I was a little bit traumatized from that. So today I felt a little bit more relaxed,” Biles said. “So I’m happy that that’s over.”

Biles is the most decorated gymnast ever, her win on Oct. 6 gave her a total of 34 medals across all her competitions, including worlds championships and the Olympics. Biles is now tied for the most all-around world titles; the win gave her six.

Biles credits her therapist for helping her to overcome the hurdles that have come with her return to the sport she loves, telling the AP, “Every day I try to think about it, especially in therapy when we talk about it.”

She added, “And I think that’s when all the emotions come up. And I really think about what I’ve done and what we’ve done to the sport and push that forward. So I think it’s really exciting. But all in all, I don’t think it will hit me until I retire and then look back and see everything I’ve done.”

colorado buffaloes, Deion Sanders, college football

by Daniel Johnson

October 7, 2023

Under New Transfer Portal Rules NCAA D-I Athletes Have Smaller Window To Change Schools

The NCAA Division 1 Council voted on Oct 4 to reduce the number of days students have to enter the transfer portal from 60 days down to 45 days. According to the NCAA, the move comes with the input of the D1 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee who supported the change. Data collected from the first year of the portal said that most students (60% of them) enter the transfer portal within 30 days of indicating their intent to transfer.

Cody Shrimp, Division 1 SAAC chair told the NCAA, “We are happy that the council was able to find common ground and push forward a 45-day window to continue to provide a reasonable period of time for student-athletes to make rational and informed decisions about their athletic and academic futures.”

Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs can start transferring beginning the Monday after FBS conference championship games and if student-athletes are in the postseason, there is an additional wait of five days after that.

For basketball players, the window will open for a period of 45 days following Selection Sunday, or the day when programs who are “on the bubble” of making the March Madness Tournament find out they are going to be in the tournament.

For most other winter and spring sports, it follows a similar arrangement to the football programs. Players are allowed 30 days for fall sports, starting seven days after a school’s championship selection and they also receive 15 days of transfer portal eligibility in the spring, May 1-15. For winter sports, that number changes to 45 days, beginning seven days after championship games are set. In spring, student-athletes will get a 30 day window starting 7 days after championship selection and they will also be eligible to transfer for 15 days in the fall, Dec 1-15.

Lydia Tealer, chair of the council and the deputy athletics director at the University of Florida told the NCAA, “In both men’s and women’s basketball, the council determined that a 45-day window that concludes on or before May 1 best enables coaches to understand their current rosters, provides stability for student-athletes remaining at the school as they prepare for summer basketball, and encourages student-athletes who intend to transfer to do so before final exams at their current schools and summer school application deadlines at most campuses.”

In addition to these changes, the council also agreed that FBS schools will no longer have attendance requirements and the application fee for schools when a student-athlete transfers from an FCS school to an FBS school is raised from $5,000 to $5 million. These two changes will go into effect immediately. FBS schools are required to give 90% of scholarships over a two-year period, including football. They are also going to be required to fund 210 scholarships yearly, not to amount to less than $6 million yearly, and these two stipulations will go into effect August 2027.

by Mary Spiller

October 7, 2023

Clayton County Commissioner Claims She Was Drugged At Recent Event In Georgia

In Georgia, Clayton County commissioner Felicia Franklin claimed she was drugged at an event in Marrow over the Sept. 30 weekend.

Franklin spoke to Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne about the incident. She told the reporter that doctors who treated her believed that her behavior was consistent with someone who had been drugged with gamma-hydroxybutyrate, more commonly known as the “date rape drug” GHB.

Although she didn’t specify where the incident occurred other than it was a community event at a local sports bar, Franklin said, “I had a medical situation due to whatever happened with that drink,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

She continued to explain that she was at the Morrow facility event until Emergency Medical Technicians arrived, following the suspected drugging, and took her to the hospital.

Franklin assured that she was working closely with the Morrow Police Department to determine who may have drugged her drink. Morrow Police Sgt. Scott Stewart said that Franklin had filed an official statement and that the investigation relies heavily on police body cam video and security camera footage from a nearby sports bar and grill that may have caught aspects of the incident on the footage.

Franklin offered her gratitude to the EMT professionals and police.

“I just wanted to say thank you to the Morrow police, and I think you said Lake City and the Morrow Fire Department and the medical team for their immediate response. That’s it, that’s all I really can say ’cause I don’t remember,” she said.

The Clayton commissioner explained that she would work with the authorities as much as possible to ensure justice is appropriately served. She also committed to continued advocacy work to improve basic safety measures at events like the one she attended in Morrow. Franklin acknowledged that incidents like hers are all too common for women, but that if it can happen to someone like her, it can indeed happen to anyone.

“I know that this is something that happens all over, and as my doctor said, it happens more often than women are willing to say, so I’m going to let all law enforcement — who I respect and believe can do their job well — to complete their job,” Franklin told the outlet.

by Mary Spiller

October 7, 2023

University Of Iowa Women’s Basketball Team Sells Out Upcoming Season Tickets

The University of Iowa’s women’s basketball team has been making milestone moves with their booming popularity. For an Oct. 15 event where the Hawkeyes will play against DePaul, their “Crossover at Kinnick” exhibition game has already sold over 47,000 tickets for the Kinnick Stadium game.

The Iowa City stadium seats nearly 70,000 people, and the Hawkeyes are on their way to filling them. The Hawkeyes’ coach, Lisa Bluder, was inspired by the initial success of her program to continue to build. The women’s college basketball team’s attendance record was set back in 2002, and they’ve only continued to garner more support in recent years. The team finished their most recent season with a 31-7 record and a national championship appearance.

Bluder told CBS Sports during Iowa’s media day, “I’ve stolen this quote from Billie Jean King many times. And, in fact, I’m reading the book right now, Pressure Is a Privilege. So I think we have to remember that we’re in this situation of facing pressure because we’ve done well. Let’s enjoy that. Let’s rejoice about that.”

Bluder attributed the team’s success to star guard Caitlin Clark, a 6-foot player who scored 191 points in the NCAA Tournament last season. Bluder credited her overwhelming drive to get better.

“You know, she’s never satisfied, but that’s the beauty of basketball. You never play a perfect game,” Bluder expressed. “There’s always things that you can work on. I think she understands that. She’s constantly working to get better. It’s not like she’s sitting back and enjoying this time of her being the National Player of the Year. She wants to get it again. She’s wired that way, where she just always wants to do better.”

The Hawkeyes have already sold out their season tickets for their 2023-2024 campaign, with interest being led by senior Clark, fifth-year guard Gabbie Marshall, and sixth-year guard Kate Martin.