• Celebrity News

by Sharelle B. McNair

June 30, 2023

Jada Pinkett Smith Shows The World She’s ‘Worthy’ With New Memoir

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Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is ready to spill the tea.

Mrs. Will Smith is releasing her memoir, entitled Worthy, according to People. She said she began writing the book in 2021, way before the “entanglement” scandal and the Oscar slap heard around the world. Pinkett Smith called the writing process “an adventure, a search for love and self-worth” and is taking full responsibility for her story. “It was like divine advice,” Smith said. “It was just like, the idea of being willing to take full responsibility for my story, through and through. And doing it with grace and love. For myself and for others.”

The book will be released on Oct. 17, and when asked why she decided to write it now, she reflected on her former talk show, Red Table Talk, and said she feels people thought they knew her because of the production. “So many people feel because of my talk show Red Table Talk, that they know my journey. And they really don’t,” the actress said. “There’s been so much about my journey that I haven’t really been able to share on a format like RTT.” With the book’s title carrying so much weight, worthy fans wonder if she will be sharing everything in the book.

The answer is yes. The mother of stars Willow and Jaden Smith said the book will clear up a lot of assumptions people have made about her and her family, but she isn’t blaming them for it. “I think people have made a lot of assumptions and you know what? Rightfully so,” Smith said, according to The New York Daily News. “I think a lot of people, not even just women … lose ourselves in narratives that are not completely forthright.”

Pinkett Smith is heading on the road for a book tour, stopping in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, and more. Tickets are on sale now.

• News

by Iman Milner

June 30, 2023

‘It’s About Time’: Black Chef Has Cookbook Inducted Into James Beard Hall Of Fame After 25 Years

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Chef Joe Randall was honored with an induction into the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame for his 334-page book, A Taste of Heritage: The New African-American Cuisine, 25 years after its publishing.

Randall, 76, whose book explores African American cuisine from modern techniques to traditional “heirloom” dishes and features more than 300 recipes, had conflicting feelings about the award, according to Patriot News. “Well, I was surprised, but at the same time, it was one of those ‘it’s about time’ things,” he said. “I figured they forgot about me.” The James Beard Awards are amongst the top honors available to American culinary professionals. For the Hall of Fame, the foundation considers books “that have significantly influenced the way we think about food and honors authors who possess an exceptional ability to communicate their gastronomic vision via the printed page.”

Randall’s book offers an in-depth look at some of his most popular recipes and also includes profiles of and recipes from other prominent Black chefs. The inspiration for the cookbook was born out of the lack of visibility available to chefs in his community. “At that time, I had been cooking since 1962 and hadn’t seen a Black chef on the cover of a cookbook,” said Randall, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who came to be known as the “Dean of Southern Cuisine.” His concerns led him to found The Taste of Heritage Foundation in 1993, which he used to promote Black chefs nationwide. After a move to Savannah, Georgia, Randall owned and operated a cooking school for two decades before becoming a consultant for Good Times Jazz Bar & Restaurant.

“It’s part of history. You know recipes are passed on either by verbal, and that’s the way African Americans did it for years,” Randall said. “Because we weren’t allowed to write, we weren’t allowed to write books. We were told people [would] write down what we said and put their name on it and take [our] contributions; we were invisible in a sense.” He continued, “I can only say this: If you live long enough, work hard enough sooner enough, someone will say something nice about you.”

One of the five teenagers who were exonerated years after they were wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Central Park, is leading in a race for New York City Council.

Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, won a primary in New York City on Tuesday, June 27, in a move that could see him representing the 9th District in the City Council, CBS News reported. Unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections showed Salaam as the first choice of 50.1% of voters on Wednesday.

He beat out Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, who had the support of Mayor Eric Adams and received 25% of votes; and Assemblyman Al Taylor, who received 14.4%. Incumbent Kristin Richardson Jordan had already withdrawn from the race.

After votes are finalized, Salaam will have prevailed in the primary and ultimately the general election where he will be representing the 9th District in the City Council, which includes the part of East Harlem where he grew up.

“This campaign has been about those who have been counted out,” Salaam said.

“This campaign has been about those who have been forgotten. This campaign has been about our Harlem community that has been pushed into the margins of life.”

The Harlem native celebrated at the Harlem Tavern after his Tuesday night win.

“What has happened on this campaign has restored my faith in knowing that I was born for this,” he said.

Yusef Salaam walks into Harlem Tavern as primary winner. pic.twitter.com/ak9ojONDiy

— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) June 28, 2023

Salaam was among five teenagers wrongly imprisoned for seven years in the late 80s-early 90s after they were charged with raping and robbing a white jogger in a case that received nationwide attention. After it was found out the teens were innocent and coerced into giving false statements that led to their convictions, they were later all exonerated.

Salaam went on to become a motivational speaker, touring the world to speak out against criminal and social injustice. His run for city council is the first time he’s run for public office, as noted by City and State NY.

Now after beating out Dickens and Taylor, Salaam acknowledged his lack of political experience, but promised to be a candidate for change.

“I am not a seasoned politician. So therefore this was not politics as usual,” he said.

Salaam is now gearing up to claim the Harlem City Council seat held by Kristin Richardson Jordan, who dropped her reelection bid.

• News

by Iman Milner

June 30, 2023

Nursing Home Owners Stole $83M From Medicaid and Medicare, AG Letitia James Alleges in Lawsuit

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against nursing home operator Centers Health Care, accusing its owners of hoarding $83 million in government funding from Medicaid and Medicare while leaving their facilities understaffed and neglecting the center’s elderly residents.

According to Reuters, James is attempting to block four Centers Health Care locations from accepting new residents until it can prove its safety and compliance with properly staffing its facilities. She also demanded that the company hire financial and healthcare monitors to meet the necessary requirements. The lawsuit calls for the owners, Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, and others allegedly involved in the fraud, to return the stolen funds.

Centers Health Care and its affiliates deny the claims, according to a statement released by company spokesperson Jeffrey Jacomowitz. “We will fight these spurious claims with the facts on our side,” he said.

The lawsuit focuses on four residents allegedly subjected to inhumane neglect and mistreatment. One citation detailed the death of a man who developed sepsis from an untreated bedsore, while another chronicled a woman who, after falling out of bed, suffered brain damage due to receiving no treatment. According to Reuters, residents were often left in soiled undergarments and ignored by staff when calling for help. The lawsuit also alleges that Centers Health Care facilities failed to follow proper COVID-19 protocols and did not require staff to be masked, resulting in more than 400 fatalities in 2020.

James’ lawsuit alleges that the mismanaged funds were used to line the pockets of Rozenberg and Hagler, and their families and associates. One such scheme included Rozenberg’s daughter, who was allegedly paid millions of dollars by companies affiliated with Centers Health Care despite having no contract with the facilities.

“They put profit over people again and again and again while vulnerable New Yorkers were reduced to skeletons,” said James.

Two collegiate basketball players have won a lawsuit against their college after alleging their teammates sexually assaulted them.

According to The Associated Press, New Mexico State University settled the lawsuit when it agreed to pay $8 million to the two basketball players. The settlement was awarded to Shak Odunewu, Deuce Benjamin, and Benjamin’s father, William, who was a co-defendant in the lawsuit. The Benjamins will receive $4.125 million, while Odunewu will receive $3.875 million.

New Mexico State has not admitted any liability in the accusation levied against them.

In their filed legal paperwork, Benjamin and Odunewu alleged they were ganged up on and assaulted more than once while on the basketball team. Odunewu said that after witnessing his teammate being assaulted, he asked their basketball coach to take the necessary action to stop the assaults. He said that the coach laughed and asked him, “What do you want me to do about it?”

Benjamin eventually informed campus police after one of the assaults, which led to the school canceling the 2022-23 season and firing coach Greg Heiar.

In May 2023, while discussing the lawsuit at a news conference, Benjamin and his father, who once played for the same college, said that the coach who replaced Heiar, Jason Hooten, advised Benjamin that he should find a new school to play basketball.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to hit the reset button and lump in victims with everyone you’re getting rid of,” William Benjamin said. “Deuce was going to be an Aggie if he was good enough.”

Based on the settlements, two coaches and three players were released from liability in the lawsuit, but the state attorney general’s office is looking into possible criminal charges.

Benjamin’s attorney, Joleen Youngers, informed the media outlet that the settlement was agreed upon in order to keep the players from having to recall and relive the trauma they suffered. The case could have been a yearslong legal process.

“To New Mexico State’s credit, they took the lawsuit very seriously. They obviously recognized that our clients had been harmed,” said Youngers.

The attorney also stated that Benjamin and Odunewu still had aspirations to play collegiate basketball.

Cardi B is taking a trip down memory lane to the time the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considered suing her for performing “WAP” at the Grammy Awards.

The Grammy-winning rapper decided to call out the FCC on June 28, 2023, in a tweet referencing her and Megan Thee Stallion’s performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

“Y’all remember when the FCC almost sued me cuz I performed WAP at the Grammys?” she wrote.

“What about when all the republicans literally harassed me over it? On the news everyday… Y’all remember? Oooohhh cuz I do.”

Y’all remember when the FCC almost sued me cuz I performed WAP at the Grammys? What about when all the republicans literally harassed me over it? On the news everyday… Y’all remember? Oooohhh cuz I do

— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 28, 2023

Cardi’s tweet comes two years after the FCC claimed it had received over 1,000 complaints in response to Cardi and Megan’s performance for their 2020 chart-topping hit. Critics allegedly accused the rapper of putting on a performance that was “pornographic” in nature, Rolling Stone reported.

One viewer in Colorado said Cardi and Megan were performing “as if they were dancing in a strip club.” Errol Webber, who was a Republican California gubernatorial candidate at the time, claimed that Cardi “deliberately chooses to do wrong by gyrating and scissoring her WAP on national TV… in view of other people’s kids.”

“The Grammies are PG,” Cardi tweeted in response. “That means parental guidance.”

“Meaning is your job like it is to mine to my child to monitor what they watch,” she continued. “My performance was around 10 pm on a Sunday Your child should be in bed ready for school the next day why are they up watching Wap?”

In 2021, she responded lyrically during her verse on Lizzo’s “Rumors,” rapping, “Last time I got freaky, the FCC sued me / But I’mma keep doing what I wanna do / ‘Cause all the rumors are, all the rumors are true.”

Cardi’s latest tweet was supported by fans who shared screenshots of some of the criticism she received at the time.

YEUP WE ALL DO! pic.twitter.com/bcsH57R66t

— Cardi B | Updates (@updatesofcardi) June 28, 2023

Another fan shared a clip from women’s rights protesters who responded to the conservative backlash by rapping the lyrics to “WAP” outside the White House.

https://twitter.com/Cardibfan04/status/1674197937394536450?s=20

RELATED CONTENT: Could This Be The End Of The Cardi B And Offset Era, As Cheating Rumors Hit The Internet?

At the Hollywood premiere of They Cloned Tyrone on June 27, 2023, actor John Boyega said he had spoken to Jamie Foxx and that Foxx is still recovering but better, Rolling Stone reported.

Boyega said, “He’s doing well. And then, you know, we just giving him the privacy, and we can’t wait for his return. I gave him the well wishes directly. I gave him all the well wishes. So I’m just gonna be waiting until he comes back out here. So take your time, Jamie. We love you, bro.”

In case there’s any doubt, Datari Turner, who co-produced the Netflix film with Foxx, shared, “He’s doing amazing. I promise you. Doing really, really good. [Director Juel Taylor] talked to him yesterday.” Turner added, “John Boyega talked to him yesterday. He’s in really, really good shape and spirits. And he’ll be back on the screen. He’ll be back to work very soon.”

According to Billboard, actress Porscha Coleman, who co-starred with Foxx in Netflix’s Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me, said while at the BET Awards, “I’ve talked to people very close to Foxx; he is doing well.”

Black Enterprise previously reported that Foxx was hospitalized, and no details were given about his condition. At the time, Boyega said Foxx was not answering any of his calls. He said, “I’ve been calling. I’m just gonna keep on calling. He better pick up. Come on, Jamie!”

While Foxx posted to his Instagram on June 13, 2023, people were still left to speculate as to why the Academy Award-winning actor was hospitalized. The post read, “It’s about to go down. #TheyClonedTyrone coming July 21, only on @netflix.”

In May 2023, Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, tried to quell public concerns over her father’s health, Black Enterprise reported. She posted on social media, “My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating.”

Our continued well wishes to the multifaceted star as he continues his recovery journey.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time. Now she’s sharing how she gets the job done.

Sitting down with BLACK ENTERPRISE (full video below), Fraser-Pryce talked about her long list of record-breaking titles, serving as a hometown hero to Jamaica, inclusion of women in professional sports, and how her role as a “Mommy Rocket” comes before everything.

Just ahead of her big race at the World Athletics Championships in August 2023, Fraser-Pryce shared how she’s preparing for the competition mentally, physically, and spiritually.

“No two years are ever the same. You plan and you work and you just hope that everything falls into place,” Fraser-Pryce said.

But there is a small “hiccup” this time around. The knee injury she suffered while training in Kenya sent Fraser-Pryce “back to the drawing board.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (@realshellyannfp)

But her coaching team has her prepared for another big race against global competitors, while her faith has her ready for whatever obstacles come her way.

“Spiritually, I really just trust that God will always work things out for His good, and I always have to trust that,” she declared.

Challenges are clearly surmountable for the “Mommy Rocket” who has broken a number of world records. In 2019, Fraser-Pryce became the first mother in 24 years to claim a global 100m title. In 2022, she became the oldest world champion sprinter at the age of 35.

Fraser-Pryce, who also holds more global 100m titles than any other sprinter in history, is a leader of Jamaica’s current golden era in sprinting.

“It definitely feels good,” Fraser-Pryce said of being a hometown hero in Jamaica. “To be one of the icons of our country is really phenomenal.”

Growing up in Jamaica and unsure of her future, Fraser-Pryce admits she didn’t take her track-and-field career seriously until after college. Now that she has multiple gold medals and titles under her belt, the Olympian works to remain humble and unfazed by outside chatter by continuing to lead on the field, all while managing her entrepreneurial endeavors which include the Shelly Beauty company and the Pocket Rocket Foundation.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Pocket Rocket Foundation (@sfppocketrocketfoundation)

But both business and sports come second to her primary role as a mother.

“Motherhood is the primary focus,” Fraser-Pryce said, noting how “intentional” and “balanced” she has to be with everything while raising her son.

In addition to touching on the nonstop comparisons to other Jamaican sprinters like Elaine Thompson and American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, and if the ladies will ever beat the 1988 world record of the late Florence Griffith Joyner, Fraser-Pryce touched on the importance of women in professional sports and how the next generation can champion women on and off the field.

“Yeah it’s ok to include us, but I want us to occupy the same space and have the same equality,” she said.

Press play below for the full interview, and be sure to tune in when Fraser-Pryce competes in the World Athletics Championship in Hungary on August 19, 2023.

RELATED CONTENT: Usain Bolt Fires His Business Manager, And It Was Not An Amicable Split

• News

by Stacy Jackson

June 29, 2023

Five Deputies Cause A Community Uproar After Alleged Sexual Assault Of Two Black Men During Home Raid

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The Rankin County Sheriff’s Department has cleaned house after Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker said they were shot and sexually assaulted in a January 2023 home raid by deputy sheriffs in a Jackson, Mississippi, residence. 

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey announced on June 27, 2023, that the deputies involved in the episode had been fired and some had already resigned. Bailey would not provide the names of the deputies who had been terminated or say how many law enforcement officers were fired.

“Due to recent developments, including findings during our internal investigation, those deputies that were still employed by this department have all been terminated,” Bailey said. 

The Black community has been left defenseless against police brutality too many times. Decades before the murder of George Floyd, trust between the Black community and police officers was already extremely broken. 

“We understand that the alleged actions of these deputies has eroded the public’s trust in the department. Rest assured that we will work diligently to restore that trust,” Bailey said, according to the Associated Press.

The incident took place on January 24, 2023, in Parker’s home. A total of six officers, who entered without a warrant, were present. The Associated Press identified one deputy as Christian Dedmon from police records. Another deputy, identified as Hunter Elward, reportedly shot Jenkins in the mouth.

The two Black men filed a lawsuit for $400 million for federal civil rights violations, according to the Mississippi Free Press. Jenkins and Parker also claimed that deputies handcuffed them, repeatedly used a stun gun, and poured milk over their heads. 

“This incredible, nasty, violent ordeal exposes that Rankin County deputies and the Department have had a long pattern and practice of deadly excessive force and hate crimes against its African American citizens,” said Malik Shabazz, one of the attorneys for the men.

The other officers involved were not identified by name, according to the Associated Press.

Keke Palmer‘s latest achievement solidifies her nickname as the “Big Boss” after being among hundreds of respected artists invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

The Nope star joins Taylor Swift, Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu as the artists and executives “who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to motion pictures,” CNN reports. The new additions are a start for the Academy’s push for diversity and inclusion, with 40% of the 2023 invitees identifying as women, 34% coming from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities, and 52% being international.

Many of the artists who received invitations have ties to the prestigious award show, with 22 being Academy Award winners and 76 being Oscar-nominated.

“Membership selection is based on professional qualifications, with an ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion, and equity remaining a priority,” the Academy stated.

The move comes after years of #OscarsSoWhite trending during the annual awards show due to a lack of diversity among nominees and winners. In 2012, an analysis from the Los Angeles Times revealed that Oscar voters were 94% white and 77% male.

In 2021, an investigation found that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the small group that hands out the Golden Globes, had no Black members. That disclosure led to NBC pulling the awards program off the air in 2022.

This year’s invitees include more women than men this time around. Actors, musicians, casting directors, costume designers, makeup artists and hairstylists, and marketing and public relations are all branches of AMPAS.

Within the director’s branch, invitees include Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who took home Best Director this year for Everything Everywhere All at Once. The music branch includes Swift and David Byrne, and the executive branch invites include Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav and Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership,” academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.

“They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”

RELATED CONTENT: Keke Palmer Has A Word With Vice President Kamala Harris On Maternal Health and Women’s Rights