A Houston barber is facing legal trouble after posing as a police officer in order to meet the H-Town Hottie, Megan Thee Stallion.

Megan Thee Stallion was back in her hometown last week to headline the NCAA March Madness Music Festival at Discovery Green. It was a sold-out show that served as the “Savage” rapper’s return to the stage following a months-long hiatus in wake of Tory Lanez being found guilty of shooting her in 2020.

But one superfan took his desire to get up close and personal with the superstar to extreme levels by impersonating a cop, ABC13 reports. Trayvone Lil Darus Stevenson, 28, spent the weekend in Harris County Jail on charges of impersonating a public servant.

Stevenson is accused of wearing a “Police K-9” vest and claiming to be a police officer working security for the concert. But authorities noticed that although he was wearing the “K-9” vest, he didn’t have a dog.

Attorneys say Stevenson works as a barber and has never served as a police officer. He faced a judge on Monday and was granted a $20,000 bond.

It was the first criminal charge for Stevenson who had a clean record before his stunt to see Megan Thee Stallion.

“Megan Thee Stallion is a fantastic draw, big draw, especially here in Houston, but this is still a felony case,” prosecutor Mathew Jackson said.

“You cannot go and impersonate an officer to get into a concert venue.”

Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion has been receiving praise from fans who attended the concert and were happy to see the Grammy award-winning rapper back on stage. She enjoyed a fun moment with one of her die-hard fans who joined her on stage and recited her song “Girls In The Hood” word-for-word.

Megan Thee Stallion on stage with fans during “Girls In the Hood” at the AT&T Block Party. pic.twitter.com/goLBCDW5un

— Stallion Access (@stallionaccess) April 1, 2023

Her concert came days after she threw the first pitch at the Astros vs. White Sox game. Her form-fitting white jeans and tied-up Astros jersey had many in a chokehold.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1641579657329012737?s=20

It’s clear why Megan Thee Stallion is a certified Hottie, as she calls herself. Apparently, she’s so hot, someone will risk going to jail for a chance to see her perform.

• News

by Booker Jones

April 5, 2023

Harvard University Police Held Four Black Students At Gunpoint After False 911 Call

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Four Black Harvard students had their undergraduate suite raided by campus police. 

The Harvard Crimson reported that four Black students living in Leverett House were awakened by Harvard University Police and ordered to exit their suites at gunpoint. 

Steven G. Catalano, a spokesman for Harvard University Police Department, told the Harvard Crimson that campus police received calls threatening violence against occupants. After a search of Leverett House, campus police did not find any weapons, nor did they find anyone “acting suspicious.”  

According to the report, Jarah K. Cotton, Jazmin N. Dunlap, David G. Madzivanyika, and Alexandra C. René, all seniors, were awakened at 4:00 a.m. by police banging on the door, Cotton told the Harvard Crimson. 

“All I can recall having in my mind is ‘I haven’t done anything,’” Cotton said to the Harvard Crimson. “I really had no clue why they were raiding our suite.”

After police searched the suite and were convinced that the students were harmless, they were told that they were responding to a false report, which is why it was believed there was an active threat. 

“We were all extremely scared, particularly because my roommates and I are Black students who have been bombarded our whole lives with stories and images portraying how situations such as this had ended up terribly,” Cotton said to the Harvard Crimson via email. “We felt our lives were in danger. We are traumatized.”

“I was really, really scared, but I feel like that was nothing compared to how the other suite felt,” Tsige said.

Harvard Crimson also reported that the false report is called swatting. Swatting happens when someone places a fake emergency 911 call to scare people with potentially violent encounters with police. 

A new docuseries will be coming to the Paramount+ network featuring the offspring of several famous music artists.

Paramount+ has announced that the new music docuseries, Family Legacy, will debut on Tuesday, April 25. The series will be shown in the United States and Canada. The next day, on April 26, it will be seen worldwide in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, LATAM, and Brazil, while making its Australian premiere on Saturday, April 29.

It will be a five-part series featuring the children of some legendary musicians. They include Boyz II Men, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Brandy Norwood, The Notorious B.I.G., T.L.C., Van Halen, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Melissa Etheridge, and Linkin Park.

The series will be narrated by Quincy Brown, son of Al B. Sure, who Combs adopted. The docuseries will relive some of the entertainers’ most iconic moments and give the audience an intimate look at their favorite artists.

There will be thousands of hours of exclusive footage from the archives of MTV. Family Legacy will also show new interviews and discussions with the children of the aforementioned stars. The series will showcase the iconic musicians’ most celebrated moments added with the perspectives, mindsets, and previously untold stories that only their kids could talk about.

The docuseries will feature the following:

• Andrew Hagar (son of Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar)

• Bailey Cypheridge (daughter of Melissa Etheridge)

• Baylee Littrell (son of Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell)

• Briahna Fatone (daughter of *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone)

• Christian “King” Combs (son of Sean “Diddy” Combs)

• C.J. Wallace (son of Notorious B.I.G.)

• Draven Bennington (son of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington)

• Justin Combs (son of Sean “Diddy” Combs)

• Nathan Morris II (son of Boyz II Men’s Nathan Morris)

• Quincy Brown (son of Sean “Diddy” Combs)

• Sy’Rai Smith (daughter of Brandy)

• Tron Austin (son of TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas)

Check out the trailer below:

• News

by Iman Milner

April 5, 2023

In Her Bag: Angel Reese Is Bringing In Big Bucks In NIL Deals

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Hopefully, there’s enough room in the “Bayou Barbie” house for all the deals Angel Reese is bringing in. The national champion and media darling can now add “highest paid” to her résumé as Sponsors United reports that she’s landed more NIL deals than any player, man or woman, in the NCAA tournament.

Though fifth on the list overall behind several football players and Lauren Burke, a softball player for Texas, Reese is leading the pack in hoops with 17 NIL deals totaling $392,000 per year with companies like Bose, JanSport, McDonald’s, Outback Steakhouse, Xfinity, and others. She is ninth overall among college athletes, according to Sportscasting.com, and seems poised to keep running it up.

A true Gen Z “it girl,” Reese’s unapologetic authenticity and fashion sense have caught the eye of legacy brands like Coach, who gifted the LSU Tigers leather backpacks at the beginning of the 2022 season on behalf of the double-double record-holder. One scroll through her Instagram, and it’s clear why her star continues to rise; she is, at once, an average college student and yet keenly aware of her influence on others. The latter has never been more true as she’s navigated the past few days of a media circus that followed her iconic victory over Iowa. While criticism and praise have floated around sports media, Reese has been steadfast, bold, and unbothered.

Most recently, first lady Dr. Jill Biden threw out the idea of having both LSU and Iowa visit the White House, a move that is in direct opposition to the usual order of business of having only champions honored in this way. Reese reposted a tweet featuring a quote from Dr. Biden with the response “A JOKE” and doubled down on her stance while being interviewed by the I Am Athlete subsidiary “Paper Route,” saying, “I just know if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House.” She said she and her teammates would visit former President and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama instead.

Heard you, Queen!

• Uncategorized

by Stacy Jackson

April 5, 2023

Howard Welcomes Stacey Abrams As Chair for Race and Black Politics

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Political leader and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams has been added to the faculty list at Howard University as its inaugural Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics.

https://twitter.com/HowardU/status/1643616127359041538

According to The Washington Post, the university announced Abram’s new role on Wednesday. She will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and inspire research on complex societal problems that affect African diasporic communities.

“We are entering an inflection point in American politics where the conversation of race and Black politics will be a central facet,” Abrams, 49, said, “and having the chance to help guide part of the conversation for young people who are studying at Howard University is an exceptional opportunity.”

Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick said the appointment reflects Walters’ legacy as a professor at the university for 25 years, where he focused on topics of Black politics and the role politics plays in African American life.

“Stacey Abrams epitomizes that in our contemporary experience, in our society,” Frederick said. “The work she has been doing on voter registration and voting irregularities, especially in Georgia but across the country, speaks to a lot of what Ronald Walters embodied. This appointment is extremely important for our students.”

Walters, who died in 2010, organized one of the country’s first lunch-counter sit-ins in Kansas in 1958. His advisement to Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns was significant to his role as a leading scholar of politics. “His focus on African American leadership has shaped so much of how we have seen leaders engage over the last 30 years,” Abrams said.

Abrams’ experience as an adjunct professor at her Atlanta alma mater, Spelman College, and her public affairs and law studies have prepared her for the new role with Howard.

Fulfilling her new position at the university doesn’t mean she has given up on possibly running for office again. The activist stated in January that she would likely run again, and according to The Post, she clarified this week that she hasn’t ruled out the option.

Quavo is expanding his growth as an actor with his latest role in Will Packer’s Praise This and spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE about why the new gospel comedy is the perfect movie for anyone who believes in a higher power.

The “Bad and Boujee” rapper appears in the film as Ty, a popular Atlanta-based rap star who shares an affection for the lead character Sam, played by Chloe Bailey. He flashed smiles and partied with the cast at the Atlanta premiere on Monday.

The Migos member has been slowly returning to the spotlight in the wake of the tragic passing of his groupmate and real-life cousin Takeoff last November. Taking on a major acting role in a gospel-based comedy film is something Quavo sees as a “blessing” at this time in his life.

“It’s a blessing, and it was good,” he told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Playing a rapper wasn’t off-brand for Quavo. But he made sure to add some extra comedic flair to his character that meshed well with the film’s overall dynamic.

“I was Ty the rapper, so it kind of came second nature to me,” he said. “But, I wanted to make him just a little bit more cockier than me.”

Quavo was proud to tap into his acting bag and put on for his city that served as the backdrop for the new gospel film.

“It’s about Atlanta. It’s about the culture. It’s about the south,” he said.

The film’s plot also hit home for Quavo, who grew up in the church and participated in his church choir.

“We grew up in the church and going to choir practice and all that stuff, so it just made it feel like home,” he explained.

“So I just wanted to put my best thoughts on it the best way I could.”

When it came to taking on the role, it was a no-brainer for Quavo, who had been begging Packer for years to put him in a movie.

“Me and Will Pack are good friends. I see them all the time. We go to the games, and every time I see him, I say, ‘Will, man, put me in a role.’ And I’ve been saying this for about four years,” he confessed.

“So I finally got my shot and I’m like, let’s get it.”

The “Hotel Lobby” hitmaker also praised the film’s director, Tina Gordon, for working so well with the cast and adding to the “family” dynamic they shared on set.

“Tina Gordon over there, man, they’re amazing people,” Quavo said. “And just the cast just felt like one big family.”

As for the underlying theme of Praise This, Quavo believes the gospel comedy packs the perfect message for faith-based believers around the world.

 “It’s a good message if you believe in God,” he said. “If you believe in God, to keep God first, you can strive for greatness.”

“This is kind of like starting from the bottom, starting from nothing,” Quavo continued. “People not believing in you. Kind of like taking the glitter and glam and letting people be fooled kind of by that. But sometimes it’s the hard work, it’s the grind out the mud that really gets shown. And at the end of the movie, I think it displayed that.”

For those wondering if Quavo caught the acting bug, the answer is yes! The “Stir Fry” rapper shared his openness to more acting gigs in the foreseeable future.

“Yes, ma’am. If my phone keeps ringing, I’m going to answer it,” he quipped.

Praise This premieres on Peacock Friday, April 7th.

• News

by Booker Jones

April 5, 2023

University of North Carolina Acquires Photographic Black History Archive

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The University of North Carolina’s Wilson Special Collections Library has acquired the Ronald L. Freeman Collections. 

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education reported that the new collection is a gift from the Kohler Foundation, which supports education and the arts. Ronald L. Freeman’s collection will be part of UNC’s Southern Folklife Collection and will be available for research purposes later this year, The Journal reported. 

“Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1936, Ronald Freeman was inspired to become a photographer after participating in the 1963 March on Washington,” The Journal wrote. “His career led him to photograph landmark events, such as the unrest following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Poor People’s Campaign ‘Mule Train’ March on Washington, and Nelson Mandela’s first visit to the United States.” 

The collection contains work conducted by Freeman throughout his career, which spans over five decades. Freeman documented, but was not limited to, folk art, Black communities, and public figures. The new collection at UNC contains 24,000 slides, 10,000 photographs, 400,000 negatives, and 9,000 contact sheets as well as publications and an archive of Freeman’s papers, The Journal reported. 

“The Southern Folklife Collection is deeply honored and excited to preserve and provide access to Roland Freeman’s photographic archive,” Steve Weiss, curator of the Southern Folklife Collection, said, cited by The Journal. “Freeman’s research and documentation of African American Folklife is innovative in its collaborative methodology and a landmark in the study of African American quilters. His collection will be an invaluable resource for students, historians, folklorists, documentary filmmakers, and many more groups.”

Folk culture, arguably made popular by Zora Neale Hurston, is very popular in the Deep South. Some of the most recent research surrounding folk culture comes from Jamil W. Drake, Assistant Professor of Religion at Florida State University. His recent book, To Know The Soul of a People: Religion, Race, and the Making of Southern Folk shows how social scientists framed folk culture as a way to prove negative stereotypes that have consistently plagued Blacks. 

• Arts and Culture

by Iman Milner

April 5, 2023

Dave The Potter’s Works Sell For Millions Yet His Descendants Say They Haven’t Been Paid At All

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David Drake, a celebrated potter whose work dates back to the 1800s, is at the center of a story that is all too familiar for many descendants of enslaved people.

Commonly known as Dave The Potter, Drake’s work is revered by collectors for its quality and the many etchings he risked his life to engrave into them. Some works simply feature his signature, while others have short poems that provide insights into his journey. According to The Washington Post, Drake may have created over 40,000 pieces throughout his life, most of which he was not paid for. Today, his work sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and in 2021, one of his inscribed pieces sold for $1.5 million.

So, who is profiting from his labor?

That is the question being asked by the Whitners, a family contacted in 2016 by a genealogist who revealed that they were descendants of David Drake. “It really saddened me,” Daisy Whitner, one of the family members, said to The Washington Post. “I wondered how much blood and sweat he put into making these pieces. He had to shed tears as he was wondering where his relations were, who had been torn away from him.” It was also sobering for them to find out that his works had been commissioned during slavery, making it commonplace for him to go unpaid for his talents.

• Celebrity News

by Stacy Jackson

April 5, 2023

Blac Chyna Turning Her Life Around: Graduates With Doctorate From Bible College

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Blac Chyna has been making moves in silence, or perhaps that’s “Dr. White” to the world now.

The socialite and television personality, whose real name is Angela Renee White, recently announced the completion of her doctorate of liberal arts, an accomplishment she seems to have kept under the radar throughout her studies.

On Monday, White posted a photo on Instagram showing off the degree she received from Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College. “On January 17, 2023 I got my Doctorate of Liberal Arts from Sacramento Theological Seminary and Bible College. Doctor Angela Renee White,” she wrote in the caption. She positioned the doctorate degree in front of a black-and-white photo of her two children, 10-year-old son, King, and 6-year-old daughter, Dream.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Blac Chyna 💋 (@blacchyna)

Receiving her doctorate isn’t the first surprise to fans in her recent transformation. Last year, White shared a special moment with her Instagram followers, revealing her baptism on her 34th birthday last May. “Born again on my birthday,” White captioned a video of her being submerged in a pool. She hashtagged the words “new beginnings.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Blac Chyna 💋 (@blacchyna)

Adding to what White has called her “life-changing journey,” recently she has undergone some adjustments to her past cosmetic surgeries including butt and breast reductions and removal of her facial filler. She flooded the gram in March with all her changes, extending the list as she posted the beginning stages to remove what she identified as a demonic tattoo of “Baphomet.”

“I don’t want anything negative or demonic on my body anymore,” White said in the post.

“Every day we are changing,” White told SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning. “I just got sick and tired of being in the same patterns,” she shared. “I thought, ‘Obviously, there’s something that I’m doing wrong.'”

• News

by Iman Milner

April 5, 2023

Free Yourself: Tabitha Brown Reveals She Hid Her Rape For Years, “It Wasn’t My Fault”

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Tabitha Brown always has a word that feels right on time.

Since 2020, Auntie Tab, as she’s affectionately called by her fans, has been a positive and uplifting online voice for many. From her vegan recipes to her transparency around her journey to success; there is always something to be learned from one of her videos. Now an Emmy-winning show host and a New York Times bestselling author, Brown still finds time to talk to her millions of fans from a true and honest place.

The 44-year-old recently shared a TikTok in which she detailed being raped at 15 years old and how, after years of telling no one about the experience, she’s learned to heal by no longer refusing to hide. “I don’t know why this is so heavy on my heart, but I wanted to share this now. And I talk about this a bit in my first book Feeding the Soul, so it’s not new to many people, but whatever reason, God has placed it on my heart tonight,” she began. Brown went on to describe a pretty normal teenage happening: a night that started with sneaking out with some of her friends to meet up with boys. “‘Let’s go – let’s go meet boys,’ and we went to this party,” she recalled. “And there was a guy there who I thought liked me. I thought was cute, and I had known him, but didn’t really know him.”

She went on to reveal that she was assaulted that night and allowed self-blame to bully her into silence. “For years I blamed myself because I had snuck out my mama’s house, I had taken her car and I went to this party. And I knew better. And in my mind I convinced myself, ‘That’s what you get. You deserve that. Like that was your punishment.'” Over time and with intentional reflection, Brown said she’s come to a place of understanding that she was simply a victim that night…and, ultimately, not at fault.

“In my adult life, I realize — and in this healing journey that I’m on — that there is absolutely never any reason to be raped. It is never your fault. Okay?” she told her followers. “Doesn’t matter what you wore. Doesn’t matter where you went. Doesn’t matter what you did wrong, but under no circumstance is it ever your fault for getting raped.” The mother of two is always vocal about her relationship with God and credited her faith for giving her the courage to share this experience after holding onto the secret until only a few years ago.

“God gave me a word five years ago and He told me my secrets were making me sick, and so I had to release it,” she explained. “So I say to you — if you’ve been holding it in for so many different reasons, whether you think you’re guilty or that you deserved it; embarrassment, shame, whatever the case may be, it’s time to release it. Because your secret is making you sick. It wasn’t your fault.”