by Stacy Jackson

September 20, 2023

Temple University’s First Black Woman Acting President Dies After Falling Ill On Stage

JoAnne A. Epps, the first Black woman to serve as president at Temple University, died suddenly after falling ill onstage at a memorial service.

NBC News reported that Epps, currently the university’s acting president, died Sept. 19 at 3:15 p.m. at Temple University Hospital. She was 72.

University spokespeople said Epps’ body slumped during a speech at scholar Charles L. Blockson’s memorial service. Blockson died in June 2023, according to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. He was known for his Afro-American collection of Black-American art and artifacts.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Epps, who was scheduled to speak at the service, was carried out in the arms of a uniformed officer after the announcer asked if there was a doctor in the house.

“We are not aware that President Epps had any health issues,” Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Temple, said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press.

“There are no words that can describe the gravity and sadness of this loss,” Temple said in a statement, according to NBC News. “President Epps was a devoted servant and friend who represented the best parts of Temple. She spent nearly 40 years of her life serving this university, and it goes without saying her loss will reverberate through the community for years to come.”

According to the news outlet, the university said Epps was recognized on the National Jurist’s list of the most influential people in legal education five years in a row. Before she became acting president, Epps was Temple University’s provost for five years. She was dean of the Beasly School of Law from 2008 to 2016.

The Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, native graduated from Yale Law School in 1976. Epps was on the Philadelphia police oversight board, leader of an independent group of public defenders, and assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, NBC News reported. She was also the assistant city attorney in Los Angeles.

Epps is survived by her husband.

by Daniel Johnson

September 20, 2023

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Reps Ghanaian Culture Ahead Of NFL Opening Week

Ghanaian-American NFL player Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah recently celebrated his African roots. He wore a traditional kente cloth outfit before the Cleveland Browns week one matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 10.

J.O.K., as football fans call Owusu-Koramoah, often keeps his heritage front and center. During his second season in the NFL, he participated in the league’s initiative, NFL Africa, designed to attract more potential players from the continent.

https://twitter.com/UsherKomugisha/status/1700950654317895744?t=IQvhfFXiGzGGb4f7Z4h7lA&s=19

https://twitter.com/NFLAfrica/status/1701241686125678865?t=PtN_NgLJew0IwhHyeRglvQ&s=19

As seen on a video posted to X/Twitter, the 23-year-old football star also performed a snippet of the traditional Adowa dance. The dance was created by the Akan ethnic group located in Ghana’s Ashanti region. The West African dance, as the stories go, is based on the movements of an antelope, after which the dance is named. Traditionally performed by women, the dance has evolved into a non-gender-specific expression of a dancer’s connection to Ghanaian culture. The dance is performed by making exaggerated motions with your arms and moving your feet. It is accompanied by a band in more communal settings, often using drums or bells.

According to Sports Illustrated, along with current and former players from various African nations, Owusu-Koramoah helped run a camp focused on introducing American football to kids in Accra, Ghana.

The NFL’s Chief Operating Officer for International Events, Damani Leech, told AP, “We look forward to hosting our first camp in Ghana and will look to activate in Nigeria and other African countries in the future.”

Leech added, “We want to provide an opportunity for the next generation of African prospects to showcase … their talent. As we continue to look for ways to strengthen the pipeline of international players in the NFL, we hope this camp, and future camps, provide a path forward for aspiring players from across the continent.”

Now in his third season, the Virginia native hopes to have a breakout season with the Browns. He also told writer Anthony Poisai about his mindset when he participated in the camp.

“NFL Africa is a great extension of the NFL,” Owusu-Koramoah explained. “To have them keep an eye on me when I first came in the league — I dealt a lot with African consciousness — and to be able to understand that these are our roots is very important.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 20, 2023

Hip-Hop Pioneers DJ Kool Herc And Cindy Campbell To Headline Panel At The Kennedy Center

Although the official birthday of what is considered the birth of hip-hop has passed, the celebration continues.

The person who is called the father of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc (born Clive Campbell), and the woman with the title of First Lady of hip-hop, Cindy Campbell, his sister, will be making an appearance in Washington, D.C., at the end of the month for a panel discussion.

From its Culture Talks series, The Kennedy Center will present the discussion “From 1520 Sedgwick Avenue to the World—A Fireside Chat with DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell,” on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

The brother and sister will discuss how one party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx on the night of Aug. 11, 1973, helped spawn a movement and culture of the art form we’ve known as hip-hop. The talk will be moderated by Grammy-nominated producer 9th Wonder, a DJ, college lecturer, music executive, social activist, and Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council Member.

The Campbells will talk about the origins of hip-hop and the cultural movement that has changed the world as it has become a multibillion-dollar industry.

Earlier this year, on May 3, 2023, Herc was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Influence Award category.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced the fall programming for its 2023–2024 Hip Hop season, which includes celebrating the 50^th anniversary of hip-hop.

“I am excited to kick off our year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop this fall. Through these programs, we express our gratitude for the legendary icons who have paved the way, uplift the multi-hyphenates who are shaping our present, and set our sights on the future generations that will usher us into the next 50 years,” said Simone Eccleston, director of Hip Hop Culture and Contemporary Music, in a written statement. “I hope you’ll join us in celebrating the Culture and its golden anniversary!”

Members of the hip-hop community who are expected to participate in various programs and discussions this fall season include Lupe Fiasco, T3 of Slum Village, Rapsody, D-Nice, Wale, Clipse, Grandmaster Flash, and Black Thought, to name a few.

The next series that appears on the calendar is the “Hometown Heroes, Global Icons” on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, “Sound Architects: A Producer Conversation with Timbaland.”

by Stacy Jackson

September 20, 2023

Rhode Island Black Business Association Demands State Hire More Minority-, Women-Owned Businesses

Rhode Island’s practices regarding its minority-owned business contracting program are under scrutiny for violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the Rhode Island Current, a September 18 letter written by Lawyers for Civil Rights on behalf of the Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA) addressed “the distressing under-utilization of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE) in state contracting for construction, goods, and services.”

The letter, sent to Gov. Dan McKee in addition to Department of Administration Director Jonathan Womer and Tomas Avila, the associate director of Rhode Island’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity, advises the state to alter its actions to “avoid legal liability.”

The minority and Business Contracting Program law was passed in 1986. It requires that 10% of state contracts and purchase dollars be allotted for women- or minority-owned businesses. There have only been three instances where the state met or surpassed these guidelines: 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Tasheena Davis, litigation fellow with the Lawyers for Civil Rights based in Boston, said it is too early to tell whether or not the group will file a Title VI complaint.

The goal is not to sue the state but rather “to get businesses to feel they can participate,” said RIBBA CEO and President Lisa Ranglin. Ranglin was prompted to contact Lawyers for Civil Rights after the organization filed a Title VI complaint against Boston’s Planning and Development Agency in 2020. Ranglin sought lawyers who were “even willing to listen” to RIBBA’s cause.

Push for reform came after a state-commissioned study was conducted, ultimately revealing the discriminatory practices against minority-owned businesses. The study shows minority businesses received contracts and purchase orders significantly less often than they could maintain.

The letter stated, “Numerous steps–both race-neutral and race-conscious–are available to the State to break down exclusionary barriers and reduce these disparities.” But nothing has happened, according to the letter, even though “it is plain that less discriminatory alternatives to the State’s current contracting system exist.”

The letter does not threaten Rhode Island at the federal level, but does detail the legal obligations the state has to adhere to federal anti-discrimination laws.

Given a $3 million state minority business accelerator program, Ranglin was encouraged to get lawyers involved with RIBBA’s cause. Ranglin alleges the program, run through Rhode Island Commerce, did not deliver on its obligation to advocate and support minority businesses. Instead, the funds were distributed to other organizations outside of this scope.

In an email, Laura Hart, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Administration, said the state is working toward improving minority and women-business contracting.

Hart provided evidence of the increased mandated participation, outlined in the 2024 budget, to jump from 10% to 15%. In addition, there will be a disparity study released every five years, beginning in 2025, as requested by McKee. New software to manage the business contracts will also be incorporated.

American Heart Association Launches Business Program To Support Black Maryland Farmers

by Jaimee Ratliff

September 20, 2023

American Heart Association Launches Business Program To Support Black Maryland Farmers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mel tucker, sexual harassment, michigan state

by Jaimee Ratliff

September 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

Man Accused Of Killing Multiple Elderly Women Killed By Cellmate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

Kirk Franklin Details Finding His Birth Father In New Documentary

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Stacy Jackson

September 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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