• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 23, 2022

MC Lyte Reveals How ‘Distraught’ Her Divorce Made Her, ‘It Doesn’t Mean You’re a Failure’

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Rapper MC Lyte opened up about her ongoing divorce and how “distraught” she initially was over her split from John Wyche.

MC Lyte was a guest host on The Real when the ladies started to discuss the realities of going through a divorce. Lyte shocked many when she filed for divorce from Wyche in 2020 after three years of marriage.

Now, over a year and a half later, the rap veteran is still in the middle of her divorce and admitted it is an emotional process.

“I’m actually still going through it,” MC Lyte told the ladies on The Real. “When the press got a hold of it, I think people thought we were [divorced]. I had just filed, and so we’re still going through it right now.”

“I think in the very beginning, I was very distraught,” she continued. “I feel like there are phases whenever a relationship is ending, whether you’re married or not. It’s that first phase of, Oh my God, I’ve got to make this work for us. Then it’s like, Oh my God, I’ve got to make this work for everybody else involved.”

Lyte cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, People reports. The former couple met on Match.com, and she fell for the Marine Corp veteran and entrepreneur.

Lyte and Wyche were engaged in May 2017 and married three months later in a romantic ceremony in Montego Bay, Jamaica. While Lyte hoped to honor their vows to make it until death do them part, she realized they weren’t meant to last.

“You get to a point where you’re like, this isn’t working. It doesn’t matter. What really matters is that we end up in a happy place,” Lyte said.

“It’s hard in the beginning, but you realize to have happiness doesn’t mean you have to remain together, and it doesn’t mean that you are a failure because the marriage failed. It’s all ego. You just have to be able to let go.”

• Women

by Derek Major

February 23, 2022

A Missouri Mom Spent A Year and A Half Fighting For Answers After Her Son’s Death, Now Case Is Reopened

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When Freddie McKee died in July 2020, Columbia, Missouri, police had no answers for his mother. But a corrected toxicology report and a mother’s determination have led the police to reopen the investigation into McKee’s death as well as the department’s internal affairs investigation into the matter.

Doressia McKee received a call from Freddie’s half-brother on July 8, 2020, informing her that her son had passed. Freddie was found dead outside his father’s house shirtless. His autopsy shows multiple cuts and bruises on his knees and elbows and a fingernail on his right hand is partially missing.

The toxicology report from the Office of the Medical Examiner in Columbia, which NBC News reviewed, did not mention drugs in his system. However, two months later, a “corrected” report stated McKee had a detectable level of a psychoactive stimulant known as eutylone in his system. The medical examiner ruled McKee’s death accidental.

McKee’s mom added Columbia police only made her son’s death more confusing when they got involved. According to her, police failed to interview witnesses, review all the potential evidence, and made disparaging remarks to her about the mostly Black and low-income residents in the neighborhood where Freddie died.

“We feel they failed to do so because this was just another Black male that they didn’t care about, and felt his life wasn’t worthy of the same opportunity and equality that is given to all the other white suspicious death cases,” McKee’s mom told NBC.

Last April, McKee’s mother filed a misconduct complaint with Columbia Police detailing what she believes are flaws in the way the department handled her son’s death. In October, Police Chief Geoff Jones said in a letter to McKee that her allegations were “unfounded” and “misconstrued,” but she could appeal the decision to the Citizens Police Review Board.

McKee appealed and in November the board unanimously recommended Jones reconsider McKee’s misconduct claim and either reaffirm or modify his decision. Soon after, Columbia Police agreed to reopen the department’s internal affairs investigation and the investigation of Freddie McKee.

Both investigations are ongoing.

Police in Columbia, which is about two hours northwest of Ferguson, have been accused of using excessive force on Black residents at a disproportionate rate. Additionally, despite stopping fewer drivers in the city overall in the last year, Black drivers are still stopped more than white drivers in the city.

State Rep. David Tyson Smith, who helped to create the Citizens Police Review Board in 2009 following tensions between police and the community, told NBC the reopened investigations is a testament to McKee’s resolve and bravery, adding it’s rare that the review board would compel the department to reopen the investigation.

“There’s a saying that the system is designed to wear you down,” Smith said. “It’s a testament to the mother that she didn’t give up.”

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 23, 2022

5-Year-Old Boy Shot Multiple Times in The Face By Two Teens During ‘Execution-Style’ Home Invasion

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A 5-year-old boy was among three people fatally shot execution-style during a home invasion in Detroit over the weekend.

Caleb Harris, his mother, Lashon Marshall, and her boyfriend, Aaron Benson, were found shot and killed inside their home on the west side of Detriot on Sunday, Fox 2 Detriot reports. After not hearing from them, a family member went to check on them and discovered the horrific scene.

Investigators don’t believe the murders occurred on Sunday, and the bodies may have been there for more than a day.

“I received the most devastating news of my life, that my grandson had been killed,” Caleb’s grandmother, Shalesa Floyd said.

Police made two arrests in connection with the triple homicide. Through a series of tips, they were able to identify the suspects, Click On Detroit reports.

The two suspects have been identified, and they are both juveniles. They were taken into custody without incident after police obtained search warrants.

“For you to shoot a 5-year-old in the face? Twice? You could have let him go so he could remain and live,” Floyd said.

“To do this — it’s like a monster would do this.”

Former state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo is a relative of Caleb and comforted Floyd on Monday.

“What mindset can anyone be in that would shoot a baby in the face intentionally?” Gay-Dagnogo said. “You have to be heartless. There is one thing to even a score or have issues with an adult but a child? A child is off-limits.”

Floyd is Caleb’s paternal grandmother and says her son is devastated over the loss of his child. The grandmother is now wondering why her grandson was killed in such a heinous way.

“You could have just left my grandson there alone; I would have come get him,” Floyd said. “He could have grown up to be anything he wanted. He’s our future; he was our future. Why would you take my grandson from me?”

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 23, 2022

Black Transgender Woman Awarded $1.5M After Jailed By Cops On Bogus Drug Charges

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A Black transgender woman received a $1.5 million payout seven years after spending nearly six months in an Atlanta jail for a bogus cocaine trafficking charge.

On Thursday, a federal jury ordered Atlanta police officer Vladimir Henry to pay $1.5 million to Ju’Zema Goldring for her false arrest for cocaine trafficking, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.

Goldring was arrested for jaywalking in October 2015 but claimed she never jaywalked and was instead profiled for being Black, transgender, and homeless.

Goldring’s purse was checked during her arrest, and officers located a stress ball and tested it for cocaine. Goldring ended up spending nearly six months in jail on cocaine trafficking charges despite receiving a negative test result.

Henry and fellow officer Juan Restrepo claimed they found 60 grams of powder cocaine inside the stress ball that was worth thousands of dollars. Goldring was only released from jail after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation independently conducted a test on the contents of the stress ball and detected no cocaine.

“As it turns out, it wasn’t drugs at all, but she spent nearly 6 months in the Fulton County jail based on this seemingly bogus charge,” Judge William Ray II wrote Thursday in his decision.

Ray noted how no one should be arrested for jaywalking and blamed the Atlanta Police Department’s “point system” as the cause for the false arrest, The Hill reports. Ray said that the point system awarding officers for each action they take “may create perverse incentives” for more arrests.

The judge said arresting someone for jaywalking could serve “as a pretext for discrimination.” Ray hopes the Atlanta PD will “consider reforming these practices.“

“It should not have taken seven years and a federal jury trial to bring this to light, “Goldring’sng’s attorney Jeff Filipovits said.

”It’s terrifying to think what other abuses the City of Atlanta has tolerated that haven’t gotten our attention. Our client was obviously profiled, as are so many others.”

• Kidpreneurs®

by Atiya Jordan

February 23, 2022

10-Year-Old Lemonade Entrepreneur Gets Surprise On ‘GMA’ To Continue Charitable Work

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Laila Ratliff, a 10–year-old lemonade entrepreneur, uses her passion for community service to drive her business. Her ambitious efforts caught the attention of Good Morning America, and she was surprised with a gift that could potentially make things easier as she continues to give back to her community.

On Tuesday morning, the morning show gifted the little lady and her family with an industrial juicer to eliminate the process of squeezing lemons by hand. She also received a $10,000 check to donate to her desired charity.

The North Carolina native started her business, Laila’s Lemonade and Sweet Treat Connection, with the support of her mother in Greensboro, WSOC-TV reported. They decided to bottle up lemonade using her grandmother’s recipe, rather than having a traditional lemonade stand. The young boss wanted the opportunity to sell her products online and in-stores to reach thousands of people, according to her mother, Lakisha Ratliff. She also wanted to meet new people.

According to Good Morning America, the lemonade business has expanded and is currently highly sought-after. The Ratliffs are now regulars at local pop-up shops and events in the Oak Ridge area. They have introduced 22 fruity flavors of her signature freshly squeezed lemonade, for $6 per 16-ounce bottle.

“The best part of the business for me is seeing how far I can push myself, seeing the joy on people’s faces, and what I can do for them,” Laila told the morning show.

The industrial juicer will come in handy as the young boss strives to help others in need. She donates her lemonade profits to a local nursing home and her time aiding the homeless. Last winter, the family hosted a clothing drive for retiring home residents in High Point, North Carolina. In addition, the Ratliffs are working on “blessing bags” to hand out to the homeless community within their city, according to Good Morning America.

In looking toward a successful future, Laila is staying up to date and learning about administrative processes, negotiating sales contracts, and food vendor laws.

Laila told Good Morning America how important it is for child visionaries to receive support from their parents.

“I think it’s good for every child that has a dream or a vision for their parents to push them as far as they can go, even if they decide later on in life that it’s not something they want to pursue,” she said. “I feel like it gives them confidence and the drive to know that if they dream it, they can make it happen.”

M.O.O., an acronym for “Moms Official Objective,” is a health technology firm that is reimagining women’s wellness.

The direct-to-consumer food supplementation brand creates products for mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and expectant moms — the time-consumed village associated with caring for a baby — who lack essential nutrients in their meals due to the physically demanding effects of caretaking.

In 2018, mother of two and founder Lydia Simmons was unable to obtain the level of healthcare support required during her lactation and postpartum recovery experience. She turned to her knowledge of food as a foundational and core means of health to develop a postnatal multivitamin to support her new lifestyle. Simmons sought the advice of chemists, physiologists, and nutritional scientists to bring her product to market.

By 2019, her mission to provide affordable, clean and breastfeeding-safe health and wellness supplementation with superior ingredients to pre-and post-natal women was a success.

“I always wanted to reinvent motherhood wellness after my postnatal experience. The goal was to identify promising approaches and challenges women face in obtaining education for the prevention and onset of poor maternal health,” says founder, Lydia Simmons.

“In today’s marketplace, there are several goods marketed to women that promise miraculous results while including non-tested, harmful substances. Women who have health, ingredient or nursing constraints require ease of use and trust. We’ve worked extensively to identify the right partners throughout the world that use ingredients that fulfill M.O.O.’s transparency criteria. Real traceability is more than just a label. We’re committed to share the decisions we make that affect you, your baby, and your breastmilk.”

Dedicated to helping moms of all stages navigate motherhood without experiencing the significant health declines that are notoriously associated with the experience, M.O.O. uses the highest quality ingredients to help prevent, restore and maintain the body’s health and structure of hair, skin, nails, bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels and organs. The diverse product lineup includes MILF Collagen™, MILK Postnatal and MWAH Daily Wellness Drops. M.O.O. products do not contain any synthetics, fillers, additives, preservatives, THC gluten, soy, GMO, dairy or sugar and is available in either liquid drop, powder and capsule forms.

MILF Collagen™ is available in five flavors: Hazelnut Lover’s, Vanilla Chai, White Chocolate Mocha, Cinna Cereal, and Fruity Cereal and supports a healthy physical postpartum recovery. Collagen supports the elastin breakdown caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy. It contains clinically-proven ingredients including Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, MSM, zinc chelate, and magnesium — an infusion of vitamins and minerals — to offset imbalances. The non-GMO, gluten and sugar-free brew is ideal for women over 18 years, breastfeeding and postpartum mothers.

MILK Postnatal supplements feature seven powerhouse ingredients formulated to increase breast milk, restore the blood’s protein, iron deficiency anemia, and/or iodine deficiency as it rebalances hormones, reduce postpartum hair loss and heighten the personal nutrition and health of baby and mother.

The vegan-friendly, lab-tested formulation is safe for breastfeeding moms and contains clinically proven ingredients including ginger, goat’s rue, alfalfa, sea moss, moringa, spirulina and elderberry. The non-GMO, gluten and dairy-free brew is ideal for women following childbirth and up to 24 months postpartum and throughout lactation.

MWAH Daily Wellness Drops is a non-psychoactive, THC-free broad-spectrum, citrus-flavored liquid brew. Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is your built-in regulatory system that helps maintain equilibrium in your mind and postpartum body. Endocannabinoids are found in the brain, immune and central nervous systems to major organs, connective tissues, glands, and breast milk. It contains pure coconut oil (MCT), monk fruit along with lemon, orange, and grapefruit essential oils.

M.O.O.’s full line of products has assisted thousands of mothers worldwide in reducing the harsh effects of nutritional deficiency and hormonal imbalance during motherhood. M.O.O. continues to advance research to develop thoughtful and transparent products that appeal to all stages of motherhood.

• Lifestyle

by Atiya Jordan

February 23, 2022

Nick Cannon and Brittany Bell Celebrate Son Golden’s 5th Birthday With Wakanda-Themed Party

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Nick Cannon brings the popular Wakanda Forever salute to life for his little boy’s birthday.

This past weekend, Cannon helped to celebrate his 5-year-old son Golden “Sagon” — one of two children he shares with model Brittany Bell —with a fantastical Wakanda-themed party.

He took to Instagram with his excitement to share the news of Golden’s 5th birthday. In a series of photos posted online Monday, the lucky birthday boy and his parents can be seen enjoying the party in full Wakanda gear. From jumping inside a foam pit to an anticipated piñata drop, the festivities were fun-filled. Cannon captioned the photos with, “Golden turned 5 in Wakanda today!!! 🙌🏾✋🏾”

 

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A post shared by NICK CANNON (@nickcannon)

Moments of the party were later highlighted in a video posted on Cannon’s Instagram. It captured the Wakanda-themed tier cake, light-up dance floor, balloon pit, dessert stations, and more. The little ones who came out to celebrate Golden were seen soaking up the fun and loving every minute.

On the post, the gracious father gave Bell a shoutout for throwing their son an elaborate celebration.

“Mommy @missbbell threw the most amazing celebration for our young King! Thank you for your tireless effort, compassion, care, strength, intuitiveness and most importantly LOVE for our family,” Cannon captioned the video.

“Every meticulous detail doesn’t go unnoticed, you are amazing @missbbell and our 5 year old son feels it all and he is only going to continue to strive because Mommy loves so deeply and only wants him to be the best Super Hero we know he can be!! We love you King Golden!!!”

“Happy 5th Birthday Golden!!! You deserve it all!!! We love you!!!!” Bell added in her own post of the video. “I would do it all over again for you my son!!”

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 23, 2022

Ahmaud Arbery’s Mother Chastises Department of Justice After Guilty Verdict is Announced

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Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, is still angry with the Department of Justice for extending a plea deal to her son’s killers against her and her family’s wishes, according to The Georgia Recorder. 

Earlier this week, a federal jury in Georgia found father-and-son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan guilty of the federal charges they individually faced, NBC News reported.

In late January, according to court documents, U.S. attorneys submitted a notice of two plea agreements for Gregory and his son Travis to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Georgia. After voicing displeasure with the plea deal, a judge rejected the offer, the New York Times reported.

Arbery’s family strongly voiced their discontent with the deal to allow the killers to spend time in federal prison and not state prison. Arbery family attorney Lee Merritt called it a “backroom deal represents a betrayal to the Arbery family who is devastated.” 

Cooper-Jones spoke outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Brunswick and stated, “I’m very thankful that you brought these charges of hate crimes, but back on Jan. 31, you guys accepted a plea deal with these three murderers who took my son’s life,” she said.

“Even after the family stood before the judge and asked the judge to not take this plea deal, the lead prosecutor Tara Lyons asked the judge to ignore the family’s cry. That’s not justice for Ahmaud. What we got today we wouldn’t have gotten if it was for the fight the family put up on Jan. 31.”

The federal charges carry a maximum life sentence. The defendants have 14 days to file appeals for a future sentencing hearing.

After seeing him running in their coastal Georgia neighborhood, a shocking video showed the McMichaels and Bryan chasing Arbery down in their pickup trucks. The three men cornered Arbery before Travis McMichael fatally shot him with a shotgun.

• Women

by Derek Major

February 23, 2022

ReShonda Young Is On A Mission To Open The First Black-Owned Bank in Iowa To Help Close The Racial Wealth Gap

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ReShonda Young is trying to change her home state of Iowa by becoming the first person to open a Black-owned bank in the Hawkeye state.

Young, a well-known businesswoman in the state and beyond, wants to break down the economic barriers and systemic racism in the banking industry and in her state, which often strangle the dreams of Black entrepreneurs.

She’s even found a location for her bank, the Ambassadors For Christ Church in the town of Waterloo. Now comes the hard part, convincing investors to buy in and buy in big.

According to USA Today, Young’s target amount to get started is $10 million. So far, Young says she has about 5% of the money needed. She’s also had conversations with federal regulators.

However, Young’s goal also points to what many Americans and specifically Black people have known for decades, the racial wealth gap will keep growing and Black Americans as a whole will continue to be left behind.

Due to decades of systemic racism, Black Americans have fewer savings in their bank accounts, less access to credit, and smaller credit accounts. The situation also extends to small Black businesses, which struggle to raise seed money and get started.

Young, who previously owned Popcorn Heaven, has been helping Black Americans for years, buying homes to rent out, and has helped other Black entrepreneurs in Waterloo. She also sued the federal government in 2019 and won, forcing the federal government to push financial institutions to release race and other demographics of small business loan decisions as required by a 2010 law.

The racial wealth gap has gotten so wide between Black and white Americans that the trend cannot be reversed without significant federal intervention.

Young isn’t holding her breath; instead, she’s trying to be the change she wants to see. Black-owned banks have received significant investment in recent years due to the Black Lives Matter movement and the focus on social equity, but Black banks say more help and money is needed to begin closing the wealth gap.