U.S. Senate Candidates Beasley and Booker Make History with Primary Victories
U.S. Senate candidates Cheri Beasley (D-NC) and Charles Booker (D-KY) became the first African Americans to be nominated by the Democratic Party for a U.S. Senate seat in their respective states.
The two historic candidates move on to the general election this fall. Beasley dominated a crowded Democratic primary in the Tar Heel state, receiving 81 percent of the vote. None of Beasley’s ten opponents in the primary received more than 3.5 percent.
In her acceptance speech, Beasley discussed the unity of Democratic voters in North Carolina.
“While Washington is divided, people here are not,” Beasley said to a round of applause. “While Washington focuses on special interests and corporate cronies, the people of North Carolina are focusing on working for our families and strengthening our communities and while Washington focuses on pointing fingers and passing blame, the people of North Carolina focus on working and getting things done.”
If Beasley wins the general election this fall, the former State Supreme Court chief justice will become the state’s first Black senator.
Booker, meanwhile, received 73 percent of the vote to clinch the state’s Democratic primary, defeating three others. He will now go against Rand Paul in the general election. Booker ran for the seat in 2020 but lost in the primary.
After being declared the winner Tuesday night, Booker tweeted, “It’s official. I am the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. In November, we will make history by defeating Rand Paul and expanding our Senate majority.”
During Kentucky’s protests following the death of Breonna Taylor, Booker joined protestors in their calls for justice and co-sponsored Breonna’s Law, which banned no-knock warrants statewide and requires law enforcement to wear body cameras.
Both politicians are paramount to Democrats expanding their slim majority in the Senate. Beasley winning the general election is also important because it would fill a void after Vice PresidentKamala Harris left the Senate without a Black woman.
Keyshia Cole Trades Barbs with Antonio Brown on Instagram
Former NFL start and current Kanye West business partner Antonio Brown is never short on drama. Now, he has created another controversy with a social media post directed at rhythm and blues singer Keyshia Cole.
According to Complex, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver took to his Instagram account and shared a video clip of what is presumably Keyshia Cole sporting a tattoo of Brown. It was an AB tattoo allegedly on the lower portion of Cole’s back. The clip was captioned, “You Ain’t Pimpin Until You Hit An RnB Diva. #FreeAgent #KeepPimpin.”
Cole responded in the comment section of the posting, which has since been deleted from his account, “This the second time you posted this @AB but the captions changed. don’t be mad at me no more babe, I said I apologize.”
Apparently, the two had been an item, and based on that posting, it’s more than likely over.
The Shade Room posted a screenshot on their Instagram account that the singer and reality star wrote on her Instagram Live.
“Yea I was big trippin..smh I see it now. I have a 12 year old. Like that type disrespect for what.. Nothing is worth that level of disrespect, especially when u don’t deserve it. Had so much love, respect and admiration fa you. Guess that wasn’t mutual.”
Cole did have a conversation with celebrity stylist, EJ King and discussed why she had an interest in the former NFL wide receiver.
“I think he made it very clear that he didn’t want to receive it. He was like, ‘Baby I liked you at first and now I don’t know. I think maybe that’s just what it is,'” she said.
“My point wasn’t even for that to be like, for us to discuss that more. It was just that—it was harsh. It was a little harsh… Maybe he don’t know that it was a little harsh for him to say that.”
Howard University Lands Showcase of more than 250 Gordon Parks Photos
In a massive windfall that was part gift and part purchase, Howard University has secured over 250 photographs from Gordon Parks’50-year career, including early photos from the 1940s.
The Root reported that the photo transaction is part of The Gordon Parks Foundation’s mission to preserve his legacy by making his work available to the masses.
“This landmark collection of photographs by one of the great chroniclers of Black American life provides artists, journalists, and scholars at Howard University with a new resource to study and embrace the lasting impact of Gordon Parks,” said Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., executive director of The Gordon Parks Foundation, told The Root.
The collection reportedly features some of Parks’ most iconic photographs including Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun, New York, N.Y., 1959 and Duke Ellington in Concert, New York, 1960.
The Gordon Parks Legacy Collection will be housed at Howard’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center where it will be thematically organized into 15 groups.
“Howard University is proud to be the recipient of such an important collection of work by African American artist and photojournalist Gordon Parks. Mr. Parks was a trailblazer whose documentation of the lived experiences of African Americans, especially during the civil rights period, inspired empathy, encouraged cultural and political criticism, and sparked activism among those who viewed his work,” Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University, wrote in a statement.
He continued, “Having a collection of his timeless photographs in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center will allow Howard University faculty, students and visiting scholars to draw on his work and build upon his legacy of truth-telling and representation through the arts.
“As a photographer working in segregated Washington, D.C., in 1942, Parks established his first connections with Howard, which then embodied many of the values that his work came to represent. For him that was a learning experience, which makes Howard a fitting place to keep his art alive.”
City Girls’ Yung Miami and Gina Huynh Trade Insults over Huynh Kissing Sean “Diddy” Combs
Take that! Take that!
Two women fought over Sean “Diddy” Combs on social media for the world to see!
Diddy has re-emerged in the media. He heads a new record label, regained his Sean John fashion line, and executively produces and hosts the Billboard Music Awards. Of course, he’s not the Diddy we know and love without a scandal.
Yung Miami (of City Girls fame) and Gina Huynh have taken shots at each other in the name of keeping Diddy’s attention. On Tuesday, Huynh posted a photo of Combs kissing her on the cheek on her Instagram Live, which apparently set Yung Miami off.
(Image: Screenshot)
The City Girls rapper posted on her Twitter account after the photo was revealed.
This is just the beginning of a rant. Although a name was never mentioned, many assumed the rapper was directing her anger toward Huynh.
Notice me please ass bitch go sit down! WE SEE YOU RELAX IT’S ok! You been (AROUND) just (AROUND) for years! You been waiting on this moment if he can’t make you famous bitch I ain’t!
Huynh responded on her Instagram Live, “If anybody is seeking attention…B**CH ITS YOU.”
In a longer rant, Yung Miami said, “Notice me please ass bitch go sit down! WE SEE YOU RELAX IT’S ok! You been (AROUND) just (AROUND) for years! You been waiting on this moment if he can’t make you famous b**ch I ain’t!”
“Attention? B**ch I am the attention let’s be clear!”
“Ian arguing with no b**ch that got cheap ass lint ball carpet in they house fucking on a billionaire! You freaky ass bitch!”
“why you so press mama… I thought you was a city girl,” Huynh stated
Yung Miami responded with, “I am and that’s why I f**k with yo n**ga & ain’t coming off him idc how many pics you post!”
Resilient Black Business Owners Aim for More Financing and Growth Despite COVID-19
Here is a thought-provoking statistic: 41 percent of Black small business owners are more likely than the average 32 percent of small business owners to seek additional financing to address challenges their business faces.
The data are telling as minority entrepreneurs often don’t apply for small business loans due to fear of rejection or they will get lower amounts and higher interest rates if approved.
The latest finding was shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE by JPMorgan Chase. The bank’s Small Business Pulse Survey polled 1,000 small business owners to learn about their financial and strategic business priorities and how the firms are doing after two challenging years of economic uncertainty.
The report surveyed 150 Black small business owners. Feedback reflects the findings of those respondents, but not all Black SBOs in the overall survey.
Ben Walter, chief executive officer of Chase Business Banking, provided some email responses tied to the financing and other survey findings. Chase Business Banking provides financial advice along with deposit, credit, and cash management products to 4 million small business owners with up to $20 million in annual revenue.
Why are Black small business owners more likely to seeking additional financing to address challenges? What are the top reasons for it?
According to a recent report by the JPMorgan Chase Institute, “Black Americans generally have less wealth than their white peers, something also true for Black SBOs [small business owners],” Walter says. He adds that Black business owners start with less liquidity to invest in their firms and need access to capital sooner to help their businesses thrive.
Walter notes, with confidence, that rebounding Black entrepreneurs are looking to scale their businesses by investing in their workforce, digital tools, and other capital expenditures, all of which may explain the additional need for funding.
“We’re also seeing an increased interest in entrepreneurial training and mentorship among Black business owners as a result of the challenging macroeconomic environment.”
Walter says Chase’s new mentorship program has already supported more than 1,200 minority entrepreneurs by providing critical access to expert coaching, technical assistance, and workshops to help them build the foundation to grow their business.
To boot, 73 percent of Black entrepreneurs revealed they are more probable to expand their workplace benefits in the next year versus 63 percent of total respondents. Walter says small business owners now need to have a differentiated value proposition when it comes to hiring and retaining talent, and thus are investing in incentives, benefits, and training while increasing wages.
“We know that Black business owners were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and were cutting staff and closing businesses at higher rates than their white counterparts.” Walter says this survey data may suggest that Black business owners are making up for what they lost over the last two years while planning for more accelerated expansion plans over their peers.
Another survey discovery revealed that 58 percent of Black business owners are more likely than 33 percent of white business owners and 43 percent of Hispanic business owners to say their outlook for their business has become more positive since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New business formation is at an all-time high, he adds, with a particular boom in Black-owned businesses as data suggests that the number of Black Americans who opened a business was nearly 30 percent higher in 2021 than at the start of 2020.
Last year, Kristel Bell, founder of Surprise Powerz in Chicago, launched her toy manufacturing company that instills self-confidence in pre-school-aged girls by selling STEM-themed dolls.
She says she expects her business in 2023 to see new growth and financial opportunities.
“The grit and resilience we’ve shown in just one year of business makes me confident for the year ahead,” she says.
“Knowing I have a financial partner (Chase) that understands my business model and helps find new growth and financing opportunities gives me peace of mind and inspiration to keep moving forward.”
New York Senate Passes Bill Preventing Prosecutors from Using Rap Lyrics Against Rappers in Criminal Cases
A bill was passed in the New York Senate prohibiting prosecutors from using lyrics rappers use in their songs as evidence against them in a criminal trial. The bill now heads to the state assembly, where it will become law if it passes there.
Senate Bill S7527 (“Rap Music on Trial”) was passed by a 38-23 vote. This bill “limits the admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s creative or artistic expression against such defendant in a criminal proceeding.”
Earlier this year, Peopleobtained a letter from Jay-Z’s Team Roc attorney Alex Spiro and University of Richmond Professor Erik Nielson that showed entertainers Jay-Z, Meek Mill,Killer Mike, Big Sean, Kelly Rowland, Robin Thicke, Fat Joe, and Yo Gotti signed the letter sent to lawmakers that states that “reform is urgently needed.”
“Rather than acknowledge rap music as a form of artistic expression, police and prosecutors argue that the lyrics should be interpreted literally—in the words of one prosecutor, as ‘autobiographical journals’—even though the genre is rooted in a long tradition of storytelling that privileges figurative language, is steeped in hyperbole, and employs all of the same poetic devices we find in more traditional works of poetry,” the letter read.
“This tactic effectively denies rap music the status of art and, in the process, gives prosecutors a dangerous advantage in the courtroom. By presenting rap lyrics as rhymed confessions of illegal behavior, they are often able to obtain convictions even when other evidence is lacking.”
The legislation was written and supported by Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-The Bronx), and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz (D-Queens). It was first proposed in November. In January, it passed through the New York Senate Codes committee, according to Rolling Stone, and was headed for a full vote on the Senate floor.
Elderly Husband of Oldest Buffalo Shooting Victim Still Unaware His Wife has Died
Ruth Whitfield, 86, left the nursing home where her husband of 68 years was living Saturday and stopped by Tops grocery store to pick up a few items. There, she encountered 18-year-old Peyton Gendron, who reportedly shot and killed her.
Now, her family says they have yet to tell her husband that his wife and caregiver has died.
“We are waiting on my sister to arrive and we are going to go there collectively,” Garnell Whitfield, Jr., told The New York Post. He said that his mother cared for his father during the past eight years that he has been living in the nursing home.
“Shaving him, cutting his nails, cleaning his ears, cutting his hair, washing him, bathing him…making sure his room was decorated for holidays,” Whitfield said from his home.
“She dedicated her entire life to her family but specifically the last eight years to him.”
Ruth Whitfield was one of the 10 victims who were slain in a racially-motivated attack by Gendron who shot 13 people, 11 of whom were Black.
“She”s the kind of person who would have tried to dissuade the gunman from doing what he was doing, that’s who she was,” Whitfield said of his mother.
“She wasn’t afraid of power, she wasn’t afraid of death. I can only imagine what her last moments were like. It’s devastating, man. She’s our backbone. She’s our mom. She’s the strongest person I’ll know in my life and probably will ever know again.”
“She raised us to be productive, God-fearing people and this flies in the face of everything we were taught to believe,” Whitfield said.
“This 18-year-old guy from nowhere shows up and kills my mother and these other people. Where did this hate come from? The truth of the matter is he was birthed by the system. He’s a product of our America, that’s who this guy is.”
Garnell Whitfield, Jr., is the former fire commissioner of the city of Buffalo.
“We’ve been brutalized, victimized, scarred,” Whitfield said. “Our lives are forever changed.”
Details continue to emerge about the shooting, including the fact that Gendron allegedly surveilled the grocery store the day before, meeting and speaking to several people.
The Obamas and Brian Chesky Launch Public Service College Scholarship Fund
Former President Barack Obama, former first ladyMichelle Obama and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky are launching a $100 million scholarship fund.
Forbes reports the Voyager Scholarship is for students pursuing careers in public service. The fund will also provide money for multiple years of travel and build students’ connections to a network of leaders.
The scholarship fund is being established with a $100 personal contribution from the Obamas and Chesky and is expected to support 100 students in the first year. If all goes well, the fund will grow to support a larger number of students who want to pursue careers in public service.
Applications for the scholarship will be accepted through June 14. To be eligible, students must be finishing their sophomore year this spring, have a minimum grade point average of 3.0, plan to pursue a career in public service, and be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or a DACA individual.
“If we want this next generation of leaders to be able to do what they need to do, they have to meet each other. They have to know each other. They have to understand each other’s communities,” Barack Obama said in the announcement video.“You’re going to find young people from every corner of this country who are going to be future change-makers. There are leaders everywhere. We just have to find them.”
Voyager Scholarship students will receive up to $25,000 per year in financial aid for their junior and senior years in college and a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a summer work-travel experience between their junior and senior years of college. Students will also design their own summer voyage to gain exposure to new communities and experience in a chosen field.
After Voyager Scholarship students graduate, Airbnb will provide them with a yearly $2,000 travel credit for 10 years, allowing students to broaden their horizons and forge new connections during their public service careers.
Each fall, students will be invited to an annual summit to help define and inspire their public service journey. At this year’s summit, students will meet with Barack Obama and Chesky to discuss the role of empathy and understanding in leadership
Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson Claims Abuse in Relationship with Female Jamaican Athlete
Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who reached the national spotlight after running a personal best time of 10.72 seconds in the 100-meter just weeks before being banned from the Tokyo Olympics due to cannabis use, spoke out this week about alleged abuse in her relationship with an unnamed female Jamaican athlete.
“I don’t understand how someone can just walk out of your life and not care about you anymore,” Richardson wrote in an IG story per VLAD TV.
“I was in a relationship with a Jamaican athlete that never cared about me from jump,” Richardson added. “I was abused and stole from yet protected her from the judgment of her country and family while they dragged me. I had to deal with [homophobia] and so much more that I’m still healing from.”
She also posted Fetty Wap’s song “The Truth,” highlighting a lyric that says “and I’m tellin’ the truth.”
“Feels amazing living in my truth,” the 22-year-old wrote.
She also posted a photo of herself with her ex before taking it down, according to Yahoo.
Richardson broke records as a freshman at Louisiana State University in 2019 in a sprint to the Olympic trials and became a viral star after messages of support for her and her positive cannabis test which found her barred from the Tokyo Olympics.
As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Richardson took to Twitter earlier this year to question why 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was cleared to continue competing in the Winter Olympics after she failed a pre-Olympics drug test, The New York Post reported. The American track and field star questioned the decision and asked for “a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine.”
Richardson has had some success. She’s secured brand deals and has resumed her athletic career. According to FloTrack, Richardson surpassed her 2021 100-meter time, running it in10.3 seconds.
128-Year-Old Johanna Mazibuko of South Africa May Be Oldest Person In The World
Johanna Mazibuko of South Africa, celebrating 128 years of life, is believed to be the oldest person in the world.
According to Metro UK, Mazibuko enjoyed her momentous milestone at a party with friends, family, and neighbors.
(Image courtesy of News 24)
The persevering woman was born in 1894 and raised on a maize farm in Ottosdal, a town in South Africa. She was the eldest of 12 children.
“We lived so well on the farms. There were no problems,” she said.
Mazibuko’s childhood was simple yet beneficial to her lasting health. She remembers growing up on a combination of fresh milk and wild spinach, and occasionally locusts as a result of an infestation on her farm.
As she got older, Mazibuko enjoyed a flourishing marriage and family life. She earned her living for years as a domestic worker for farm owners. She ironed and cleaned.
(Image courtesy of News 24)
“I was married to an older man. His first wife had died,” she said. “He was an independent man. He had a horse carriage and cows. I would milk the cows and make butter to sell.”
She continued: “That man treated me very well and made me forget about my life before him. I did not want for anything.”
Mazibuko had seven kids in her marriage, two of whom are alive. She is a proud elder of 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Having lived through apartheid, the South African native said she will never forget voting in the first democratic elections in 1994.
“Mandela was my person. He allowed us to control ourselves. He got us houses and made the government give us pensions,” she told News 24.
The 128-year-old is currently living in Jouberton, Klerksdorp. She struggles with her hearing but uses a walker to get around the house. To assist her, Mazibuko employed a caregiver named Thandiwe Wesinyana, whom she has lived with since 2001.
Prophet OJ Madikong, the initiator of the Adopt an Elderly campaign in Mahikeng, is calling for the elderly woman to be featured by the Guinness Book of Records.
“I believe maMazibuko could have long been put in the Guinness Book of Records,” Madikong told SABC News. “The whole world would know, but we know that it is never [too] late. We are happy that there is someone with 128 years, whether they try to hide her or what, but we know there is,” he said.
Mazibuko has one wish as she prepares to transition. “When I die, they must slaughter a cow for me. They must bury me well, so that I never bother them,” she told News 24.
