• Business

by Stacy Jackson

March 23, 2023

First Black Woman-Owned Barbershop In Omaha Neighborhood Pulls Out Fresh Clippers

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These Black women are cutting up in this Omaha neighborhood.

Shannon “Boo” Jackson, 31, owns Heavi Hitters, the first barbershop in Benson owned and run by Black women.

According to KETV, Omaha’s ABC affiliate, the shop’s all-women staff is comprised of different ethnicities.

“It’s given our clients, a different perspective of life, being in a male-dominated world,” said Ayanna Carfield, a hairstylist at Jackson’s barbershop, who said the mission is to curate a space for clients of different backgrounds.

“We really just want to create a space where anyone can feel like they can come in here,” said cosmetologist and professional makeup artist Alia Jackson. “To be a public figure in the eye where women that look like us and girls that are growing up and looking at us as role models know that they can do it all.”

 

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The barbershop doesn’t limit its services to haircuts. Clients can get work done on braids, wigs, makeup, and tattoos. According to the shop’s Booksy, other services include beard trimming and maintenance, head shaving, and facials.

“Seeing that they feel completely different from when they first came in, like I can have somebody come in and have the worst day ever. But once they come out of my chair, they feel completely different a whole new person,” Carfield said.

Even though Heavi Hitters has only been operating since 2019, the barbershop has boomed. In need of more space, the shop moved to 6570 Maple St. in Benson.

“With this new salon and being in this area, we get a lot of traffic,” said Latoria Neal, another hairstylist with the barbershop, who noted that the employee relationships have developed over the years. “We all grew together, like a sisterhood with each other, like, this is my family,” she added.

• Celebrity News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 23, 2023

Keke Palmer Gives ‘Mommy’ing’ Update, ‘It’s Giving, SUPER SAIYAN’

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Keke Palmer is new to motherhood but is already crushing the game with her “super saiyan” parenting skills.

The “Nope” star welcomed her son Leodis Andrellton Jackson with boyfriend Darius Jackson last month and has been opening up about her new mom life on social media. Palmer took to Instagram on Tuesday to reflect on her motherhood journey while sharing photos from an adorable photoshoot she had with her baby boy in New York City.

“Took Mookie Mook for a stroll today!!” she wrote before giving her fans an update on becoming a mom after years of success in Hollywood.

“Mommy’ing is coming along if you were looking for an update. I have juggled quite a few careers but this is my greatest gig of all,” she shared.

Palmer, who is known for her booked and busy career as an actress in films like “Akeelah and the Bee,” “Alice,” and “Hustlers,” along with roles in TV series like “Scream Queens,” touched on how she’s adjusting to balancing her newest role as a mother.

“Learning how to balance it all and looking forward to discovering this new person I am becoming,” she said. “I will never be the same again, but if you thought I was a bad mama jamma before, you can’t imagine the greater purpose my son has given my life!”

“It’s giving, SUPER SAIYAN,” Palmer quipped.

After making a shameless plug to promote Amazon, Palmer concluded with a nod to mommyhood.

“Mom “stuff” is a big business, who knew.😝😅❤️🙏🏾🔥😘🤦🏾‍♀️,” she said.

Palmer’s latest post comes weeks after her heartfelt message on parenting she shared shortly after giving birth to baby Leo.

“I just came on here to say, if you’re a single parent, pull out your cake,” Keke said in a video clip.

 

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“Matter of fact, clip off your angel wings because I don’t know how you guys are doing it. And I really don’t want this to sound like pandering, or something like this, because I know there’s a million and one reason why somebody wants to be a single parent or has become a single parent.”

Something is about to take place that was just a pipe dream years ago! According to an Instagram post from Raphael Saadiq, the boys are getting back together again!

The singer and songwriter posted a photo of his old group Tony! Toni! Toné!, letting everyone know that Saadiq, D’wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Christian Riley are hitting the road.

Although there was no itinerary or dates listed on the picture, the tour will take place this year.

“Just Me and You Tour 2023”

 

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For those who aren’t dedicated fans of the trio, the name of the tour is taken from the song, “Just Me and You,” which appeared on the Boyz N The Hood soundtrack. The film came out in 1991, but the band had a number of hits, including “If I Had No Loot” and “Anniversary.”

HipHopDX reported that the group has been rumored to be reuniting for years, but this is the first time there is an actual announcement. When Saadiq appeared on Sway’s Universe in 2019, he said Tony! Toni! Toné! Saadiq would be reuniting, although Wiggins vowed that it would never happen at the time.

On the official website for Tony! Toni! Toné! it lists several upcoming shows. The first one will be April 8 in Connecticut at the Foxwoods Casino Resort. The band then heads to Georgia to perform April 29 at Lady A Pavilion before traveling to Maryland to perform at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.

The last listed show will take place in California at Stanislaus County Fairgrounds on July 13. No word if these dates are the start of the tour or if they are just the shows they’ve booked.

The next show is listed on Saadiq’s Facebook page where they will be appearing with El DeBarge, Silk, and Kut Klose.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 23, 2023

The New Blackface? Texas University Cancels Campus Drag Show, Compares To Blackface

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Artists of the drag community are being shut out everywhere, thanks to conservative views. Texas is no exception.

CNN reports a show scheduled on the campus of West Texas A&M University was suddenly canceled after the school’s president claims the show “discriminates against womanhood” and compared the performers to blackface.

In an email to students explaining the cancellation, President Walter V. Wendler said there is “no such thing” as a harmless drag show. “A harmless drag show? Not possible,” Wendler wrote. “I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it.”

Wendler has been a critic of such shows, calling them “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.”

Both students and free speech advocates started a petition condemning the show’s cancellation, saying the move was both wrong and unconstitutional. Close to reaching the goal of 10,000 signatures, students and supporters are hoping to have the performance reinstated, citing an “indirect attack on the LGBT+, feminist, and activist communities of the WTAMU student body.”

Texas is one of 10 states who have proposed bills considering anti-drag legislation. Earlier this month, Tennessee became the first state to restrict public drag show performances. However, the university may be facing legal issues over the cancellation.

According to ABC 7 Amarillo, since the school is publicly funded, Wendler is infringing on the student’s First Amendment rights. Attorney Ryan Brown says it is a battle worth fighting for as Wendler’s supporters could deem the show’s content as offensive. “Free speech is going to offend some people and that is the speech that needs to be protected,” Brown said. “The university, in other defenses, is to say this president acted in violation of their own policy because this violates school policy too.”

LeVar Burton experienced a touching moment while filming Star Trek: Picard season 3 when his daughter Mica Burton was cast to play his child onscreen.

The father-daughter duo was grateful to share the screen together for the first time on the Paramount+ series for the episode titled “The Bounty,” Entertainment Tonight reported. LeVar reprised his role as Next Generation character Geordi La Forge. Mica portrayed one of Geordi’s two daughters, Ensign Alandra La Forge.

After being asked to return for Picard, LeVar, 66, didn’t go into filming intending to secure a role for his daughter.

“Never would I have ever thought of going to them and saying, ‘Hey, what about my kids being in Star Trek?'” he admitted.

“And I would’ve said no,” Mica added.

However, the Reading Rainbow star spoke with showrunner Terry Matalas about making his character a “family man.”

“I never liked that Geordi, as the chief engineer, as the nerd, was discomforted by the presence of women. That pissed me off. I thought it was really lazy on the writers’ part,” LeVar Burton said.

“And even in [the Next Generation series finale] “All Good Things,” when it’s revealed that Geordi is married and has two children…the idea that he was married to Dr. Leah Brahms, the woman that he stalked in the episode, “Booby Trap,” creating a holo deck of her, was really creepy to me.

“And so I really wanted to rehabilitate that part of Geordi’s canon and Terry came through, above and beyond,” he continued. “I mean, I never would’ve dreamt this scenario up and I’m so grateful that he did.”

For Mica, it was an honor for the rising actress to share the screen with her dad, who has been a fixture on television for nearly 50 years.

“It’s interesting because every time I’m asked, “What was it like?” the first thing I can say is, professional,” she shared.

“I went to an acting conservatory and he’s been doing this his entire life, almost since he was 19, so he’s one of the most consummate professionals that I know. And I think that that’s what came first and foremost.”

Fans can get into Star Trek: Picard Thursdays on Paramount+.

Jennifer Hudson showered Bel-Air star Coco Jones with compliments. 

The actress/singer appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show on Wednesday, March 22, to discuss her journey in the industry and her new music, but the two were overwhelmed by comments that they have both been mistaken for each other.

“Do we look alike to y’all?” Hudson asked the audience, who immediately agreed. She then asked Jones if she got that comment a lot in return.

“I get that so often that honestly, at this point, I just play into it,” Jones responded before singing the lyrics, “And I am telling you.” As the two appeared side-by-side on the screen, audience members continued to mumble, agreeing that the two superstars resembled one another.

“People say, ‘Who would you want to play you?’ And I see your name keeps popping up,” Hudson said.

“Stop playing with me. I’m ready at this point,” Jones said with a huge smile. Hudson then continued complimenting Jones, sharing her adoration for her and adding that when people call her Coco Jones, she just thanks them.

“Honestly, I take it as such a compliment because you know you have been so impactful in my life. Just watching you, another beautiful dark-skinned woman, killing it. That’s my motivation,” Jones said in a heart-to-heart with Hudson, who expressed she felt the same.

Jones spoke about feeling misunderstood in the industry as a young Black girl trying to find her niche with people who didn’t necessarily know how to market her, but the young artist has formed her own lane and is making major moves in the industry.

The singer’s name has also been circulating in the conversation surrounding the role of Princess Tiana in the rumored The Princess and the Frog live-action remake.

Jones currently stars in the Peacock original series, Bel-Air, preparing for its third season.

• Education

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 23, 2023

American Library Association: Number of Banned Books in U.S. Has Doubled Since 2022

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Data from the American Library Association (ALA) show book bans in school and public libraries reached a record high in the United States last year.

Huffpost reports over 1,200 challenges were put together by the ALA in 2022, almost double the recorded record in 2021. Director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, said she’s surprised by the outcome.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Caldwell-Stone said. “The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage-inducing.”

Bills supporting book bans have been proposed or passed in several states including Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Books on the chopping block cover several topics including Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, 1619 Project, the Pulitzer Prize-winning report from The New York Times on the legacy of slavery in the United States, and the late legendary novelist Toni Morrison’s Beloved.

Book lovers across the country have put on protests regarding the ban. In Oregon, students at Canby High School students set up a protest after the school district’s removed over 30 books from the school’s libraries.

“The whole point of education is to learn and grow through knowledge, and I’m worried we’re not going to get that chance if we sit back and let this happen,” student Jason Hupp, told KGW 8, Portland, Oregon’s NBC affiliate. The request stemmed from community members who felt notes of sexual content, violence, promiscuity and nudity in the books were enough reasons for reconsideration.

Students aren’t the only ones against the growing book bans. Grace Linn, a 100-year-old woman from Martin County, Florida, created a quilt in protest. During a school board meeting, Linn showed iff the quilt, made with images of the books that have been either targeted or banned.

“Banning books and burning books are the same,” Linn said. “Both are done for the same reason—fear of knowledge.”

Rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross is continuously building his empire. The Miami-bred lyricist now has a High Tolerance for cannabis and is introducing a new strain for weed connoisseurs.

According to TMZ Hip Hop, Ross has collaborated with High Tolerance to bring to the public a cannabis strain named Collins Ave.

“High Tolerance is the best flower for all the ones who like to blow that good gas,” Rozay told TMZ Hip Hop. “This is the best flower in the world…this is why I decided to team up with High Tolerance. They have the best flower on the streets. Shout out to Manny, the biggest.”

Ross alluded to the partnership several months ago when a video of him was posted on the High Tolerance Instagram account.

“Collins Ave x High Tolerance
Officially coming soon !!
#GASONLY #TheBiggest #Boss #HT #HghTolerance #RealExotic #HTtakeover”

 

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High Tolerance’s website states that the company is “A Cannabis Base Street Brand CREATED by Someone From The Bronx.”

Collins Ave is slated to drop June. Ross is just the latest hip-hop recording artist to join High Tolerance, joining  Rappers who have been connected with the brand include Jadakiss, Jim Jones, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and many more

This may be a rebranding of some sort as Ross announced Collins Ave three years ago in a partnership with another cannabis company, Cookies.

At the time, Cookies introduced the COLLINS AVE brand, which included three specially curated strains: “Collins Ave,” “Pink Rozay,” and “Lemon Pepper.”

Ross may need to “get high on his own supply” after recent reports of the “Bawse” allowing his buffaloes—yes, the man owns buffaloes—to roam freely off his property to his next-door neighbor’s yard in Fayetteville, Georgia. TMZ obtained several photos and videos showing the buffaloes roaming freely on her property near a driveway full of parked cars.

Nick Cannon is the father to 12 children with six different women, but he still wishes he had welcomed a child with one of his most-known exes.

The Masked Singer host sat down for a deep dive where he got candid about his brood of children, his relationship with his baby mamas, and his love for ex-wife Mariah Carey.

But Mariah isn’t the only ex for whom Cannon still holds a special place.

Cannon opened up about his regrets about not having children with his ex-girlfriend from the early 2000s, Christina Milian. The two met on the set of their 2003 film Love Don’t Cost a Thing and dated in their early 20s before parting ways due to Cannon’s infidelity.

“If I say this, I know this gonna go viral,” Cannon told The Shade Room.

“But when Christina Milian and I were doing ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing,’ I remember when I found out she was pregnant [years later] … I was like, ‘Dang, man,’ but I was so happy for her.”

 

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“I remember we was [sic] kids in love early on, and so we talked about that, but to each his own,” the NCredible CEO continued.

“Life plans it out. The universe gives it how it’s supposed to be given.”

Milian went on to marry and give birth to a daughter, Violet, in 2010 with her ex-husband, music producer The-Dream. She is also the mother of Isaiah and Kenna with current husband Matt Pokora, whom she married in 2020.

Meanwhile, Cannon is the father to 11 children with six different women. He shares 11-year-old twins Monroe and Morrocan with ex-wife Mariah Carey, son Golden, 6, daughter Powerful Queen, 2, and son Rise Messiah, 5 months, with Brittany Bell; twin sons Zion and Zillion, 21 months, and daughter Beautiful Zeppelin, 4 months, with Abby De La Rosa.

He shares son Legendary Love, 8 months, with Bre Tiesi; daughter Onyx Ice Cole Cannon, 6 months, with LaNisha Cole; and daughter Halo Marie, 3 months, with Alyssa Scott. He and Scott’s son, Zen, died from brain cancer when he was 5 months old in December 2021.