We Feel You: Van Jones Is Overcome With Emotions While Learning His Ancestors Were Free Before Slavery Ended
Henry Louis Gates Jr. continues to fill in the void left by slavery for our people, and we are always here for it.
In this week’s episode of Finding Your Roots, Gates welcomes political commentator Van Jones and shares insight about his family’s history that stunned the news pundit. Referencing an 1850 census for Douglas Township, Arkansas, Gates revealed that Jones’ family had been listed by name and accounted for—13 years before the Emancipation Proclamation.
In a voiceover, Gates explained, “This was unusual because, at the time, almost no African Americans were listed by name in the federal census. Enslaved people were listed only by age, color, and gender.” Gates and Jones appear onscreen in the trailer, released earlier this week, and the show’s host asks his guest, “Van, what does that mean?” A confused Jones answers, “That they were white?”
Well, not quite. The one-time MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant awardee explained that Jones’ ancestors were free people. This realization brought the consummate professional, whose job over recent years has called for emotional control, to tears. “I’m glad to hear that,” said Jones, “I’m having a hard time even getting my head there. It didn’t even occur to me that would be a possibility.”
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has given many people a deeper look into their families’ history throughout the nine seasons of Finding Your Roots. Most recently, a clip of his sit-down with activist Angela Davis made its rounds on social media. In it, Gates revealed Davis’ ancestors to be descendants of the Mayflower pilgrims, causing a ripple of commentary about what it means to be biracial in this country both then and now.
Other guests on this season of the show include Jamie Chung, Brian Cox, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, David Duchovny, Richard Kind, Joe Manganiello, Tamera Mowry, Edward Norton, Julia Roberts, Danny Trejo, Cyndi Lauper, Carol Burnett, Niecy Nash, Tony Gonzalez, Jim Acosta, Jeh Johnson and more.
Mother of Two Has Sudden Bleeding On The Brain After Giving Birth, Dies Five Days Later
The family of a 25-year-old woman is left with questions after she suddenly passed away.
FOX 2 reports Alona White died two weeks ago—just days after giving birth in Detroit. Family members of the mother of two claim White was perfectly healthy and are now left with questions about her sudden death. “She was 25, perfectly healthy; I just don’t know what went wrong,” said Katina Ponder, White’s mother.
Days before, White had a successful C-section, giving birth to a baby girl named Ari. The infant was taken to NICU but was nursed by her mother hours later. Suddenly, White started to complain of a massive headache. Her mother said medical professionals performed a CT scan and saw massive bleeding on the left side of her brain. White was soon unresponsive.
After spending five days in ICU, she passed away. “We went from being joyful to devastated,” Ponder said. “She only really got like an hour to spend with her. It’s just so; it’s so unfair that she was robbed of life like that. I just don’t understand what happened.”
Ari and her two-year-old sister, Aleah Sullivan, are left to be raised by their father, Derrick. Ponder said Aleah is too young to understand what’s going on, but she’s starting to ask questions. “Aleah and her had a bond like, out of this world, and she’s been asking for her mommy.”
The family is waiting for the results of an autopsy to find out how and why this happened. In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been started, looking to raise money for homegoing services. With a goal of $20,000, the fund has already raised over $16,000. “It’s no amount of money that will bring her back and for these babies to live without their mother, no amount of money,” the grieving grandmother said.
Additional donations will go toward raising White’s two daughters.
Study Shows Eliminating Race-Conscious Admissions Will Hurt Enrollment of Minority Students
The Supreme Court is considering banning race considerations in colleges and universities nationwide. So what does that mean for African American students and other minorities?
NBC News reports if the ban is issued, enrollment of minority groups at certain schools will more than likely drop. The issue has been brought to the court after students of Fair Admissions, a group suing Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, felt that class-conscious admissions allow schools to create a diverse student body and boost disadvantaged students without focusing on race.
However, a study conducted by Georgetown University shows school admissions considering class over race would leave select colleges without Black and other minority representation. Back in 2015, estimates showed almost 60% of top U.S. colleges consider race as a factor in enrollment. If it were not considered, study authors have an idea about how to increase enrollment for underrepresented campus groups—eliminating the consideration of students’ athleticism and ties to school alums and donations.
This ban affects more than just undergraduate and high school programs. In January, the Association of American Medical Colleges published an article concerned that this new thought, issued by Justice Clarence Thomas, affects medical students training to save lives regardless of race. “Many medical students, especially members of minoritized communities, have themselves witnessed health inequities related to race, ethnicity, region, and socioeconomic status — what the profession calls “social determinants of health,” the article said.
“Students like us have seen how underserved communities lack access to high-quality medical care. In part for this reason, we seek not only to practice medicine but to correct the failings of the health care system.”
The study said it’s unlikely schools will adopt class-conscious admissions. Too much is at stake, such as depending heavily on recruiting high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds for a class-based alternative.
Trae Tha Truth Repairs Elderly Woman’s Home After She Was Arrested For Unpaid Garbage Bill
Trae tha Truth, an activist and former ABN rapper, extended a helping hand to someone in need—an elderly woman who was arrested for a $77 unpaid garbage bill.
In November, 82-year-old Martha Manefield of Valley, Alabama, was arrested for failure to pay a solid waste fee. According to footage obtained by TMZ, one of the police officers who made the arrest and booked Manefield could be heard laughing at the woman’s plight.
Trae saw Manefield’s story and treated her to a shopping spree. Then, the veteran MC decided to make some needed repairs on her house. Several outlets report that The Diary rapper teamed with Harris County’s BEL Furniture, where Trae purchased $15,000 worth of furniture, including a couch, dressers, and a queen size bed, according to HipHopDX.
Trae shared the news on his Instagram account, writing: “Made it Back To Valley Alabama To Bless Mrs. Martha Menefield…. Stay Tuned…. Luv @reliefgang @angelbynatureorg.”
Trae Tha Truth is no stranger to giving back. Last year, Trae found himself in Jackson, Mississippi, helping families with the water crisis. Last year, Jackson made national news when the city’s water system experienced an outage over the summer. The city, which has an 83% Black population, relied on donations for water. Trae, along with nonprofit organizations, companies, and concerned residents, was there to help.
“Sending Luv To Jackson Mississippi,” Trae captioned his second post. “We only been seeing the water situation for past Weeks, Truth is They Been Dealing With This 20 years Plus… Anyone Who want to help or want to try to assist, they can honestly Use All The Support… Luv.”
After nearly five years with the company, Jim Trotter is leaving NFL.com and NFL Network.
According to Sports Illustrated, the sports reporter said his contract would not be renewed.
“Some personal news: This will be my final week with the NFL Media Group,” Trotter announced from his Twitter account. “I was informed over the weekend that my contract is not being renewed. I thank NFL Network and NFL.com for the lessons learned and affirmed over the last five years.”
He added: “I can’t get to all these replies, but do know that they are appreciated. Sincerely appreciated. Also know this, we have more work to do, and I plan on doing my part. #StayTuned
Some personal news: This will be my final week with the NFL Media Group. I was informed over the weekend that my contract is not being renewed. I thank NFL Network and https://t.co/CrvPSHPLsn for the lessons learned and affirmed over the last five years.
The outlet reports that NFL.com has not released a statement. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on Trotter.
“I wasn’t part of that decision and actually was just made aware of it about 10 minutes before I walked in here,” Goodell said during NFL meetings in Arizona, according to NBC Sports. “So, no, I don’t believe that had anything to do with it.”
Sports Illustrated also reported that Trotter questioned Goodell about the lack of diversity regarding Blacks holding positions as head coaches and executive positions in the NFL.
“They don’t let you get close to the Commissioner often enough to actually have these dialogues,” Trotter said during an interview with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. “So, I knew that I had asked him about it the year before, and I knew that there had been no progress. No real progress as it related to the areas that I asked him about a year earlier. And so I felt that it was important to ask him in that situation because it’s not something that I haven’t brought up internally over the course of the last year with the powers that be at the media group.”
Three Young Texas Sisters Who Reportedly Drowned in Local Pond Were Actually Strangled According to Medical Examiner
Three young Black girls who were reported missing were discovered dead in a pool last year. After their bodies were found, it was thought the girls died from drowning. Yet, an official autopsy report just released last week confirmed that the three were strangled to death.
According to the Texarkana Gazette, the deceased bodies of Zi’Ariel Oliver, 9, Amiyah Hughes, 8, and Temari Oliver, 5, had been discovered in a Texas pond in Cass County on July 30. It was believed that the girls had drowned in the body of water, but a medical examiner determined last week that the three girls were victims of homicide and all died by strangulation based on autopsy reports.
The girls were from Atlanta, Texas.
“The girls also suffered lacerations to their faces,” Cass County District Attorney Courtney Shelton said in a news release.
Last summer, the girls were reported missing at approximately 9 p.m. on July 29, 2022. A cousin of the girls was taking care of them and their other siblings while the children’s mother was at work. She called in to report them missing.
Police officers from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife officials, and Cass County Emergency Services District No. 2 started a search for the girls. After finding evidence, they focused on a pond on a nearby property on state Highway 77, west of Atlanta. The pond where they were discovered is about 200 yards from where the girls resided.
In a police report, Sheriff Larry Rowe stated, “A pair of shoes was found at the edge of the pond, leading investigators to search the water.”
The bodies of the three girls were recovered after the Bowie County dive team was called in at about 3 a.m. July 30.
“Multiple witness statements have been obtained, DNA testing is ongoing, and the investigation will continue,” Shelton said.
Authorities who are working on the case are asking if anyone has information on what took place on that night the girls died, to please get in touch with Texas Ranger Josh Mason at 903-255-5727.
Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership Partners with TruFund Financial Services to Help BIPOC-Owned Businesses Acquire Commercial Property
The Institute For Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), a nonprofit organization that works to eradicate the systemic barriers that prevent people from historically excluded populations from being able to build wealth through entrepreneurship, today announced a strategic partnership with TruFund Financial Services, Inc. to help entrepreneurs of color generate wealth through commercial real estate ownership.
The TruFund Real Estate Acquisition Program (RAP) will initially be offered in TruFund’s identified service areas in Northern New Jersey, New York, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. TruFund launched RAP to provide businesses with a way to reduce operational risk, promote business stability and open a new pathway to wealth creation for business owners who have historically been shut out from real estate ownership.
IFEL will leverage its community of nearly 800 volunteer professionals to help business owners address issues and barriers that may impede their ability to successfully apply for a RAP loan.
“Real estate ownership can be transformative for small business owners. It brings stability, mitigates the potential for displacement, and allows a business to take greater control of its physical assets to improve operations and capacity,” said James H. Bason, President and CEO of TruFund Financial Services, Inc. “We are excited to offer first-of-its-kind products for the communities we serve and we have found an excellent partner in IFEL.”
For any business, rising rents and costly property improvements can pose a significant challenge, with some investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in property they don’t own. TruFund’s RAP offers a solution, with a primary first mortgage of up to 90% of property purchase price and the option to add a subordinated loan of up to 5% of a property purchase.
“We’re thrilled to partner with TruFund and look forward to supporting entrepreneurs navigate the challenging real estate market,” said IFEL CEO and Co-Founder Jill Johnson. “Real estate adds immense value to an enterprise and we’re encouraged to see the benefits of ownership being discussed in the small business arena.”
Kamala Harris Visits Ghana ‘Slave Castle,’ says ‘History Must be Learned ‘
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a speech to thousands of young Ghanaians on Tuesday in Accra on women’s empowerment, and toured a coastal building that was the last stop for Africans sold into the transatlantic slave trade.
Her visit to Ghana, the first stop on an African tour that will also take her to Tanzania and Zambia, is part of a charm offensive by Washington as it seeks to counter-balance the growing influence of China and Russia on the continent.
Harris used the stop to promise American partnership, exhort African nations to do more for women, and to speak about the importance of learning difficult history, in an apparent reference to recent Republican push to strike some lessons from U.S. classrooms.
In a speech in front of Black Star Gate, a monument built on the site where Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957, Harris said that by the middle of the century, one in four people in the world will be African.
“That of course means what happens on this continent impacts the entire world,” she said.
Citing examples such as the pioneering of mobile phone payments in Kenya or healthcare deliveries by drone in Rwanda before such services existed in the United States, Harris said innovation would be key to Africa’s future success.
“We must invest in the African ingenuity and creativity, which will unlock incredible economic growth and opportunities, not only for the people of the 54 countries that make up this diverse continent, but for the American people and people around the world,” she said.
Harris underlined deep gender disparities in Africa, saying the United States would work alongside African partners to close those gaps.
“On the continent of Africa we know women grow a majority of the food, yet they are less likely to own the land they farm. They represent a majority of frontline healthcare workers, but face disparities in health outcomes,” she said.
“Women are entrepreneurs, yet have limited access to capital and markets. They are peacemakers and bridge builders, yet continue to be under-represented at the table where decisions are made.”
To cheers, she said that the economic empowerment of women would benefit not only themselves but also their children, families, communities and the entire economy.
The U.S. can also partner on digital inclusion and good governance and democracy, Harris said.
She described the latter as “a work in progress, including in my own country”, an apparent allusion to the turbulence seen in U.S. politics and elections in recent years.
TOUR OF SLAVE CASTLE
Later, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, toured a 17th-century slave fortress in Cape Coast, one of many coastal buildings active during the transatlantic slave trade that forcibly removed 12.5 million people, mainly from Central and West Africa, and sent them to work across the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean.
She appeared moved during the tour, taking several deep breaths, according to a pool reporter traveling with her. She laid flowers in the female slave dungeon and went through the so-called “Door of no Return” where slaves were shipped out. Emhoff wiped his eyes, according to the pool reporter.
“Being here was — was immensely powerful and moving, when we think about how human beings were treated by the hundreds of thousands in this very place that we now stand, the crimes that happened here, the blood that was shed here,” Harris said from Cape Coast Castle.
“They came to this place of horror — some to die, many to starve and be tortured, women to be raped — before they were then forcibly taken on a journey thousands of miles from their home to be sold by so-called merchants and taken to the Americas, to the Caribbean to be an enslaved people.”
Harris said the horror of what had happened there must be remembered. “It cannot be denied. It must be taught. History must be learned,” she said.
Republican-led states, including Florida, Georgia and Texas, have enacted new laws to limit teaching about the role of racism in the United States.
Living Fearless: Black, Female CEO Empowers Breast Cancer Survivors, Tackles Disparities in Healthcare
Maimah Karmo is a stage II breast cancer survivor, founder, and CEO who is fearlessly pouring into her life’s purpose in a world that is stacked against Black women’s health.
Back in 2006, the dynamic mastermind behind the Tigerlily Foundation was diagnosed with triple- negative breast cancer – one that is more aggressive and deadly in young and Black women.
17 years later, Karmo has become a passionate leader in women’s health, creating and carrying out national health initiatives for women and girls, with the goal of eliminating disparities of age, stage, and color.
“From being told I was too young, to having to push for a mammogram, then having it come back clean – even though I could still feel the lump; having to push for a biopsy for months and being denied,” Karmo told BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“There were so many statistics telling me as a young woman and a Black woman that the odds were against me. I refused to accept that for myself, other women and future generations, so I began to work to empower women and girls, to change thinking, framing and disrupt systems that are not working for us,” she added.
Tigerlily Foundation, whose mission is to educate, advocate for, empower, and support young women, before, during, and after breast cancer, has since launched the #InclusionPledge, driven education to millions of people through digital programs, including Breathe TV and our My Life Matters Magazine and more.
“I began Tigerlily while in treatment at 32 years old, with no money, resources or training and have built it into a grassroots, community based organization, with a national and global footprint,” Karmo recalled.
Passionately, Karmo, a Congressional Black Caucus’s Leadership in Advocacy Award winner, shared more with BLACK ENTERPRISE about her transition from diagnosis to health champion.
Courtesy
What is your life’s purpose?
My life’s purpose is to ensure that families have every opportunity to live a full life, with equitable access to all the opportunities this world affords, with a specific focus on health equity, access, improved medicines for patients, supportive care and respect for people as they navigate their life and healthcare journey.
How did you discover your fearlessness through breast cancer?
After getting diagnosed, I was shocked, scared and overwhelmed. I had two choices – to accept what I’d been told – that I had an average of 5 years for recurrence and possibly death; or I could create my life on my own terms and use this challenge as a gift.
Looking back, I had the fearlessness in me all along, I just didn’t know it, but this is why we have to always tell ourselves the right story – how we talk to ourselves, see and believe in ourselves is key to success. Even when people didn’t believe, I did and I was relentless in pursuit of my goal of amplifying young women’s voices and changing policies, systems, and how and when we educate the community.
What was going on through your mind to inspire Tigerlily?
After finally getting the biopsy and the diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, I knew that I had to do something to make a difference. I didn’t know what, but I asked God to guide me and I listened. I also believe that service is the rent we pay for living and as long as I am alive, I had to do something to change the outcomes that younger and Black women were facing.
Describe your experience as a Black female executive and breast cancer survivor in women’s health?
I spent 14 years working a full-time job, single parenting and building Tigerlily full-time, and people wouldn’t fund me. No one was teaching me how to grow, and I kept hearing that I was small and a one- person show, but how do you grow when you’re getting pennies and others are getting millions.
As a Black woman, the foot on my neck were companies that held the purse strings who said they were working towards equity, but wouldn’t support a patient driven organization with the lived experiences and trust from the community that I had. I didn’t give up and I kept building and showing up at places and somehow, God kept giving me these platforms – even the Oprah Winfrey Show, but I still wasn’t getting funding.
What challenges have you witnessed affecting young Black women with breast cancer?
One of the things that is most egregious is the lack of treatment options for Black women. So not only are we not seeing people who look like us in breast health campaigns, we are not offered clinical trials, we are experiencing delays in diagnosis – often because we are dismissed by providers; there is the issue of underinsurance; then when finally diagnosed the disease tends to be more advanced, which means aggressive treatment, but most often a recurrence and death… not to mention the toll on our families.
Why is it important as a Black woman to sit on the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer?
It’s amazing to look back and see that a conversation that started in Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s office led to the EARLY Act, put me at a table where I could make change, and to know that my efforts have improved the journey and outcomes for millions of young women.
Being on the Committee allowed me to represent the Black woman’s perspective and lived experiences – one that had been stifled or ignored for so long.
Adidas says Black Lives Matter Design Violates Three-Stripe Trademark
Sneaker giant Adidas AG has asked the U.S. Trademark Office to reject an application for a Black Lives Matter trademark featuring three parallel stripes, arguing it could mislead the public.
Adidas told the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc’s yellow-stripe design would create confusion with its own famous three-stripe mark. It sought to block the group’s application to use the design on goods that the German sportswear maker also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags.
Adidas declined to comment on the filing. Representatives for the Black Lives Matter group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Adidas said in the filing that it has been using its logo since as early as 1952, and that it has acquired “international fame and tremendous public recognition.”
Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements related to the three-stripe trademark since 2008, according to court documents from a lawsuit the company brought against designer Thom Browne’s fashion house.
A jury in that case decided in January that Thom Browne’s stripe patterns did not violate Adidas’ trademark rights.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent entity in the decentralized Black Lives Matter movement, which arose a decade ago to protest police violence against Black people. The group applied for a federal trademark in November 2020 covering a yellow three-stripe design to use on a variety of products including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.
Adidas said in its Monday filing that the group’s design was confusingly similar to its logo, and that consumers would likely think their goods were connected or came from the same source.
The Trademark Office gave the Black Lives Matter group until May 6 to answer.
