• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

April 3, 2023

UPDATE: Mississippi GOP One Step Closer To Making Blackest City In America A ‘Police State’

---

In February, it was reported that a disturbing new bill proposed by Mississippi Republicans would create a separate court system and expand the police force for the city with all-white state officials.

Now, NBC News reports lawmakers voted to give more power to a state police agency in Jackson, known as the “Blackest city in America,” accused of shooting four people since last summer. The Mississippi Capitol Police will send them to patrol all of Jackson as a tactic by mostly white Republican state officials to exert more control over law enforcement in the majority-Black, Democrat-led capital.

The state Senate approved the new measure last week, and it now goes to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

Other measures passed last month will create a temporary court system outside of city control, with seats held by judges appointed by the state Supreme Court chief justice and prosecutors appointed by the state attorney general. These appointed officials would handle low-level cases in a section of the city known as the Capitol Complex Improvement District. While Republican and Democratic leaders mostly agree on the need to keep the city safe, Black lawmakers know there is another way to do it.

“But the way this looks says something else,” Sen. John Horhn said. “And it plays right into the old stereotypical notions the rest of the country has about Mississippi.” “It’s essentially creating a police state right here in the city of Jackson,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Blackmon said.

Jackson residents fear this new bill, given the reputation of the Mississippi Capitol Police. Arkela Lewis, the mother of a young Black man killed by Mississippi’s Capitol Police, says it terrifies her. “It also angers me,” Lewis said, according to Newsone. Of the four shootings, one victim was a father of two, and another was a mother—injured while lying in bed.

Of course, supporters of the bill, like Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins, claim this has nothing to do with race. “This is not about race. This has truly been about helping the citizens of Jackson in a time of need.”

An icon has just graced The Runway at T.J. Maxx.

For Law Roach, the self-proclaimed Maxxinista and Image Architect—known for some of the most memorable transformations and red-carpet moments—his latest “predestined project” with the retail giant is the fulfillment he’s been seeking.

Currently, Roach is the West Coast editor of British Vogue and is the mastermind behind the reinvention of Zendaya. He also turned Celine Dion into a fashion idol,  in addition to the likes of Megan the Stallion and Kerry Washington. However, building a multi-hyphenate empire within the global fashion industry is no strut in the park.

“I’ve been searching for something to give me a little bit more fulfillment,” Roach told People of his new task of reintroducing the world to T.J. Maxx.

A clear reflection of his fashion beginnings, this new collaboration is nostalgic for Roach, who recalled purchasing his “very first designer” items from T.J. Maxx. Now, he is bringing his fashion creations to the 15-year The Runway collection of designer pieces at an affordable value.

“I’ve always been a Maxxinista. I’m proud to say that because before my career blossomed, T.J. Maxx was where I would go to get a piece,” Roach said.

He added: “My soul has really been pointing me [and my work] to be a little bit more accessible to the people. You work so hard and you save your money, and T.J. Maxx has always made it more accessible.”

Following this year’s Academy Awards, the stylist took to Instagram to air his frustrations with the constant struggles faced by Black people in the fashion space, BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported. He sent shockwaves throughout the fashion world when he later announced his retirement from his highly-sought after craftsmanship of dressing the rich and the famous.

“If this business was just about the clothes I would do it for the rest of my life but unfortunately it’s not,” Roach wrote. “The politics, the lies and false narratives finally got me! You win … I’m out.”

The mega-stylist looks forward to building beyond the red carpet.

As Burna Boy continues to heat up the music scene, the Afrobeats giant is set to make history as the first Nigerian artist to headline a U.S. stadium.

On July 8, Burna Boy will headline NYC’s Citi Field and will become the first Nigerian artist to do so, Billboard reports. The concert will serve as a US stop as part of his Love, Damini world tour and will be a special one as it falls on the one-year anniversary of Burna’s “Love, Damini” album.

The album proved to be a huge success producing chart-topping hits like “Last Last” and “Kilometre” and earning Burna Boy a 2023 Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album. With guest features from artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, J Hus, Vict0ny, Popcaan, Blxst, Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, and Khalid, there are a number of surprise celebrity appearances that could be made throughout the world tour.

Other tour stops include shows at Paris La Defense, London Stadium, and Gelre Dome in Amsterdam. His Citi Field show isn’t the first time Burna Boy has made history with a headlining set.

Last year, the “Destiny” singer became the first Nigerian artist to headline NYC’s famed Madison Square Garden for his “Burna Boy Presents One Night in Space” concert. For the Citi Field show, pre-sale tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 4 at 10 a.m. local time. The general sale of tickets begins on Friday, April 7 at 10 a.m.

US fans recently got to see Burna Boy hit the stage at J Cole’s Dreamville Music Festival in Raleigh, N.C over the weekend. Later this month, he’s returning to Coachella before headlining Afro Nation Miami in May.

Burna’s return to Coachella comes after he called out the famed festival in 2019 for making his name “so small” on the promotional flyer, CNN reports.

“I don’t appreciate the way my name is written so small on your bill,” he wrote on Instagram at the time.

“I am an AFRICAN GIANT and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means. Fix things quick please.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

April 3, 2023

Man Arrested Near NC A&T With Numerous Weapons and More Than 1,000 Rounds of Ammunition

---

Police stopped what could have been another mass shooting near the campus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an HBCU in Greensboro, North Carolina.

FOX 8 reports a white man was arrested and charged after being found near the campus with dozens of weapons. Brandon James Bentley faces numerous charges after he was found with a revolver, a loaded handgun, a rifle, two shotguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He also had a “makeshift firework explosive,” brass knuckles, a machete, a sword, a “blowdart weapon,” a crossbow, a hatchet, a stun gun, a dozen knives, “claws,” and a baton.

According to Greensboro News & Record, Bentley is being charged with having a firearm on educational property, explosive device on educational property, weapon on educational property, carrying a concealed weapon, driving with a revoked license, and reckless driving. The Greensboro Police Department received a call from campus officers informing them that Bentley was chasing unarmed security guards on the campus and was violent and threatening.

Authorities also confiscated bolts for the crossbow, two “choking devices,” a window breaker, a chicken foot, pepper spray, and “holy water” from the 27-year-old assailant.

The university released a statement confirming the incident. “The FBI, State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Greensboro Police Department are in charge of an ongoing joint investigation into this incident,” the statement read. “Bentley, who has no affiliation with A&T, has been banned from the North Carolina A&T campus. The University remains committed to the safety and security of our campus and will continue to use the emergency alert system in instances where threats are ongoing.”

Bentley was also accused of reckless driving with no license and carrying one of the concealed revolvers. He appeared in court on Mar. 27, where his bond was increased to $100,000.00.

It looks like NBA players are getting the green light to smoke weed.

The Insider reports players in the National Basketball Association will no longer be tested for marijuana. The tentative collective bargaining agreement would be a seven-year deal between the league and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and will include a stipulation that marijuana will be removed from the drug testing program and players will no longer be penalized for using it. NBPA used Twitter to announce what was at stake, saying, “Specific details will be made available once a term sheet is finalized.”

NBA and NBPA reach tentative deal on new collective agreement bargaining agreement.

🔗: https://t.co/SZtzwo7Zig pic.twitter.com/67rHk7GMzY

— NBPA (@TheNBPA) April 1, 2023

There is no secret that professional basketball players, both current and past, engage in marijuana usage. Players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Allen Iverson, both Hall of Famers, have been advocates for the legalization of marijuana. Phoenix Suns star, Kevin Durant, told David Letterman during an interview he started smoking marijuana when he was 22. ‘For me, it clears the distraction from your brain, it’s like having a glass of wine,’ he said.

Tamika Tremaglio, NBPA executive director, says their first priority is to protect the players, on and off the court. “Since day one, the goal of the NBPA in this negotiation was to protect our players, enrich their lives on and off the court, and establish a framework that recognizes our players as true partners with the governors in both the NBA and the business world at large!”

According to Outkick, Mike Bass, a spokesman for the NBA, says under this deal, the league would now “focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse.”

Back in 2020, the league stopped testing for marijuana usage during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no word on when the pandemic would end, the NBA then extended that policy through the 2021-22 season.

Ice T always has words of encouragement or warming stories. The Rhyme Pays rapper recently shared how having a baby at 50 gave him the energy to keep pushing.

Last week, the 65-year-old sat down with Big Tigger on The Big Tigger Show. During the brief sitdown, the rapper/actor discussed fatherhood and being a family man. 

“Muhammad Ali said it best, ‘When a man has a child in the second half of his life, after 50, it resets his life,’ “Ice T said on the Big Tigger Show. “It started my life over. I got back healthy, back in the gym, looking good, sharp. I’m strong, I’ve got to live. I can’t go anywhere, I’ve got to keep chasing these bags.”

Ice T shares a 47-year-old daughter, LeTesha Marrow, with his high school girlfriend, Adrienne. He also shares a 31-year-old son, Ice Tracy Marrow Jr., with his ex-girlfriend Darlene Ortiz, the Atlanta Black Star reports. 

While Ice T equally loves all of his children, his youngest, Chanel, 7, with wife Coco Austin, added newfound energy to his life when she was born, the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit actor said. 

“I’ve got two kids, but this baby right here really activated my life. You’ve got to do it right,” Ice T said to Big Tigger. 

In other Ice T news, back in February, word circulated about rumored issues between Ice T and Jay-Z over Hov’s “99 Problems,” originally a 1993 song performed by Ice T.  During an interview with Radio.com, a reporter asked the veteran rapper about having issues with the Brooklyn-bred rapper. 

“I’m at the Grammys, and Jay-Z comes to me. He says, ‘Ice, you know I love you, right?’” Ice said to Radio.com. “I say, ‘Yeah!’ He says, ‘Well, it’s on the internet that you mad.’ I said, ‘I’m not mad! They’re bringing up all kinds of interviews about it, and they asked me the story, and I told them the true story.’”

Ice T added: “He goes, ‘Yeah man, but it’s no hard feelings.’ And he started talking about how me and him — ’cause I met Jay-Z way back in the day. Big Daddy Kane brought Jay-Z to my house back in the day when he was starting out. I used to take Jay around, roll my car, him and Dame Dash, so we’re friends.

“But I said, ‘Yo, well, you know, when you did “99 Problems,” at the end of the record, you could’ve said, ‘Ice!’ You could’ve given me a little dap or something!’ I said, ‘But I’m not mad at it. What had happened was people wanted to know the story.’”

“Why has Jay-Z never said, ‘This is Ice-T’s song’? Show me some love!” Ice T asked on Radio.com. “That’s just another way of handling the situation. I handle the situation differently. If I use your music, I want to let people know.”

• News

by Booker Jones

April 3, 2023

Supreme Court Declines To Review Racial Gerrymandering Accusations In Kansas

---

Kansas voters petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that allowed racial gerrymandering, in which voters believe a voting district favors one group of voters over another.  

According to CNN, the Supreme Court decided not to review a court case that allegedly upheld racial gerrymandering. 

As CNN’s Davan Cole wrote: “In a controversial decision last year, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld a Republican-drawn map that had been blocked by a lower court over partisan gerrymandering and the dilution of minority voting strength. The new congressional map split Wyandotte County–home to Kansas City–into two congressional districts for the first time in several decades.”

Votes represented by the ACLU of Kansas and the Campaign Legal Center were dissatisfied with the ruling. CNN reported that voters represented by the ACLU “held that intentional racial discrimination in redistricting is unconstitutional only if it prevents the formation of a majority-minority district.”

The group of voters, represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Kansas, and the Campaign Legal Center, said in court papers that the Kansas Supreme Court “held that intentional racial discrimination in redistricting is unconstitutional only if it prevents the formation of a majority-minority district.”

“Under this conception of the Fourteenth Amendment, where minority voters are fewer in number or more dispersed, states have carte blanche to intentionally discriminate against them in drawing districts–even if the legislature announced that it acted specifically to disadvantage minority voters,” ACLU wrote.  

Sharon Brett, ACLU legal director, spoke with TheGrio about the Supreme Court’s decision. 

“I think the impact of the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision is pretty significant and serious, and we’re disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court wasn’t willing to step in and correct that misinterpretation of federal law,” Brett said. 

She added that the ACLU “appealed one very discrete issue, and that was that the Kansas Supreme Court misinterpreted the federal equal protection clause law.” 

“The ACLU of Kansas is here to help them organize their political power and work with the other communities in the second congressional district to push back against the map that was enacted by the Kansas legislature and make sure their political voices are heard,” Brett told TheGrio. 

A year later and we’re still talking about “the slap.” Interesting.

Chris Rock‘s younger brother, Tony, said Will Smith never reached out to the stand-up comedian after the infamous Oscars’ encounter last year—and that he lied when he claimed he did so.

Rock appeared on a recent episode of BigBoyTV to set the record straight. “That wasn’t true, that wasn’t true,” Rock said. “I think like, two nights later, he said, ‘I reached out to Chris, and he didn’t want to talk.’ That wasn’t true.”

In a video Smith posted to his Instagram account last year, he admitted that he and Tony were great friends, so it was disappointing that he did not hear from Smith either.

“He doesn’t owe me anything, I just thought we were better than that,” Tony said. “My phone number has never changed. So, I just thought I’d get a phone call one day like, ‘Ay, let’s just you and I just talk.’ It hasn’t happened, so I guess it’s not going to happen.”

Chris Rock’s last televised comedy special on Netflix, Selective Outrage, is based on his dealing with Smith at last year’s Oscars. At the end of his set, the moment the whole world had waited months for, took place.

After accusing Smith of having that selective outrage when he was defending his wife, Rock blamed it on Jada Pinkett Smith‘s alleged obsession with the late recording artist, Tupac.

“Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody who really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that s**t. I didn’t have any entanglements,” he blurted onstage in Baltimore, where the special was filmed.

The Smiths reportedly knew about Rock’s comedy special but decided not to watch. However, “Will is embarrassed and hurt by what Chris said about him and his family in his Netflix special,” a source told Entertainment Tonight.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 3, 2023

Manhattan District Attorney Drops Charges Against Parking Lot Attendant Shot By Suspected Thief

---

A Manhattan man was shot twice during a struggle with a suspected thief. The two wrestled, and the victim was able to grab the suspect’s gun and shoot him back in retaliation. Although he did so in self-defense, police officers arrested him and charged him with attempted murder.

According to The New York Post, Moussa Diarra, an overnight parking attendant at Carolan’s West 31st Street garage, lies in a hospital bed after confronting a man he saw peering inside several cars in the parking lot. This incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the West Side garage. After asking the man, Charles Rhodie, to go outside to inspect what he may have in his bag, Rhodie pulled out the weapon and shot Diarra twice. Diarra wrestled the gun away from Rhodie and fired the weapon back at him, hitting him.

After police officers arrived, they took both men to Bellevue Hospital.

He is still in disbelief that he had been handcuffed to a hospital gurney as he recovers from his injuries. For defending himself against a suspected thief, Diarra was charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon charge in the incident.

“I got bullets in me, and I’m chained to a hospital bed, but I didn’t do anything wrong,” the 57-year-old Diarra said to Meyers Parking’s Chief Operating Officer Michael Carolan, who spoke to The New York Post after speaking to the victim.

“One of my first thoughts was a political football, and this gentleman shouldn’t become a political football,” Carolan said. “I can’t get my head around, necessarily, the legal process of charging an individual and having to go through 48 hours for his family and himself.

“Here’s a gentleman who’s just a hardworking individual doing his job. You just think you’re doing the right thing. The altercation happens because of the other individual, not our guy. He’s reacting.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped the pending charges against Diarra on Sunday.

Diarra had surgery for the two bullet wounds, one to his gut and the other to his ear, according to Diarra’s attorney, Charles Clayman.

The controversy and alleged racial overtones related to the use of WWE wrestler John Cena’s signature hand-gesture move, “you can’t see me” has caught the eyes of several prominent sports figures. A white player who used it is labeled “competitive” and “good for the sport” yet a Black player using the same move has been called “ghetto” and “bad for the sport.”

After winning the NCAA women’s basketball championship on Sunday, Louisiana State University player Angel Reese, a Black athlete, has been shamed for using a move that she mimicked from University of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, a white player.

After several people took to social media to bash Reese, she had several sports stars and prominent people have come to her defense.

Shannon Sharpe, after acknowledging the great sports play of Clark, tore into those who opposed Reese for the same gesture.

“When Caitlin Clark did it, it was swag, but when Angel Reese does it, it’s classless. It’s very clear: this is not about anything else but race.”

— @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/kHTLY4sEKT

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 3, 2023