by Ashlei Stevens
June 27, 2023
by Sharelle B. McNair
June 27, 2023
Don Lemon Breaks His Silence, Gives Life Updates After Getting The Boot From CNN
Don Lemon finally broke his silence after being fired from CNN after 17 years.
Lemon spoke exclusively with ABC 24 about life post-CNN and said he has no plans on changing or looking back. The veteran journalist has been taking gigs catering to his people such as traveling to Bluff City, Tennessee, after being invited by the Memphis chapter of the NAACP for its annual “Freedom Fund” gala.
After Lemon was granted the first interview with Tyre Nichols’ mother, Rowvaugn Wells, he said it sparked curiosity about his roots, being raised in the South.
“That made me curious about life; about how things ran, what’s behind things and about America,” Lemon said. “That’s how I ended up becoming a journalist—just by being curious and asking questions.”
Things have since changed at his former network. Months after Lemon was fired earlier this year, so was the network’s CEO, Chris Licht. Critics and fans looked as Lemon’s firing as one of the many mistakes made by Licht, causing the vast decline in ratings.
Rumors sparked that Licht’s mission was to pull news coverage back to center, catering to both sides of the spectrum regarding certain topics. While some question if that’s why Lemon was dismissed, he said not telling the truth goes against his journalistic responsibility.
“I don’t believe in platforming liars and bigots, insurrectionists ,and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth; people who are fighting for what’s right, people who are abiding by the constitution,” Lemon told ABC 24. “I think that would be a dereliction of journalistic duty to do those sorts of things.”
As for what’s next, Lemon said he is in no rush to get back behind a news desk. “I’m not going to let other people’s timelines influence me. I know people say, ‘I miss you on television,” Lemon told ABC 24. “What is your next move?’ I’m figuring that out.”
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton
June 27, 2023
James DuBose Exits Fox Soul To Launch His Own Streaming Platform, ‘In The Black Network
In The Black Network is set to launch October 2, 2023, a platform catering to Black audiences.
According to Deadline, James DuBose, the former general manager at Fox Soul, will launch his own AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) platform. In The Black Network will focus on placing the spotlight on Black voices and original stories.
“I love everything about our culture: our faith, our resilience, our rhythm, our minds, our love. These pillars are the focus of our curated content which honors and elevates black culture and cultivates pride within our community,” said DuBose.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always aimed to uplift Black voices, so bringing this new network to fruition is extremely personal and important to me. We want viewers to feel connected to authentic stories that speak to our culture and gain a shared sense of self from enjoying our entertainingly inspiring content.”
From its inception, In The Black Network will use some of the content DuBose developed while he was at Fox Soul. Content on the network will be free and can be assessed on a dedicated app available on iOS, Android devices, Apple TV, YouTube, and Samsung media players, with more partners scheduled to participate later.
Some of the programs will include notable personalities who were previously on Fox Soul, including the Jasmine Brand, rappers Maino and Jeezy, Malik Davis, former football player Ray Crockett, and Ro Parrish. (Deadline has a complete list of the programming slated to run.)
DuBose has also partnered with several content companies like pocket.watch, a digital-first kids and family studio; Black Waterhorse, a veteran distributor of Black indie films; and Maverick Entertainment. In The Black Network’s content will feature sports, music, scripted drama, talk shows, kids/family, and feature films.
RELATED CONTENT: Black-Owned Production Company Offers 100% Royalties, Houses First Private Jet Studio Set in Florida
by Jeroslyn JoVonn
June 27, 2023
Black Women Twerk ‘For The Ancestors’ At Ghana’s Cape Coast, Dragged By Social Media
A group of Black women who thought it would be cute to twerk and gyrate on top of a former slave dungeon in Ghana are facing backlash across social media.
The debates ignited after one member of the travel group by the name KhaParisDior shared an Instagram post reflecting on her visit to the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, where African slaves were once held before being shipped to the U.S. and other areas. The Black female traveler reflected on visiting the castle for Juneteenth and learning about “how they did our ancestors.”
“So today I got to experience The Slave Castle in Cape Coast! It’s wildddddd seeing how they did our ancestors!” Treated them worst than animals!!” she captioned her post.
After experiencing the hard-hitting history lesson, it seemingly iinspired the travel group to turn around and shake something “for our ancestors.”
View this post on Instagram
“It’s sad but of course we had to twerk for our ancestors cause PERIOD!!!!!!” she wrote.
“Happy Juneteenth from the motherland ❤️ I think everybody should go at least once in a lifetime.”
Along with the twerking video were video clips and photos of the ladies touring the former slave grounds and being saddened by the experience. But the twerking video was enough for social media to speak out against the traveler’s way of honoring their ancestors.
“Desecrating a sacred place is classless,” one person wrote under the traveler’s Instagram post.
“Show some respect,” added another.
The post was shared on Twitter by one user who said the group’s behavior was “disrespectful” and should be “condemned.”
Going to a castle, slave dungeon in Africa, And shaking your booty is disrespectful, black American sisters is disrespectful to the millions of our ancestors were shipped into slavery, and it should be condemn, pic.twitter.com/P02FKHgcQa
— Don Salmon (@dijoni) June 25, 2023
“You can take the girl out the ghetto, but not the ghetto out the girl,” one person wrote.
“This has to be one of the most sickening displays of disrespect that I’ve ever witnessed,” added someone else.
KhaParisDior kept the video up on her page and even doubled down on her ancestral twerk in an Instagram Story post saying, “We got people so mad. Funny thing is I’ll do it again too!”
RELATED CONTENT: Kamala Harris Visits Ghana Slave Castle, Says History Must be Learned
by Stacy Jackson
June 27, 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris Pops Up At Stonewall Inn To Support LGBTQ+ Rights
Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at a national monument recognizing the LGBTQ+ community on June 26, 2023.
Harris riled up a crowd at Stonewall Inn accompanied by Andy Cohen, host and executive producer for Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise. The vice president said she would not give up fighting for the LGBTQ+ community regarding legislation matters.
“We are all in this together. We are fighting for the ideals of our country,” she said, according to The New York Times.
Harris also said, according to HuffPost, “I look at these young teachers in Florida [who] are in their 20s, and if they’re in the same-sex relationship, are afraid they might lose their jobs.” Harris added that legislation like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill requires the LGBTQ+ community and its allies “to stay vigilant.”
The vice president said, “We can take nothing for granted in terms of the progress we achieved.”
Harris and President Joe Biden announced their administration’s new protections for the LGBTQ+ community in a White House briefing on June 8, 2023. The release focused on protecting three key areas: LGBTQ+ safety, LGBTQ+ children, and literature about the LGBTQ+ community.
One action from the White House included the LGBTQI+ Community Safety Partnership to combat the rise of violence against the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that hate groups and domestic violence extremists threaten the safety of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
According to the briefing, the partnership will “provide dedicated safety training for LGBTQI+ community organizations and increase federal threat briefings for LGBTQI+ organizations.”
Stonewall Inn became a national monument in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. The monument recognizes the 1969 Stonewall riots and the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for equality in America.
“We’re not going to be silenced,” Harris said during her Stonewall visit, according to HuffPo. “We’re not going to be deterred. We are not going to tire. We’re not going to throw up our hands; we’re going to roll up our sleeves. That’s to me what Stonewall means—strength in numbers.”
by Stacy Jackson
June 27, 2023
Black Media Collective Group Might Be Purchasing A Majority Stake In Sports Illustrated Publishing
Group Black, a Black media company, has set its sights on buying a majority stake in the publisher of a well-known sports magazine.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the media company is said to be in talks with Arena Group Holdings Inc. The potential deal would make Group Black the owner of the publisher for Sports Illustrated. Although Authentic Brands Group owns Sports Illustrated, Arena Group Holdings Inc. has a licensing agreement that grants it the rights to publish Sports Illustrated for 100 years, according to The New York Post.
The collective of more than 150 Black-owned media brands did not publicly comment on the matter; neither did Arena Group Holdings Inc.
Shares in Arena Group Holdings Inc. went up after word got out that the groups were possibly negotiating a deal. Market Watch reported that on June 26, 2023, shares closed up 12.3% at $4.11. As of noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on June 27, 2023, Market Watch showed shares were open at $5.10. According to the group’s newsroom, Arena Group Holdings Inc. is a digital-media publisher with over 240 brands. The group also publishes Parade, The Spun, and Men’s Journal, to name a few.
Group Black was co-founded by three Black entrepreneurs, Travis Montaque, Richelieu Dennis, and Bonin Bougha, in 2021. The group started with a mission to invest in Black media firms to help them grow. Today, the collective includes Black media movers and shakers like Essence, The Shade Room, AfroPunk, Blacklove.com, and hundreds more.
Group Black previously submitted a $400 million bid for the embattled Vice Media. Vice is a leading independent youth media company centered on underrepresented groups and women. Group Black has also secured deals with such massive properties as Procter & Gamble and Peacock.
Sports Illustrated, which is known for its annual Swimsuit Issue, has been considered a showcase for first-rate sports journalism for decades.
by Derek Major
June 27, 2023
Supreme Court Ruling Could Give Louisiana Second Majority-Black Voting District
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed a case concerning Louisiana’s House map to continue Monday with a review by a lower court ahead of next year’s elections.
The ruling raises the likelihood that state lawmakers will have to draw a second majority-Black Congressional district. ABC News reports a district judge initially ruled the House map, which was passed over Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto, violated the Voting Rights Act and ordered a second majority-Black district be created within the state’s six districts.
That ruling was appealed by Louisiana’s top election official, Republican Kyle Ardoin, who has been fighting accusations that state Republicans are suppressing Black voters in Louisiana. Despite the ruling, Louisiana Assistant Attorney General Angelique Freel told ABC News she will continue to fight to establish its original maps.
“Our job is to defend what the Legislature passed, and we trust the 5th Circuit will review the merits in accordance with the law,” said Freel.
The 5th Circuit is viewed as largely conservative and may not uphold the High Court’s ruling, but that didn’t stop Democrats from celebrating the decision.
“Today’s Supreme Court order means the people of Louisiana are one step closer to achieving fair representation in Congress that better reflects the state’s diversity and reaffirms that the voices of Black voters matter,” Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement, according to NBC News.
Bel Edwards added he’s confident the state will create a fair map that will support Black voters.
“Louisiana can and should have a congressional map that represents our voting population, which is one-third Black. As I have consistently stated, this is about simple math, basic fairness, and the rule of law,” Edwards said in a statement. “I am confident we will have a fair map in the near future.”
Similar situations are happening in Southern states, which have a long history of suppressing Black voters dating back to Jim Crow Laws in the 1870s.
In a separate case, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Alabama’s House map puts too many Black residents into one congressional district, which dilutes their power relative to their share of the state population.
by Iman Milner
June 27, 2023
‘Black Girls In White Coats’ Author Wants More Women To Pursue Medicine
Dr. Jovita Ugochi N. Oruwari is a breast surgeon at SSM Health DePaul Hospital in St. Louis. Now she’s using her passion to inspire more Black women to pursue a career in medicine through her new book, Black Girls In White Coats.
The collection of narratives uses personal and professional challenges and milestones that Black female doctors experience to highlight the need for more Black women in an industry that still hosts less than 10 percent of Black physicians, according to The Seattle Medium.
“We need more Black physicians. Black Girls In White Coats encourages Black girls dreaming of becoming doctors,” Oruwari said. “From my work at SSM Health DePaul Hospital, I felt this collection of memories can be a guiding light for Black girls as well as help alleviate the stigma associated with the Black community around health care.”
The book features first-hand accounts from other Black female doctors across multiple disciplines in an effort to show the vast landscape of opportunities available in medicine and “seeks to empower young Black girls who need to see people that do what we do,” said Oruwari, a practicing physician for over 20 years.
Believing that the future is the hands of the generations coming behind her, Oruwari said that the pandemic inspired her, and the other physicians involved, to push for diversity in their industries.
“We really want this book to go out and inspire young African American girls and get them into the healthcare profession so that they can become our replacements because we are not going to practice forever, so we need more women of color in the field,” she said.
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton
June 27, 2023
Antonio Brown Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit From Staff & Players Of His National Arena League Team
More trouble from the failed Antonio Brown partnership with the National Arena League (NAL).
Less than a week after his team, the Albany Empire, was kicked out of the league for not making mandatory payments to the league, members of the Empire plan to file a class-action lawsuit against Brown, head coach Moe Leggett told The Times-Union.
“I’m frustrated,” Leggett said. “I’m frustrated. I tried to give (Brown) the benefit of the doubt. I tried to work with him. I was trying to be the peacemaker, the mediator, to make sure things ran smoothly and just under the radar. But I can no longer do that.”
After players and staff were paid for their last game against Orlando, someone posted a screenshot of the payment being reversed on June 21, 2023, in a group chat. Leggett said the picture caused him to check his bank account the following day—the payment he initially received was deducted from his account.
Leggett also mentioned he attempted to contact Brown, Brown’s accountant Alex Gunaris, and team president Alberony Denis but was unsuccessful.
Fabian Guerra, an Empire wide receiver, was picked up by the Massachusetts Pirates, an Indoor Football League team based in Worcester, MA. Although he had a casual relationship with Brown, he said he would join the class-action lawsuit to get his money back.
“I feel like this was his plan all along,” Guerra said. “I feel like he does stuff for social media and to sell his songs. I think it’s just what he does. That’s the type of guy he is. No one trusts him anymore. I see it hard for him to get any future deals going because of how he is as a person.”
After Brown refused to pay the National Arena League the required 1/7 of the league’s operating budget, the team’s board of owners unanimously agreed to terminate the membership agreement of the Albany Empire.
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton
June 27, 2023
Black Sports Agents Are Closing Deals And Making History With Top 10 Draft Picks For 2023
This year’s 2023 NBA Draft (which took place in New York City at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets) was one for the record books! For the first time in history and in any sport, the top 10 players selected in the draft were represented by Black agents, according to an Instagram post by Diverse Representation.
View this post on Instagram
-
- Victor Wembanyama- San Antonio Spurs (Represented by Comsportt’s Bouna Ndiaye)
- Brandon Miller- Charlotte Hornets (Represented by SAI Sports Management’s Wilmer Jackson)
- Scoot Henderson- Portland Trail Blazers (Represented by Par-Lay Sports and Entertainment’s Steve Haney)
- Amen Thompson- Houston Rockets (Represented by G.A.P.P. Sports Group’s Troy Thompson)
- Ausar Thompson- Detroit Pistons (Represented by G.A.P.P. Sports Group’s Troy Thompson)
- Anthony Black- Orlando Magic (Represented by WME Sports’ Bill Duffy)
- Bilal Coulibaly- Washington Wizards (Represented by Comportt’s Bouna Ndiaye)
- Jarace Walker- Indiana Pacers (Represented by WME Sports’ Bill Duffy and Joe Branch)
- Taylor Hendricks- Utah Jazz (Represented by I AM Sports & Entertainment’s Raymond Brothers)
- Cason Wallace- Oklahoma City Thunder (Represented by Excel Sports Management’s Marcus MonkDiverse Representation also lists the players selected and the agency and/or agent that represents them.)
View this post on Instagram
This NBA Draft also marked the first time twin brothers (Amen and Ausar Thompson) were selected in the top five selection of players. They were also selected back-to-back (the No. 4 and No. 5 draft picks), a feat that many believe may never be duplicated in any sport.
The Athletic also confirmed the Thompsons are not the only twins selected in the NBA Draft. That distinction occurred over 10 years ago when Marcus and Markieff Morris were picked. The two brothers were selected in 2011 as the No. 13 and No.14 picks that year.
RELATED CONTENT: Does the NBA Have a Colorism Issue? Twitter Starts Conversation About Current Draft Class