• Legal

by Derek Major

December 16, 2022

Justice Department Settles Racial Discrimination Suit With Alabama Housing Authority

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The Justice Department (DoJ) has settled a racial discrimination lawsuit against an Alabama Housing Authority that was accused of pushing Black residents away from white neighborhoods.

AL.com reported that a federal judge approved a consent decree resolving the racial discrimination claims against the Housing Authority of Ashland, the private owners, and an agent of two of its low-income communities.

The DoJ filed the suit in 2020, accusing the housing authority and others of maintaining largely segregated housing and pushing residents to different communities based on race since at least 2012.

The authority steered Black applicants away from four significantly white communities (Ashland Heights I, Ashland Heights II, East Side and Clay Circle) and toward two predominantly Black communities (West Side and Pine View).

According to the lawsuit, Black residents make up 30% of all the housing authority’s tenants but accounted for 65% and 73% of residents at West Side and Pine View. The housing authority and its owners disputed the claims but agreed to the settlement with the DoJ to move forward.

“Racial steering is a patently unlawful practice that destabilizes communities, fuels racial tensions, and perpetuates modern-day racial segregation in communities across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division in a DoJ release.

“Racial steering violates federal law, and runs contrary to the principles of equal housing opportunity that animated the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who fought to bring an end to practices that locked Black people out of certain communities. This resolution should send a strong message to housing providers— both public and private—that they will be held responsible when they engage in unlawful conduct that violates the Fair Housing Act.”

Under the consent decree, the defendants will pay $275,000 in damages to 23 current and former tenants, pay a civil penalty, implement new policies and procedures, undergo fair housing training, and submit compliance reports to the DoJ. The defendants are also required to contact 145 individuals who applied to Ashland Heights I and II but were not placed on waiting lists, and offer them spots based on their original date of application if they still qualify.

This young lady is attracting a national audience who believes in her mission.

Mari Copeny, the 15-year-old clean water activist known as “Little Miss Flint,” appeared on a recent episode of The Tamron Hall Show where fans saw her get emotional during a segment where she was promoting her annual holiday fundraiser and toy drive.

Copeny is an activist and philanthropist who has been bringing awareness to the Flint Water Crisis since 2015. She has been coordinating fundraisers to provide toys for families in Flint to gift to their children through her annual toy drive.

During the segment, Copeny shared with the audience the difficulty she has experienced trying to get donations.

“I’m sorry. It’s just been really hard to try and get money and stuff for this event because people haven’t been treating me very nice and it’s been really hard,” she said through the tears while being comforted by Hall and actor and activist Kendrick Sampson.

Copeny opened up to her followers about the pressure to meet the goal in under a week.

Yes I cried on National tv. People tend to think I am always happy, but people sometimes are not nice. This year has been so hard to fundraise and even with the toy donation we still need to get closer to my goal. I have under a week to fundraise. https://t.co/JHat7hAq6F pic.twitter.com/w1gys1j1PM

— Mari Copeny (@LittleMissFlint) December 9, 2022

After people learned of the pressure she was under, donations started to roll in for Little Miss Flint. With a GoFundMe goal of $25,000, supporters donated $67,361.

“In 24 hours y’all not only met my goal, but doubled it,” she tweeted.

“You just helped me make Christmas even more magical for the kids in my community who go without more often then not. Thank you so much. Only happy tears over here tonight.”

“Every year I try to outdo myself from the previous year,” she wrote on her Team Marie Christmas 2022 GoFundMe page.

“I love Christmas, and being able to spread the magic of Christmas to other kids is my favorite thing to do.”

Copeny returned to Twitter to update followers on the successful results from this year’s toy drive.

https://twitter.com/LittleMissFlint/status/1603602287334760448

Singer Lizzo recognized Little Miss Flint during her acceptance speech for her People’s Champion Award at this year’s 2022 People’s Choice Award.

The public first learned of Copeny and her activism after she wrote a letter to former President Barack Obama about the water crisis, where he visited and approved $100 million dollars in relief for the city in 2016.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

December 16, 2022

Ex-Cop Who Killed Atatiana Jefferson Guilty of Manslaughter; Faces 20 Years in Prison

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The former police officer in Texas responsible for killing 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her home in 2019 has been found guilty of manslaughter.

According to WFAA, after deliberating for 13 hours, the jury found ex-Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean guilty.  The verdict was made after five days of testimony at trial. Dean was transported to the Tarrant County jail. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

The family of a youth football coach who was allegedly shot and killed in August by former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib’s brother, Yaqub Salik Talib, has filed a lawsuit against the brothers.

According to The Dallas Morning News, the family of Michael Hickmon, who was killed while coaching a youth football game, filed a lawsuit in Dallas County. The family is suing Big XII Sports League and Family Services, along with the Talib brothers, accusing the league of failing to vet coaches and to provide a safe environment and adequate security.

Hickmon’s family claims Aqib initiated the fight that led to the shooting that ended Hickmon’s life on August 13. Yaqub has been accused of shooting the 43-year-old football coach at the game that took place in Lancaster, Texas.

Hickmon’s family, which includes his wife, daughter, and parents, is looking to be compensated for more than $1 million.

The attorney representing the Hickmon family, Kyle Findley, stated that league officials and coaches named in the lawsuit failed to “hold themselves to the standards our community would want.”

“People involved in youth sports should be upstanding role models. Obviously in this tragedy, that did not happen.”

In September, according to CNN, a Dallas County grand jury indicted Yaqub. He was accused of pulling out a weapon on Hickmon after coaches from opposing teams were arguing over officiating by the referees.

Court documents revealed that a grand jury found that Yaqub Talib “did unlawfully then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of Michael Hickmon.” The documents stated that he intended to cause bodily injury and by shooting his weapon, committing an act that was “clearly dangerous to human life” when he allegedly shot the coach.

A video showing the actions leading up to the violent incident revealed that Aqib initiated the fight, which led to Yaqub firing the fatal bullets, WFAA reported.

“He ran across the field and ran over on our sideline and got in the [referee’s] face,” witness Heith Mayes said. Several other people said Aqib started the altercation when he became upset about the referees’ calls during the game.

The financial giant Visa is making a groundbreaking $1 billion investment into Africa’s overall economy by pledging $1 billion.

While at President Biden’s three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Wednesday, Visa announced its pledge to invest $1 billion into Africa over the next five years to capitalize on the continent’s rapid growth in digital payments, Reuters reports.

“Visa has been investing in Africa for several decades to grow a truly local business,” Visa CEO Alfred Kelly Jr said in a statement.

“Every day, Visa supports digital commerce and money movement in every country across the continent, and Africa remains central to Visa’s long-term growth plans.”

Kelly continued. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners to advance the financial ecosystem, accelerate digitization and to build resilient, innovative, and inclusive economies that will create shared opportunity and further spur Africa’s digital economy.”

According to a McKinsey report released in September, Africa’s thriving e-payments market is expected to grow by nearly 20% a year, reaching around $40 billion by 2025.

“It’s one of our fastest growing regions,” Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa said.

Visa has hired over 50% more employees in Africa since the end of 2019. The plan is for the investment to scale Visa’s operations in Africa and deepen ties with the continent’s governments, fintechs, and merchants.

It will also help “strengthen the payment ecosystem through new innovations and technologies”.

“Over the past year, Visa has continued growing our investment in Africa through new offices, new innovations and solutions, and programs that are directly supporting financial inclusion,” Aida Diarra, the senior vice president of Visa Sub-Saharan Africa said. “The investment pledge outlines our long-term commitment to Africa and the work we will do to help advance the financial ecosystem.”

• News

by Atiya Jordan

December 16, 2022

‘We Worked For Free’: Black Businessman Urges $350,000 In Reparations For Black Californians at Public Hearing

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Reparations for the descendants of slaves in the United States have long been a hot topic of debate.

While a landmark California Reparations Task Force prepares to submit final recommendations for state-level reparations, a Black California businessman suggested that all Black California residents be compensated $350,000 at a recent public hearing.

About 60 people attended the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Associated Press reported. For months, the nine-member task force has been traveling around California to learn about the generational trauma of the state’s racist policies and discriminatory actions.

Public comment hearings focused on enslavement, the wealth gap, political disenfranchisement, mass incarceration, and housing discrimination.

Max Fennell, a 35-year-old businessman and the first Black professional tri-athlete, was in attendance and said, “every person should get $350,000 in compensation to close the racial wealth gap and Black-owned businesses should receive $250,000, which would help them to flourish,” per the outlet.

Here’s the clip of when I spoke at the #careptaskforce listening session #reparations #securethetribe #fba @etmmedia @cjeofficial @KamilahVMoore pic.twitter.com/Y5Pjg4knt4

— max fennell (@maxfennell) June 6, 2022

“It’s a debt that’s owed, we worked for free… we’re not asking; we’re telling you,” he told the panel, according to the Daily Mail. “The tangibles of what I’m asking for is $350,000 per Black American in California that’s tangible, small business grant $250,000 and land 15-20 acres.”

On code with @DeonDJenkins #Reparations #ReparationsNow #blackamerican #freedmen pic.twitter.com/PiFhAJgoEJ

— max fennell (@maxfennell) December 14, 2022

Additionally, an economic research team recommended that $225,000 represents California’s “maximum culpability” for the housing discrimination Black residents faced between 1933 and 1977.

However, task force Chairperson Kamilah Moore said the group has not yet decided on any dollar amount or form of reparations.

“In reality, that number would be minimized when you take into account the fact that the task force decided in March that the community of eligibility would be lineage-based rather than race-based,” she explained, per the Daily Mail. “When you really look at who was really impacted by housing discrimination during that particular time period, it most likely won’t be all Black folks.”

Tyler Perry got candid about his past suicide attempts while paying tribute to the late dancer and actor Stephen “tWitch” Boss.

The famed actor and filmmaker shared a video post Wednesday in response to news of Boss’ shocking death on Tuesday, expressing his condolences and offering encouragement to anyone going through a dark time in their life.

“I like the rest of the world and shocked by the passing of Stephen Boss…tWitch,” Perry said.

“And it prompted me to come and talk to any of you that are going through hard times or struggling.”

Perry noted that he only met Boss “a few times.” But in those encounters, “he always full of life and seemed like such a light,” he said.

 

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A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry)

The Why Did I Get Married? creator went on to speak on the “pain” he’s endured that has pushed him toward suicide.

“I didn’t think it would get any better. I had endured so much pain, so much abuse, sexual abuse,” Perry said.

“It was all so hard to just move through I thought the only way to make this better, this pain to go away is by ending my life,” he said, urging viewers going through similar experiences to “reach out to someone.”

In hindsight, Perry realized that “had any of those attempts happened, I would have missed the best part of my life.”

He also encouraged anyone going through a rough time to try to see the brighter days ahead.

“If you are a person who is considering suicide, ending your life and you’ve already been through a lot of hell, please, please, please think about what the other side could be,” Perry said. “It could be amazing. And you would miss the best part of it going through the darkness. Don’t let the darkness stop you from getting to this incredible place of light.”

The playwright said he’s living proof that things always find a way of working themselves out in the end.

“I’m so glad my attempts didn’t work,” he said.

Boss, 40, died Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner ruled his death a suicide, People reported.

Caresha Brownlee, the platinum-selling hip hop superstar and award-winning podcast host appeared on “Hip Hop & Enterprise” to get candid about her plans for her “Caresha Please” podcast and merch line and clear the air on misconceptions surrounding her romance with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Known as Yung Miami of the chart-topping rap duo City Girls, the rapper has started to expand her portfolio in the form of a highly-viewed podcast, merch and products, and acting roles. It’s up and stuck for Caresha, and she’s extremely humbled by her rise to the top.

When asked how she feels about the current state of her career, the “Twerkulator” femcee couldn’t hold back her excitement.

“Im excited! Excited to the point I’m just anxious about what’s next,” Caresha told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

One word to describe how she’s feeling about her current level of success is “blessed.”

“I came from nothing literally like I came a long way so whenever I just get five minutes or I just sit down or I’m just in my car I just think like ‘thank you, God. I’m so grateful.'”

When it came to winning the BET Hip Hop Award for Best Hip Hop Platform for her Caresha Please podcast, the host and rapper faced backlash from viewers who felt like it was too early for such an achievement. But Caresha addressed the shade and explained why she feels the win was deserved.

“For them to discredit me, which I get it, because Drink Champs is great, The Breakfast Club is great,” Caresha said. “But mine is just so new and so fresh and it was really doing one million views an episode in one day.”

“So it was just like come on on numbers don’t lie. Don’t discredit me,” she added.

Caresha’s name has been filling media headlines with reports about her Revolt show named in her honor, and a high-profile romance with the owner of the company, billionaire hip-hop mogul, Diddy. But the “Jobs” femcee cleared up the misconceptions surrounding their relationship.

“There are people who think that I’m like a side chick and he just do whatever he want and um, ‘she’s head over heels?’ No, it goes both ways,” Caresha quipped.

The budding actress also dished on her role in “BMF” season 2 and her upcoming role alongside Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, and Lauren London in Kenya Barris’ Netflix film “You People“.

There’s also new City Girls music coming next year that she teased and a new Caresha Please episode coming December 22. Press play below to catch up on all Caresha has planned for 2023!

• News

by Niko Mann

December 16, 2022

Manhattan To Name Central Park Entrance ‘Gate of the Exonerated’ In Honor Of Men Wrongly Convicted of Rape

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New York City’s Central Park is naming an entrance in honor of the Central Park Five, according to ABC7.

The entrance on the north side of the park at 110th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Fifth Avenue will be named “Gate of the Exonerated,” after the Black and Brown five teenagers falsely accused of raping a white woman jogging in Central Park.

They were convicted in 1989 and went to prison before being exonerated in 2002. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Kharey Wise are now also referred to as “The Exonerated Five.”

Vice President for Planning at the Central Park Conservancy Lane Addonizio said a perimeter wall at the entrance will be inscribed with “Gate of the Exonerated” and will also feature a historical sign that will include information and a QR code linking to online resources about “The Exonerated Five.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams released a statement noting the importance of recognizing all people who’ve been wrongfully convicted.

“The Gate of the Exonerated symbolizes the resiliency of the Exonerated Five and all those who have been wrongfully convicted, and serves as a lasting reminder of the grave miscarriage of justice that took place more than three decades ago,” Adams said.

“Today marks a moment of truth and reconciliation for New York City, and it’s only fitting that the most iconic park in the world tell the world this important story,” he said. “I thank the Harlem community leaders and Community Board 10, whose advocacy made this naming, the first in Central Park’s history since 1862, a reality. The Central Park Conservancy has worked alongside the Harlem community for more than 40 years, and we are proud to have helped the Gate of the Exonerated come to life in a way that emphasizes how Central Park is meant to be a place for everyone.”

An unveiling ceremony will take place in Central Park on December 19.

The death of the beloved Stephen “tWitch” Boss, a DJ and executive producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has been officially confirmed as a suicide.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner released the autopsy report stating that Boss, 40, died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was found dead on Tuesday at a hotel in the Encino area of Los Angeles. The case is now officially closed.

Hotel personnel said Boss checked in Monday morning. He reserved the room for the night and brought a small bag with him. After he missed his checkout time the following morning, staff members knocked on his door. When he didn’t respond, they entered the room and found the body.

According to People, Boss’ wife, Allison Holker confirmed his death and released a statement:

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us. Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends, and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.

TMZ reported that Holker went to the police station in Los Angeles Tuesday, and told the police that her husband had left the home without his car, which he would never do. Police stated they received a phone call a short time later of a shooting at the Oak Tree Inn. There, they found Boss’ body with the self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Boss first joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2014 as a guest DJ. He became a permanent member of the daytime talk show and worked his way to becoming a co-executive producer in 2020. He leaves behind his wife, Allison, and children Zaia, 3, Maddox, 6, and Weslie, 14.