• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 10, 2022

NBC Resolves Leslie Jones Issue After She Threatened to Stop Live-Recapping The Olympics

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After Leslie Jones announced her disappointment in NBC’s response to her well-received live recaps of the Olympic Games, the network has worked to rectify the issue.

On Tuesday, NBC Sports announced how they “resolved” the “error” that led to Jones’ Olympic recaps being blocked on social media, HuffPost reports.

“This was the result of a third-party error, and the situation has been resolved,” a network spokesperson said late Monday.

“She is free to do her social media posts as she has done in the past. She is a super fan of the Olympics, and we are super fans of her.”

The statement came after Jones became a trending topic on Monday when she took to social media to express her reluctance to continue her live recaps while suggesting NBC was actually the one “blocking” her commentary.

“I’m starting to feel like this should be my last olympics i live tweet,” Jones tweeted on Sunday. “I know I know, another celebrity bitching. But I’m tired of fighting the folks who don’t want me to do it.”

https://twitter.com/Lesdoggg/status/1490588583979192321

She also pointed out how “they” are attempting to block her videos and “get folks who think they can do it like me.” While responding to a fan, Jones confirmed the “they” she was referring to was NBC.

After swarms of fans started to call NBC out for seemingly not supporting Jones’ popular recaps, the network released a statement saying the Saturday Night Live alum could continue posting about the Olympic Games.

It looks like higher-ups were behind the initial snafu and not exactly NBC. The International Olympic Committee owns the Olympic broadcasting rights, NBC News reports. The network works to negotiate broadcasting rights with companies around the world. NBCUniversal had exclusive broadcasting rights for the Olympics’ U.S. audiences until 2032.

During the Summer Games in Tokyo last summer, the IOC cracked down on posting videos of the Games to social media. Even athletes were prevented from reposting videos.

“We encourage people, we encourage everybody, to share still pictures of performances, but the video obviously belongs to the rights-holding broadcasters,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said last summer.

Nearly 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education ended racial segregation in schools, several HBCU presidents say Black history lessons taught in schools are insufficient and under attack.

Howard University President Wayne Federick told Axios that HBCU officials and Black Americans need to stand up and fight against this.

“They’re trying to erase not just the history of those things happening to African Americans, but really the American history,” Frederick said. “We have to take a fuller stand and be bold that this is American history — and it’s not going away just because you don’t tell people or limit who knows about it.”

Black students and educators are facing several issues. Some states are using Critical Race Theory, which is taught at the college level, to ban lessons and books on racism and slavery in U.S. History.

At the same time, HBCUs are dealing with bomb threats, leading to canceled classes and campus-wide evacuations. Since January, three sets of threats have been called into multiple HBCUs, and while six people are persons of interest, no one has been arrested or charged for the ongoing threats.

According to five HBCU presidents interviewed by Axios, there are three reasons the teachings of Black history is insufficient in America: Black history is typically only taught in February, Black history is often separated from American history in schools, and Black history education is rarely taught outside the classroom and often doesn’t include trips to museums, exhibits, and events.

The presidents say one of the things that should change in the teaching of Black history is shifting the focus from the most prominent figures in Black history and focusing more on everyday and lesser-known Black heroes. Tuskegee University President Charlotte Morris added that the lessons taught can be incomplete or misguided because it is not being led by individuals who believe Black Americans contributed to American society.

Other events and lessons, such as the Tulsa Race Massacre, are completely left out, meaning an entire generation may not know an event took place at all.

Some HBCUs are trying to reverse these issues by integrating Black history into extracurricular activities, including speeches, roundtable discussions, symposiums, and fairs. HBCUs are also using book clubs or volunteer opportunities with alumni to integrate Black history into their lessons.

• Technology

by Black Enterprise Shop

February 10, 2022

Turn Any Room Into A Theater With This Portable Projector

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Streaming services are offered for nearly every surface. Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, FUBO TV, the list goes on. Portable access to watch whatever you desire has been a game-changer. You can now take your favorite shows and movies on the go with you, whether that’s on the airplane, the subway, or on road trips.

While viewing on your phone or tablet has provided countless hours of entertainment, there’s a way to get even more out of the streaming experience. Turn nearly any environment into a theater with this Mini Portable Smart Projector. For a limited time, it’s available for $265.99. That’s a savings of 43% from its MSRP ($469).

The Mini Portable Smart Projector is more than just a projector. It’s a device to which you can download your streaming service apps. It comes with dual WiFi capabilities so you watch your favorite series and movies without having to worry about annoying buffering.

This device ships with Android 2.0, and its 5,200mAh battery supports up to five hours of viewing entertainment. Entertainment is viewed at theater-quality, thanks to its 150” screen. Its dustproof projection lens offers optimum protection against unwanted scratches to the screen. With its dual-band (2.4/5GHz) capabilities, the device can support AirPlay, Miracast, as well as DLNA protocol.

Video isn’t the only thing the Mini Portable Smart Projector does well. Two five-watt speaker outputs are built into the device, giving you all you need to enjoy your video with crisp and crystal-clear sound. There’s also a headphone port with a 3.5mm connector.

If you’re ready to take your entertainment viewing up a notch, then the Mini Portable Smart Projector is just what you’re looking for. Purchase it while it’s available at its limited-time price of $265.99.

Prices subject to change.

Entertainment media mogul Byron Allen has announced that he will be bidding to become the first Black owner of a National Football League (NFL) team.

According to Bloomberg, Allen, the owner of Entertainment Studios, discussed the possibility of becoming an NFL owner. He stated that the commissioner of the league, Roger Goodell, and the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, approached him several years ago about placing a bid to purchase a team.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 9, 2022

Black Man Files Lawsuit After Being Wrongly Detained for Shoplifting in Ohio

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In Ohio, a Black man is suing two police officers and a local convenience store after he was detained for a shoplifting crime committed by a white man.

Eric Lindsay of Liberty Township was wearing a puffy orange coat when he went to the Meijer store on his way home from work on Jan. 29, 2021, Fox 19 reports. Lindsay just happened to walk into the store shortly after a shoplifting crime had taken place.

The shoplifting suspect was described as a white man in his 30s wearing a green or gray Carhart coat with a red hoodie underneath. However, as soon as Lindsay, a Black man in his 60s, walked into the store, he was stopped by police. Now, Lindsay is suing over his unlawful detention resulting in his “suffered humiliation, embarrassment, and severe emotional distress,” the suit states.

“In the same being as so many national instances where African-Americans have been confronted by law enforcement for engaging in their daily lives and doing nothing illegal, this case is about the unsupportable and illegal profiling, detention, accusing, and interrogation of an African-American customer by Police Officers and the complicit actions of the retail store where it occurred,” the lawsuit says.

Body-camera footage showed police ordering Lindsay to take his hands out of his jacket pockets while accusing him of concealing items in the jacket, The Daily Beast reports. Lindsay’s attorney, Fanon Rucker, said Lindsay was the only African-American in the store and “is the last person they should have stopped.

“They walked past a dozen or more shoppers, don’t speak to a single one, and go to him and start bothering him,” Rucker said.

While the store clerk and officers later apologized to Lindsay, the suit says the encounter reflected the racial profiling many people of color are subjected to on a regular basis.

• News

by Atiya Jordan

February 9, 2022

Snoop Dogg and Master P Announce New Rap Snack Collaboration

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When Snoop Dogg left Death Row in 1998, Master P offered him a life-changing opportunity to sign to his record label, No Limit. According to Snoop, that move “saved his life.” Now, the duo has teamed up on something special to represent Snoop’s iconic stature.

The legendary rappers recently announced via Instagram that they would be creating a new rap snack—Snoop Dogg Icon Chips—as the latest release from the Rap Snacks brand, as per BET. Rap Snacks co-founder Master P also brought on the iconic West Coast rapper as a brand ambassador.

“Don’t nobody have more chips than me. Just did a deal with the new brand ambassador, Snoop Dogg. We are family, and there’s enough for all of us to eat. We agreed on a 50/50 partnership. And the new Snoop Dogg Icon chips are coming soon in three flavors,” Master P said in an Instagram post announcing the deal.

Master P continued: “I’m committed to continuing educating and giving our people the blueprint on building economic empowerment. Trust the process. We’re taking over the grocery stores they can have the streets. Product outweighs talent, we made an empire with music, and now we are making generational wealth with products.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Master P (@masterp)

Rap Snacks, founded by CEO James Lindsay, was established by intersecting food and music. The company has collaborated with various hip-hop artists, including Meek Mill and Bel Biv Devoe, to launch the next great flavor options.

“I just think that hip-hop is so open; it has no limitations. And it connects with different brands and products right now because it’s dominant. It’s the most dominant category in music right now,” Lindsay said in a statement.

As an integral part of driving the brand’s mission, Master P is all for the betterment of Black people, especially in building wealth within the community.

“We let these companies make multibillion dollars from us, and we don’t have none of the ownership in this, and we don’t control it. You don’t have to own everything, but if you control it, then you can feed so many families,” Master P said in the video. “We not destroying the community, we building it up.

The Snoop Dogg Icon Chips release date has not yet been announced.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with a group of civil rights leaders who expressed their desire to eliminate the league’s Rooney Rule.

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, National Action Network Founder and President Rev. Al Sharpton, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation President and CEO Melanie Campbell, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, and National African American Clergy Network Co-Convener Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner requested the meeting with Goodell, according to ESPN.

The meeting was organized after Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams.

The Rooney Rule, established in 2003 after U.S. civil rights attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran threatened to sue the league, requires every team to interview at least one minority candidate for its head coaching positions before hiring.

During and after the meeting, the group expressed their desire to eliminate the Rooney Rule and set strict diversity goals and timelines to meet them.

“The Rooney Rule has been proven to be something the owners used to deceptively appear to be seeking real diversity,” Sharpton said in a statement. “We must have firm targets and timetables.”

Sharpton added the National Action Network would begin pressuring states and municipalities to cut public funding and tax incentives to NFL stadiums until firm commitments on timetables and goals are met.

Last season there were three Black head coaches in the NFL: Flores, who the Miami Dolphins fired; David Culley, who the Houston Texans fired after one season; and Mike Tomlin, who is about to enter his 16th season as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach.

Flores was replaced by Mike McDaniel, who is multiracial, and Culley was replaced by Lovie Smith, who is  Black and has previously coached the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy said after the meeting, “we had a productive and thoughtful conversation as the NFL shares the goal of ensuring that everyone has equitable access to opportunity. We look forward to continuing the dialogue.”

Civil rights leaders added they welcomed Goodell’s previous announcement of an independent review of the NFL’s DEI policies and initiatives and added the civil rights and racial justice community must be part of the review.

The presidents of HBCUs say they received bomb threats recently, but remain undeterred and will continue working to educate Black Americans.

“They are disappointed. They are traumatized,” Alcorn State University President Felecia Nave said of the bomb threats, according to NPR. “[But] they’re resilient. And they are resolved to continue to move forward and to make it known that we won’t be threatened, we won’t be scared away.”

Michelle Asha Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary for Higher Education Programs for the U.S. Department of Education, added she believes the threats were made to scare HBCU schools.

Florida Memorial University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Prairie View A&M, and Xavier University of Louisiana received bomb threats in early January. In addition, Howard University, Bowie State University, Delaware State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Albany State University, Southern University, and A&M College all received bomb threats on Feb 1., the first day of Black History Month.

No bombs or explosives were found on any HBCU campuses. The FBI identified six juveniles as persons of interest. The Associated Press reported one of the callers who phoned in a threat against Bethune-Cookman University claimed to be with the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division.

“This investigation is of the highest priority for the Bureau and involves more than 20 FBI field offices across the country,” the FBI said last week about its investigation into bomb threats at HBCUs. “These threats are being investigated as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes.”

HBCU presidents have noted the threats have come at a politically tense time in America. Republican states are trying to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory and outlaw books that teach the history of racism in the U.S. Many of these states are also restricting voting rights.

Walter Kimbrough, the president of Dillard University, compared the current threats of violence to what activists faced during the civil rights movement.

“We try to make civil rights a finite period of time. And now that we have some new challenges, we’re sort of trying to figure out, hey, what do we do with this,” Kimbrough told NPR.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 9, 2022

Kevin Hart Gifts Nick Cannon a Condom Vending Machine

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The recent baby-making exploits of Hollywood entertainer Nick Cannon continue to make headlines. Now, someone has gifted the 41-year-old actor with a vending machine… full of condoms.

On Tuesday, Cannon, who has seven children by four different women in addition to a baby on the way, took to Instagram to show off the present he recently received.

“Looks like somebody just sent me an early Valentine’s Day gift!! Vending Machine full of Magnums🤦🏾‍♂️❤️”

 

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A post shared by NICK CANNON (@nickcannon)

For those wondering who the culprit was, he revealed himself by snatching the photo Cannon took and posting it on his account. It was no one other than superstar comedian Kevin Hart who revealed that he sent the gift to Cannon.

“kevinhart4real I see u got my gift @nickcannon ….GOTCHA B*TCH!!!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂….Now u don’t have an excuse because the condoms are free 🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️☺️☺️ #PrankWars”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real)

Cannon recently announced that he is expecting his eighth child with real estate agent and Wild N’ Out model Bre Tiesi a few months after the death of his seventh child, Zen. On his daytime talk show last week, Cannon said he “sincerely apologizes” for revealing the news in the way he did. He also apologized to everyone it affected “for any extra pain or confusion” that the announcement caused.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 9, 2022

Judge in Chauvin Trial Likely Signed Warrant that Led to Police Shooting of Amir Locke

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Amid outrage over the recent police shooting of 22-year-old Amir Locke, it’s being reported that the judge from the Derek Chauvin trial might’ve been the one who signed off on the no-knock warrant that led to his death.

A spokesman for the Hennepin County District Court confirmed that Judge Peter Cahill was the signing judge last week who reviewed and signed off on applications for search warrants, NBC News reports. Officers fatally shot Locke last Wednesday during a no-knock warrant search that he wasn’t even named in.

The community in Minneapolis has been protesting Locke’s death following the unrest over George Floyd’s murder and the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright.

“The warrant granting authority to search the apartment is not publicly available so the Court cannot comment whether Judge Cahill specifically signed that application,” the spokesman, Matt Lehman, said.

Cahill is no stranger to the media spotlight after he was selected as the judge to preside over former officer Derek Chauvin’s trial that ended with his conviction on charges of second-and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

“Judge Cahill cannot comment on this particular application or any application for a search warrant because the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct (Rule 2.10) prohibits judges or Court staff from commenting on active or pending cases,” Lehman said.

Locke’s family has since hired civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump to seek justice in Locke’s death. Crump has been at the forefront of recent civil rights cases, including representing the family of Breonna Taylor. The latter was also killed during a botched police raid on her apartment in March 2020.

“Like the case of Breonna Taylor, the tragic killing of Amir Locke shows a pattern of no-knock warrants having deadly consequences for Black Americans,” Crump said.

“This is yet another example of why we need to put an end to these kinds of search warrants so that one day, Black Americans will be able to sleep safely in their beds at night.”

Locke was sleeping on the couch in the apartment where police conducted the raid. His mother, Karen Wells, said he was preparing to relocate to Dallas to be with her. Bodycam footage released last Thursday shows Officer Mark Hanneman kicking the couch and jolting Locke awake before the 22-year-old grabs the nearby gun that he legally owned, HuffPost reports.

Hannaman fired three gunshots at Locke, killing him about nine seconds after police entered the apartment. Locke’s parents say his death was an “execution.”