J.R. Smith Maintains 4.0 GPA, Named Academic Athlete of the Year at North Carolina A&T State University
The accolades keep adding up for former NBA champion J.R. Smith.
Less than one week after securing a NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal with apparel company Lululemon, he is being celebrated for becoming North Carolina A&T State University’s Academic Athlete of the Year for 2021-22.
Smith has maintained a 4.0-grade point average during his first semester at North Carolina A&T State University. In December, the former NBA player took to Twitter when he learned of his accomplishment.
Smith spoke about his brief struggles going back to college.
If I’m being honest at all, I was tariffed to go back to school… Literally, these assignments still make my heads sweat. Overcoming these fears of being vulnerable and open about my disability has given me real power! Power no one will ever take from me!
Smith is currently a freshman at the HBCU. He has become the first male golfer to sign a brand ambassador deal with Lululemon. He previously played 16 seasons in the NBA, where he won an NBA Championship with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and then again with James in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In January, Smith signed with Excel Sports Management for NIL representation. Lance Young, his agent, previously told ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski that there was significant interest from golf apparel and equipment manufacturers in working with the 36-year-old Smith.
According to ESPN, Smith told reporters at the pro-am at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, that he decided to go back to school after having a conversation with NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen.
“Ray Allen kind of convinced me,” Smith said Wednesday at the golf event. “We had a little golf trip in [the Dominican Republic], and he was talking about some of the things he was doing, about going back to school and challenging yourself for us athletes. I really took heed to it and decided to go back — and one of the best liberal studies programs is at A&T.”
Anthony Anderson Wants Us to Get Real About Diabetes
On the heels of wrapping on black-ish, actor Anthony Anderson is keeping himself busy by returning to NBC’s Law & Order while also working to raise awareness about diabetes.
The Emmy-nominated actor is known for entertaining audiences on the big and small screen. While rising up the ranks in Hollywood, Anderson has also been living with type 2 diabetes — but stands as a shining example of how to successfully manage the disease without losing your eyesight or a limb.
Having lived with type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, Anderson knows firsthand the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, and taking medication as prescribed by his doctor. Followers of the Hustle & Flow star have seen him using his platform to encourage the masses to get real about diabetes.
In partnership with Novo Nordisk’s Get Real About Diabetes, Anderson launched the awareness campaign, focused on encouraging those with chronic health conditions to consult their doctor and loved ones to address and manage diabetes successfully.
Anderson opened up about his experience and the reality that people with type 2 diabetes are at risk of cardiovascular disease and have a four times greater risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death.
“I partnered with Novo Nordisk five years ago; I’ve been a type two diabetic for 21 years now, lost my father to complications of diabetes, and didn’t want to do the same thing with my family,” Anderson told BLACK ENTERPRISE.
“More importantly, I didn’t want this to happen, to continue to happen, within our community.”
Anderson shares his challenges managing diabetes while encouraging “real talk” for people living with type 2 diabetes as part of the campaign.
His hope is “to spread information to the Black and Brown community, and to give information about prevention, what it’s like to live with diabetes, the questions that you should ask your doctors and create content so that people could see and understand what it’s all about,” he explained.
Anderson recalls initially being in denial like many others when first learning about his diagnosis over two decades ago.
“[I] was not being real with myself, thinking that, ‘Oh, I can get over this,'” he admitted. “‘I just got the sugars, I can watch it, I just drink some water, less Kool-Aid, I can get rid of the sugars.’ Well, 21 years later, I still haven’t gotten rid of the sugars.”
Anderson tackled the condition on an episode of black-ish as another way of raising awareness. The actor has been dedicated to getting others to “get real” about the long-lasting chronic condition and how they can live happy and healthy lives despite their diagnosis.
“It’s about listening to the doctors staying on task, and a part of the plan that they put together,” he said.
“It’s about lifestyle change, making healthier choices, getting into the gym.”
“Mental health was just as important. Taking yoga, meditating, grounding myself in the morning, before I start my day by walking out in my backyard, barefoot, you know, things like that,” he said.
Most importantly, “it’s about getting that information out and pointing people in the right direction.”
Elon Musk Wants Twitter To Have Free Speech While His Tesla Plants Continue To Spread Hate Speech: ‘Welcome to The Slave House’
The e-vehicle giant Tesla has been hit with another racial discrimination lawsuit by a Black employee who claimed a manager would greet employees by saying, “Welcome to the slave house.”
The San Jose Mercury Newsreports that Raina Pierce filed the suit, a current female employee who began working at the Fremont, California, plant last year installing latches on car doors.
According to her complaint, “Tesla’s facilities contain the N-word throughout,” with the slur often preceded by the f-word. Additionally, Pierce said she was frequently called the N-word and a gender-based insult while working at the plant.
Pierce’s other claims include her direct supervisors angrily claiming she got him in trouble and made a comment about not being able to stand Black people, let others switch stations, but denied her requests and disciplined her more frequently and severely than her non-Black coworkers.
Pierce said she reported the harassment and discrimination to Tesla’s human resources department in May 2012, when she was dealing with a lower leg injury. Later that year, Pierce called in sick due to her leg injury and infection and was put on leave.
Tesla has grown a reputation for racial discrimination lawsuits; they’ve become so frequent that the state of California has threatened to sue the tech giant. Pierce is the third Black employee to file a racial discrimination lawsuit this year.
Marcellous Cage, a war veteran, sued Tesla in March, claiming white workers tormented him with ringtones set to sound like incoming-rocket warnings. In another factory Cage worked in, swastikas and the N-word were carved and written on the bathroom walls throughout Cage’s employment, which Tesla ignored.
Last month, a class-action suit was filed on behalf of three workers by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. In the suit, Monica Chatman, Kimberly Romby, and Nigel Jonesdetailed accounts of being tormented at work with racial slurs in English and Spanish, homophobic harassment, and being overworked and underpaid, as well as forced into the hardest jobs with little to no promotion.
In 2021, Tesla was ordered to pay Owen Diaz$137 million. According to Diaz, while he worked as a supervisor at a California plant, other colleagues repeatedly called him racial slurs. Diaz added the Tesla plant was a culture where employees drew swastikas and racist terms in bathroom stalls and left derogatory drawings of Black children around the plant.
The lawsuits are ironic, considering Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased the social media giant Twitter because he claims he wants to promote free speech. If Musk’s Tesla plants are an example of free speech, it may lead to more trouble for Musk.
Birmingham High School Senior Awarded $3 Million In Scholarships With 4 Ivy League Acceptances
As graduation season approaches, this high school senior from Birmingham, Alabama has options.
According to WBRC, Kylan Benson has been promised more than $3 million in scholarships from some of the nation’s top Ivy League and post-secondary institutions. The awards came pouring in as he anticipates graduating this year with a 4.5 GPA.
“Getting accepted into Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale has been a wonderful feeling, especially with how selective schools of that caliber are,” said Benson. “After working hard in school for so many years, it’s good to see the fruits of my labor. In the past few years, I’ve been able to see some of my peers at Ramsay get accepted into these types of schools and they all inspired me to want to do the same.”
The international baccalaureate has been accepted into 18 schools. Of the 18, Benson got accepted into four Ivy League despite having no intentions of applying to any. But after visiting schools like Harvard and Columbia, he felt like he could have a place among the elite schools.
In fact, he credits his achievements to his family and the help of a non profit that provides support and resources for for motivated, high-achieving students from disadvantaged, under-resourced backgrounds so they can gain entrance into and attend college.
“It was a long process,” Benson told WVTM 13. “I’m a part of the College Choice Foundation, which is a local nonprofit that helps youth find colleges that meet full financial need. That’s been a big help for me and they’ve helped me navigate throughout the whole entire college process.”
Additionally, Benson is preparing to cross the stage as co valedictorian. His ambition to lead comes from his experience as the head of multiple school organizations including the president of the youth and government club at Ramsay. Throughout his high school career, government became a growing passion. He is inspired by the work of Mayor Randall Woodfin and Jefferson County Commissioner LashUnda Scales.
As for the future, the aspiring lawmaker hopes to make an impact in the community on the state, national and global level from the lessons he’s learned.
‘Lesson Learned’: Spurs Player Tim Duncan Once Defrauded Over $20 Million Due To Financial Adviser
Spurs player Tim Duncan recently celebrated his birthday on Monday in an episode of Locked on Spurs. He took listeners on a walk down memory lane highlighting some of his career-defining moments.
“I look back and appreciate the entire journey,” he said, according to KENS 5.
Nicknamed “the Big Fundamental,” Duncan spent his entire career with the San Antonio Spurs, where in only his second season he won the first of five NBA championships. He rose to fame as a perennial All-Star and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
During the height of his success, Duncan retained a financial advisor in 2013, whom he had placed his trust in for almost two decades.
Charles Banks IV of Atlanta, Duncan said, had a hand in the retired NBA star losing out more than $20 million due to bad investments, Bleacher Report previously reported. Banks urged the NBA star to invest in ventures, including hotels and wineries, but Duncan and his attorneys said he never saw returns.
Although his trust was broken, Duncan chose to not allow the circumstances to impact his life. According to the outlet, he had made approximately $220 million in salary throughout his career.
“Luckily I had a long career and made good money. This is a big chunk, but it’s not going to change my life in any way. It’s not going to make any decisions for me.”
While standing firm in his belief, Duncan saw the incident as a lesson learned.
“I thought, for the most part, I was keeping an eye on things,” he said. “You have to have people checking on people checking on people. I did that for a while. Obviously, I got to a point where the people I trusted were checking on themselves. The bottom line is this: You can’t be angry at yourself. I keep going back to this word, but I trusted someone. I was wrong about it. I got screwed over for it. I’m not mad at myself for that. That’s a lesson learned. I’ll never put myself in that situation again.”
According to a study prepared for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 80 percent of American investors report that they have been solicited to participate in a fraud scheme, while 11 percent of American investors report that they personally lost money as a result of fraud.
In 2017, a federal grand jury indicted the disgraced Banks on two counts of wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent activities as a financial adviser to Duncan and sentenced to four years, according to the San Antonio Current.
In 2018, the result of Duncan’s lawsuits granted him a a $7.5 million settlement.
75-Year Old Black Grandma from North Carolina Makes History, Graduates From Shaw University
Rebecca Inge, a 75-year-old woman from Raleigh, N.C., has graduated from Shaw University, an HBCU. She began pursuing her college degree there 57-years ago.
In 1965, Inge, who was then living in Sanford, Fla., said she left home to pursue a college education at Shaw University.
“I always dreamed of going to med school because I was sick a lot as a child. I dreamed of being a surgeon,” Inge told WRAL, adding that she was also interested in engineering.
At that time, she worked in the college’s cafeteria to support her own financial needs while studying. However, she had to put her dreams on hold when she got married and gave birth to her daughter.
Her daughter Marisa Ratliff Dunston, who is now retired after years of serving in the U.S. military, said her mother sacrificed a lot for her family.
She said, “She put her life on hold so that I could finish my 21 years, all of my education so that I could be successful today.”
During those previous years, Inge had different jobs including working at NASA during the first space shuttle mission and serving as a safety instructor at Disney World. When her husband died in 2015, she usually stayed with her daughter.
Recently, she decided to continue pursuing her college degree by re-enrolling at Shaw University. There had been a few hurdles due to the huge year gap but everything worked out in the end also with the help of her daughter.
Now, Inge is preparing for her commencement ceremonies on May 8. She is excited to ultimately fulfill her dream.
“You gotta live ’til you die, so why not be happy doing something that makes you happy and get involved?” she said.
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Queen Latifah Breaks Ground On Housing Development in Hometown Newark, NJ
Hip-hop entrepreneur and entertainer Queen Latifah is giving back to her home state in a big way!
According to NJ.com, The Equalizer star went back to her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday to help break ground on a new, affordable housing development. She stated that this has been in the works for more than a decade.
The rapper/actress, who also spent some of her formative years in nearby East Orange and Irvington but calls Newark home, is assisting with getting the housing development built.
“I was born here, St. Michael’s Hospital, so this is definitely my home,” said the 52-year-old Latifah. “This is where Sarah Vaughn is from, so I’m proud to be from here.”
With about 150 people in attendance, the award-winning rapper, singer, and actor appeared at the site of the RISE mixed-use project that is located between Springfield and 19th Avenues, west of 16th Street.
The development will include 60 two- and three-bedroom market-rate apartments in four townhouse clusters, with 16 affordable units set aside in a separate building. It will also make room to house healthcare or other professional offices and nonprofit organizations.
The benevolent actress, along with her development company, Blue Sugar, has teamed up with GonSosa Development, a company that is headed by Alberto and Yacinda Goncalves and Ricardo Sosa. Her longtime friend Tammy Hammond is CEO of Blue Sugar. The starting price for rentals is slated to be around $1,800 monthly.
As with many of her projects, Latifah credited her longtime partner and Flavor Unit Entertainment co-founder, Shakim Compere, as “the power behind me, the strength in my spine,” as he helped make the project a reality.
“We always thought about real estate and design and ideas, and anytime we get an idea, we think, how can we make it happen? All we need is a spark, and once we get that spark, then it’s off to the races.”
The first phase of the development started this winter. It will be a dozen market-rate apartments in a three-story building that will look like a townhouse cluster. That is expected to be completed this summer. Additional phases will be finished gradually, including the affordable units sometime in 2023, with the entire project done by early 2024.
SHUT OUT: Black and Latino Students and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds are Denied Access to AP STEM Opportunities
Despite students saying that STEM courses are their favorite subject areas and that they aspire to go to college, Black and Latino students and students from low–income backgrounds continue to be excluded from cruciallearning opportunities available through AP STEM courses, according to anew reportfrom EducationTrustandEquityOpportunitySchools, Shut Out: Why Black and Latino Students are Under–Enrolled in AP STEM Courses.
This new research highlights that a positive and inviting school climate plays an important role in getting more Black and Latino students in advanced courses that would nurture their aspirations and interests and position them to thrive in college and future careers.
“Students who are ready and eager to take advanced placement courses at their schools shouldn’t be shut out because seats are not available or they don’t feel welcomed in these courses,” said Dr. Allison Socol, assistant director of P–12 policyat The Education Trust.
“District and schoolleadersmust lead efforts to build more welcoming and inclusive learning environments that ensure students who are interested in STEM professions are able to enroll and succeed in AP STEM courses.”
Based on a sample of 80 districts across 24 states and survey data from 200,000 students across 184 schools, Shut Out: Why Black and Latino Students are Under–Enrolled in APSTEM Courses finds:
– Two in five Black and Latino students and one in four students from low–income backgroundssay STEM courses are their favorite courses and aspire to go to college.
– But very few Black and Latino students are enrolled in AP STEM courses that would prepare them for college and a STEM career (e.g., less than two percent of STEM–interested and college–aspiring Black and Latino students and students from low–income backgrounds are in AP Biology).
– School climate matters greatly in helping students access advanced coursework opportunities, especially when they build on students’ interests and aspirations.
– Students who want to go to college are 105 percent more likely to take an AP class than those who do not aspire to attend college.
– Students who want to go to college are 11 percent more likely to take an AP class when they feel a sense of belonging in AP classes.
– Students who want to go to college are 16 percent more likely to take an AP class when they receive information on how to enroll in AP courses.
“We believe this report makes plain that is time to think differently about how to identify, engage and resource Black and Latinx students. Thousands of students are ready to succeed in AP STEM right now but are being denied access through outdated metrics, unnecessary prerequisites, and myopic student selection criteria.” Dr. Sasha Rabkin, president,Equal Opportunity Schools.
In Shut Out:Why Black and Latino Students are Under–Enrolled inAPSTEM Courses, The Education Trust teamed up with Equal Opportunity Schools—anonprofit organization that partners with school, district, and state leaders to close race and income enrollment gaps in AP and IB programs—to look specifically at access to AP courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). From a sample of 80 districts across 24 states, we analyzed student survey data, administrative school files, school course enrollment, and interviewed a number of school leaders and educators to help contextualize the data.
The Education Trust previously estimated thatnearly 225,000 Black and Latino students are missing from AP coursestheyshould otherwise have accessto while in high school. Missed opportunities to enroll Black and Latino students in AP STEM courses have profound negative implications for students’ overall preparation forand success incollegeand limitthe diversity of the STEM workforce. According to The Pew Research Center, Black people represent 11% of the workforce but are only 9 percent of those in STEM jobs. Similarly, Latino people make up 17 percent of the workforce but only 8percent of those in STEM jobs.
Jobs in STEM fields often come with higher–payingsalaries that, over time, could help close the racial wealth gap that finds Black households to have only a fraction of the wealth of White households.
Many state, district, and school leaders have not addressed systemic barriersand conditions that make it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for students to enroll in AP STEM courses, including a failure to create school climates that make underserved students feel welcomed in these courses.
To increase enrollment of students of color in STEM courses, Ed Trust calls on state leaders to:
– Enact and encourage more equitable enrollment policies and practices,such as identifying students for advanced courses using multiple measures and implementing automatic enrollment policies.
– Cover the costs of exams,transportation,and other materials to eliminate the cost of enrollment in advanced coursework opportunities and require districts and school to share information about enrolling in advanced coursework opportunities in families’ home languages.
– Provide technical support to schools and districts failing to adequately enroll students of color, students from low–income families in advanced coursework opportunities.
– Invest in increasing the diversity of the teacher workforce, given the research that students of color are more likely to be referred for advanced coursework when they have a teacher of color
District and schoolleaderscan also increase the number of Black, Latino,and students from low–income backgrounds who enroll in AP STEM courses by:
– Ensuringthat high schools have adequate college counselors and other trusted adults whocan help students identify courses that are rigorous and challenging, meet their interests and put them on the path for college and career success.
– Collect data through surveys of students, families, and educators to better understand students’ interests and aspirations and to improve school climate.
– Recruit and support additional educators of color.
– Provide professional development to educators and administrations about proactively identifying Black and Latino students for advanced courses and using culturally relevant curricula and instructional practices.
“Black and Latino students, and those from familieswith lowerincomes arebeing systematically excluded from participating in AP STEM courses andultimatelyour nation’s most prestigious universities,”said Denise Forte, interim chief executive officer of The Education Trust.
“This new research changes the narrative that this is because students are ‘not interested’ or ‘prepared’ for these courses and put the burden directly on state, districtand local school officials to create conditions that will allow these students to access and thrive in these courses.”
San Diego Father Arrives in Houston to Search For Missing Daughter, Believes She’s Sex Trafficking Victim
A San Diego father arrived in Houston looking for answers to the disappearance of his 24-year-old daughter, Felicia Johnson.
Johnson was last seen getting into an unknown male’s car after applying for a job at the Cover Girls strip club, CBS 8 reports. While Felicia’s bloody cellphone was later located, the young woman hasn’t been seen or heard from since April 15.
“If somebody knows something, say something,” Felicia’s father Kevin Johnson said. “It’s a community of silence out here and secrets.”
Felicia was in Houston celebrating her birthday and wanted to make some extra cash, so she applied for a job at Cover Girls. Authorities say Felicia was waiting for an Uber at around 1:30 a.m., but her family believes she got into another vehicle.
Felicia’s phone was found covered in blood 12 hours after she disappeared. Texas EquuSearch spent three days searching the area where Felicia’s phone was found but didn’t locate any signs of her disappearance.
“The phone was like someone threw it out the window, and it had specks of blood that I think came from her finger during the struggle,” Kevin said.
Felicia’s father, and Albert Flores, a National Investigator for The New Black Panther Nation, believe Felicia might now be a victim of sex trafficking.
“We are the national hub of sex trafficking,” Flores said.
The Houston Police Department is investigating the case and offered a $5,000 reward for any information, KHOU reports.
“I don’t know the exact circumstances, but somebody is holding her against her will,” Kevin said.
An attorney for Cover Girls said the club is cooperating with authorities and turning over surveillance video related to the case. Felicia’s father continues to beg the public for any information related to her disappearance.
“Find it in your heart to have some compassion for human life,” Kevin said. “If she’s watching this that I’m not gonna rest until I find you or find out what happened to you.”
