Carmelo Anthony Named NBA’s Inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion


Even though his off-the-court life might be a bit of a mess, on Tuesday, Portland Trail Blazers’ power forward Carmelo Anthony was named the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion by the NBA.

Although Anthony is wading through a divorce from his estranged wife, Power actress Lala Anthony after it was revealed that he allegedly fathered twins outside of his marriage, he has however made a name for himself as a champion for social justice causes.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the 10-time NBA All-Star was chosen from a group of five finalists “for his dedication over the past year to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged,” the NBA said.

“Humbled, honored, and motivated to live up to the namesake of this inaugural award,” Anthony wrote on Twitter. “I can promise that I’ll continue to carry the torch and shine a light in the places that need it most.”

Social Justice Champion

Anthony has quite an impressive resume of achievements which certainly backs up why he was picked as a social justice champion.

Earlier this year Anthony teamed up with “Miss Juneteenth,” 94-year-old activist Opal Lee and rallied in March to raise awareness about Juneteenth in hopes that it would someday become a national holiday. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was in fact signed into law by President Biden earlier this month.

Anthony, who has also played with the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, joined forced with his NBA peers Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns and former NBA star Dwyane Wade in July 2020 and started the Social Change Fund.

The organization promises to “invest in and support organizations that are working to liberate Black people and advocate for indigenous people and communities of color through the lens of policy solutions, community representation and narrative change,” according to the site.

The NBA star also lent his voice to the Vera Institute of Justice to promote criminal justice reform in a voice campaign. And the 36-year-old’s passion to create content led him to co-found the Creative 7 Productions, with his producing partner, business strategist Asani Swann. Projects on deck include an upcoming limited series called “Blood Brothers,” that centers on the kinship, friendship and brotherhood between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.

Notably, Anthony was also the pivotal force behind the launch of the Trail Blazers Racial Injustice Initiative, which has awarded more than $200,000 in funding to organizations “fighting systemic racism.”

“We have a long way to go,” Anthony told NBA.com after winning the award. “But I do see progress, I see the trajectory going in a nice direction. And I just want to help keep it there. I just want to continue the conversations, continue talking to the people. And the most important thing is continuing to listen to people. Because when you listen closely, you’re going to hear something and you’re going to hear a lot of important gems and things that you can actually take into consideration and move forward.”

Anthony also plans to drop a memoir titled, “Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised,” Sept. 14, 2021.

Books By Black Female Authors You Need On Your Radar This Summer


The pandemic may have slowed down many things, but it did not stop amazing books from coming our way. The following is a list of 10 must-read books by black female authors that should be on your summer reading list radar.

We Should All Be Millionaires (Rachel Rodgers)

We Should all be Millionaires, a Wall Street Journal best-seller, aims to change the way women think about money and their ability to earn it. Rachel Rodgers is a CEO, business coach, mother, wife and intellectual property lawyer who founded Hello Seven to help women scale their businesses and get their earnings to 7-figures without sacrificing their families or their sanity.

With a 4.6/5 rating on Good Reads, a 5/5 on Barnes & Noble, a 5 star rating on Amazon and a 4.9/5 on Audible, it’s safe to say, we aren’t the only ones digging this one!

Rachel Rodgers We Should all Be Millionaires

Professional Troublemaker (Luvvie Ajayi Jones)

If overcoming your fears to achieve your goals is the mission, let’s call Luvvie Ajayi Jones the mission controller. But, you know, a cool one — the type who makes you laugh, while barking orders and reading you for filth. Prepare to be motivated into action and laugh until your sides hurt.

Ajayi Jones is a 2x New York Times Best-selling author, a podcast host, keynote speaker (who slayed the TED stage), certified sneaker-head and a hilariously witty “Professional Troublemaker” who doesn’t hold her tongue. Read her book Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual then go grab her first one, I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual. You can thank us later.

 Wings of Ebony (J. Elle)

If you want to escape reality for a bit (we don’t blame you!), this instant New York Times best-selling fantasy novel may be the one for you. In this entrancing, powerfully moving debut, a Black teen from Houston has her world turned upside down when she learns about her godly ancestry and has to save both the god and human worlds.

In Wings of Ebony, Rue, the protagonist, is the only half-god, half-human in her world. A world where the “leaders protect their magical powers at all costs and thrive on human suffering.”

Sacred Woman – 20th Anniversary Edition (Queen Afua)

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her best-selling book, Sacred Woman, Queen Afua re-released a special edition featuring two exciting new chapters this year. Queen Afua is a highly sought-after master herbalist, often called on by the likes of Jada Pinkett-Smith, Erykah Badu and Mya, to understand how to harness the power of food. With over 50 years of experience helping others on their journey to green living and detoxing properly, this book truly encompasses her life’s work.

“Queen Afua teaches us how to love and rejoice in our bodies by spiritualizing the words we speak, the foods we eat, the relationships we attract, the spaces we live and work in, and the transcendent woman spirit we manifest.”

Bamboozled by Jesus (Yvonne Orji)

Actress and stand-up comedian, known best for her role as Molly on Issa Rae’s hit series Insecure is delivering a hilarious mix of comedy, bible study and memoir in Bamboozled by Jesus. Orji believes God is a prankster, and shares how he tricked her into living her wildest dreams.

The publisher describes it best, “This ain’t your mama’s Bible study. Yvonne infuses wit and heart in sharing pointers like why the way up is sometimes down, and how fear is synonymous to food poisoning. Her joyful, confident approach to God will inspire everyone to catapult themselves out of the mundane and into the magnificent.”

Bamboozled By Jesus

Get Over ‘I Got It’ (Elayne Fluker)

In this book, the author teaches us how to “Stop playing superwoman, get support, and remember that having it all doesn’t mean doing it all alone,” which is actually the subtitle. If you’ve suffered from feeling the need to do it all, this is the one for you as Fluker, who knows a thing (or five!) about having a busy plate, takes you by the hand teaching you how to ask for the support you need.

During the author’s 20-year media career, she held top editorial positions at Martha Stewart Living, iVillage.com, Condé Nast Digital, Essence, Latina and Vibe. As a women’s advocate, podcast host, journalist and media expert, Elayne Fluker has appeared in front of millions and is now here to tell millions why getting support is sexy.

Get Over I Got It

What Would Frida Do (Arianna Davis)

Arianna Davis, Oprah Daily’s Senior Director in charge of editorial and strategy, decided to write a unique, motivating biography on Frida. Frida Kahlo, born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, was a Mexican artist best known for her beautiful self-portraits, catchy quotes and unibrow. She was also a feminist. A force. A woman ahead of her time who endured a lot more than met the eye.

In this book, the authors helps you to find some of you in the way Frida lived. What Would Frida Do is educational, ridiculously self-reflective and inspiring.

What Would Frida Do

Get Good with Money (Tiffany Aliche)

We can all benefit from getting better at managing our finances and in this recently released New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling book, the Budgetnista shares 10 steps to make readers financially whole.

“Tiffany Aliche was a successful pre-school teacher with a healthy nest egg when a recession and advice from a shady advisor put her out of a job and into a huge financial hole. As she began to chart the path to her own financial rescue, the outline of her ten-step formula for attaining both financial security and peace of mind began to take shape. These principles have now helped more than one million women worldwide save and pay off millions in debt, and begin planning for a richer life.” In other words, if you want to sort your financial life out, grab Get Good With Money.

Get Good With Money

 Yolk (Jessamyn Stanley)

Jessamyn Stanley, a body positivity advocate, yoga teacher and author, shares a collection of extremely candid, humorous autobiographical essays, diving into the topics of self-love, imposter syndrome, cannabis and more.

“In Sanskrit, yoga means to “yoke.” To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of “yoke” is what Jessamyn Stanley calls the yoga of the everyday—a yoga that is not just about perfecting your downward dog but about applying the hard lessons learned on the mat to the even harder daily project of living.”

Just As I Am (Cicely Tyson & Michelle Burford)

This memoir by the late and great actress and advocate Cicely Tyson likely needs no introduction, but it’s here because it needs to be on everyone-who-hasn’t-yet-read-it’s reading list this summer.

From the words of Ms. Tyson herself, “Just as I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside. In these pages, I am indeed Cicely, the actress who has been blessed to grace the stage and screen for six decades. Yet I am also the church girl who once rarely spoke a word. I am the teenager who sought solace in the verses of the old hymn for which this book is named. I am a daughter and a mother, a sister and a friend. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. I am a woman who has hurt as immeasurably as I have loved, a child of God divinely guided by his hand. And here in my ninth decade, I am a woman who, at long last, has something meaningful to say.”

Streamline Your Workflow With This Web Tool That Integrates All Of Your Communication Apps

Streamline Your Workflow With This Web Tool That Integrates All Of Your Communication Apps


The state of the digital workplace has drastically changed over the course of the pandemic. Organizations used to only mainly utilize email, chat apps, and file-sharing platforms for collaborating across teams, but now, they juggle a plethora of software to execute their respective deliverables and meet their bottom line. 

Pre-pandemic, reports show that employees switch apps more than a staggering 1,100 times a day and waste 1 month a year just hopping from one app to another, resulting in a decrease in productivity. The average number of apps used by the modern worker also clocks in at 9.39, and the figure is likely to have increased due to a spike in remote working setups. This leads to what is called app fatigue, an issue that workers face when their employers overload them with apps to supposedly help them perform better at their jobs when what happens is the complete opposite. 

Clariti is aware of this problem, which is why they have come up with a solution to make a big difference to the modern worker’s workflow. 

Streamline your workflow

You can spend less time switching between programs and more time getting tasks done with Clariti. Ideal for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners, it unifies all business communication programs in one place and links them together for enhanced productivity and organization.

Aside from acting as a repository for the apps you use on a daily basis, Clariti also provides links between new communications and existing emails or messages and organizes them using TopicFolders. With this feature, you can easily find the context in your daily correspondence instead of taking the time to search for information in multiple apps. Pertinent data can easily get lost in silos, and this feature eliminates that very problem.

Do everything under one roof

With Clariti, you can pretty much enjoy every communication channel in one place. Not only does it allow users to chat, but it also lets them send and receive emails, and call or schedule to-do and events. No more delays in emails and chats, as everything can be accessed under one roof. 

Built with small businesses in mind, Clariti also integrates features like email, chat, audio calls, to-do lists, calendar, OrbitChat, built-in document folder, feeds, viewers, search, security and safety protocols, and cloud storage. The best part is it doesn’t require you to download anything, as it works only with desktop browsers. 

You don’t have to shell out a lot of money to enjoy all these benefits. You can sign up for a Clariti account for free—no credit information needed. You can choose to upgrade to a higher tier if you please, but achieving greater productivity doesn’t come with a price tag. 

Invest In Your Business With This $35 SEO Marketing Bundle

Invest In Your Business With This $35 SEO Marketing Bundle


One of the most effective ways to build your brand and generate more traffic is by creating a solid marketing presence online. Every business owner’s dream is to attract more customers, and since 53% of website traffic comes from organic search, you have to make sure you’re not missing out on potential site visitors by channeling more effort towards SEO marketing.

In The 2021 Google SEO & SERP Business Marketing Bundle, you’ll learn how to optimize your sites and pages so you can reach more customers — and it’s now available for only $34.98.

This 10-course bundle offers quick and comprehensive SEO lessons from Alex Genadinik, a business coach and three-time bestselling Amazon author. He’s also created multiple entrepreneurship mobile apps with more than two million downloads and has a 4.5/5 star instructor rating to top it all off.

In these courses, Genadinik will teach you how to make your website rank higher on search engine pages, no matter what line of business you’re in. You’ll also learn how to increase page rankings through effective keyword research and link building, how to use Google Citations to boost SEO for local businesses, explore dozens of unique marketing strategies, and so much more.

The bundle includes more advanced, specific courses involving the most up-to-date resources. You’ll learn how to optimize your pages for voice search, image search, and even how to increase your Amazon listings’ rankings. There’s also a class dedicated to growing your business through Google Shopping.

You can get lifetime access to these ten courses at a 98% discount on the sale price of $2,189. Right now, they’re all available for just $34.98, or $3.50 per course. We can’t stress how important SEO is for your business, so you can think of this bundle as an investment rather than a marketing cost.

Prices subject to change.

BLM Leaders Meet With Biden Administration Officials, Express Disappointment In Police Reform Talks

BLM Leaders Meet With Biden Administration Officials, Express Disappointment In Police Reform Talks


Black Lives Matter (BLM) leaders met with Biden administration officials and the group expressed disappointment in the administration’s effort in a police reform deal and proposals across the country to give more funding to police.

BLM leaders told CNBC in a statement it isn’t pleased with the administration’s efforts to enact police reform earlier this year. Most notably, police budgets across the U.S. are increasing including the LAPD and NYPD.

“Leaders from Black Lives Matter met with White House officials earlier this year to discuss our policy agenda, and while we appreciate the chance to talk with them, we are surprised by their lack of progress on issues that matter to Black people, the same communities that so strongly supported Biden-Harris during last year’s election,” the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation told CNBC Tuesday.

It’s unclear as to when this meeting took place or who was involved in the meeting. Politico reported in May BLM leaders have yet to meet with Biden officials.

U.S. lawmakers are still working on police reform, but Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) told NBC News that negotiations have hit a wall due to infighting between law enforcement groups.

“I worry that it could prevent us from coming to a deal. And you know what I think it would be a really sad statement about the profession that they would actually prevent reforms and refuse to modernize,” Bass said.

BLM was created in the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the killing of Trayvon Martin. Last year’s killing of George Floyd kicked off a resurgence for the group and the movement in general as national and worldwide protests ran all summer and more than 100 large U.S. corporations made pledges of racial equity and diversity.

Biden is currently between a rock and a hard place when it comes to policing. On the one hand, Biden is trying to appease Black Americans with police reform. On the other hand, Biden is trying to curb the explosion of guns and gun violence across the country.

The latter has led Biden to announce states could take from the $350 billion in stimulus funds in order to help metro police departments deal with guns. However, that has upset BLM leaders who believe there are many other priorities the Biden administration can deal with.

“And now we see the President arguing for increased spending on police rather than investing in housing, education, climate preparedness and healthcare,” said Black Lives Matter’s statement to CNBC said. “This is no time to return to the dangerous days of the tough-on-crime fear-mongering of the 1990s when more cops were placed in our neighborhoods, rather than services that improve lives and keep Black communities safe.”

Floyd Mayweather Claims to Have Earned $100M from ‘A Fake Fight’


It wasn’t exactly the fight of the year, but it did make enough noise that it garnered major attention from sports fans.

Over the weekend, undefeated pugilist “Money” Floyd Mayweather admittedly boasted that his boxing match with YouTuber Logan Paul was “fake,” but he walked away with some real coins to the tune of $100 million dollars.

After a boxing match, where his protégé Gervonta Davis scored an 11th-round knockout against his opponent, Mario Barrios, which paved the way for Davis to claim the WBA super lightweight title, Mayweather is caught on video boasting about his money-making abilities.

“I’m the only person that can do a fake fight and get 100 M’s (millions),” Mayweather says.“ I could do legalized sparring and get 100 M’s. Am I the best bank robber? Cause I don’t know nobody in sports that’s my age that can still stick ’em up like that.”

Mayweather’s comments elicited reactions from some social media users.

If what Mayweather claimed is true, he is in the lead for repeating his title of the highest-paid athlete of the decade.

Back in December 2019, according to Forbes, the retired boxer was the highest-paid athlete last decade.

Mayweather has earned an astounding $915 million since 2010 which turned out to be $115 million more than the next athlete on this perennial list. In just two highly publicized fights against Manny Pacquiao (2015) and Conor McGregor (2017), Mayweather took home more than $500 million combined. Mayweather announced back in 2019 that he was coming out of retirement in 2020. The boxer made this announcement via his Instagram account, “@danawhite and I working together again to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020. #boxing #UFC #mma #mayweatherpromotions

Fast Friends: F9 Co-Stars Tyrese And The Rock Are No Longer Feuding


Fast and Furious co-stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and singer Tyrese Gibson had a well-documented feud back in 2017. The two movie stars are not only back on speaking terms, but, according to Tyrese, the two of them have recently “been on the phone every other day.”

At least, this is the story Tyrese is sticking to!

Tyrese appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show with comedian Tiffany Haddish guest hosting to discuss the latest installment in the Fast and Furious series titled F9. The movie comes out just in time for the July 4th celebration weekend.

Tyrese told Haddish that he and The Rock have been speaking a lot lately.

“We’ve been on the phone every other day. We reconnected in a real way. I think we’re both better men on the other side of all that stuff that went down. To be honest, I didn’t know how the phone call would happen. But it did happen and we’re about 20 phone calls in. We’re in a competition right now on who can leave the longest voice note.”

According to ET Canada, Tyrese previously dissed The Rock publicly because The Rock and Jason Statham had agreed to do a spinoff movie for their Fast and Furious characters Hobbs & Shaw. Tyrese essentially blamed The Rock for being the reason that the ninth film, which is this current movie, had been delayed.

Tyrese also publicly dissed The Rock once again back in 2019 after the spinoff movie was released. He said then that the film was a financial disappointment because it only took in $60.8 million domestically and $120 million internationally when it was released. While most people wouldn’t quite call that a failure, it was, however, the action franchise’s lowest opening total since 2006’s “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.”

Tyrese also publicly accused The Rock of “breaking up the family.”

In the recent interview, Tyrese also stated, “Honestly, this is going to be the most vulnerable Fast that we have done. It’s one thing for you to confront bad guys, and it’s another thing for your bad guy that happens to be your brother. It’s a different kind of vulnerability.”

Check out the full interview:

Generous Customer Shocks Restaurant Workers; Pays A Hefty $16,000 Tip For A $37 Tab

Generous Customer Shocks Restaurant Workers; Pays A Hefty $16,000 Tip For A $37 Tab


A group of waiters and waitresses at a New Hampshire bar and grill got the surprise of their life when a generous patron paid it forward in a big way.

A restaurant patron who showed up at the Stumble Inn Bar & Grill in Londonderry ordered hot dogs, cocktails, and fried pickles which totaled just over $37. The mystery man who had been sitting alone on an outdoor patio left a whopping $16,000 tip, according to NBC Boston.

“I thought it was a mistake,” the restaurant’s owner, Mike Zarella, said in the interview. “Typo.”

After the customer confirmed that the amount was not a mistake or joke, the staff was overjoyed and could hardly contain themselves. The bar and grill’s staff split tips between eight employees, waiters, waitresses, and even the cook.

“It’s just been a really rough year for all of us. For someone to do something like that really restored my faith in humanity. He just said that we work really hard and he wanted to do something nice and he just really wanted us to have it,” bartender Michelle McCudden told NBC Boston.

Overall profit losses can still be felt in the restaurant industry, even as pandemic restrictions ease. Quartz analyzed changes in restaurant employment. Daniel Zhao—who works as an economist at the job recruiting website known as Glassdoor— noted the high rate of hospitality and restaurant industry workers who are exiting the industry.

“There may be a permanently lower number of workers available to restaurants as workers who left the industry during the pandemic decide to move on to greener pastures,” Zhao informed Quartz by email.

Lack of workers led some employers to raise wage offers to give incentives to stay or return.

The tip this staff received is certainly a notable incentive.

Did Queen Latifah Confirm That She Has A Child With Her Partner, Eboni Nichols?


Queen Latifah hit the BET stage on Sunday and accepted accolades for a lifetime of honorable achievements that span from music to musicals, to movies and primetime TV.

But it’s what she said during her acceptance speech that has everyone captivated and asking the question: “Does Queen Latifah have a child we don’t know about?”

Could be.

Queen Latifah, born Dana Owens, may have let the cat out of the bag in a casual way when she thanked her partner, Eboni Nichols during her acceptance speech.

In fact, according to MSN’s analysis of the matter, during the 2021 BET Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech at Microsoft Theater on June 27, 2021, the rapper, producer, and actress added an unfamiliar name at the end of her speech and that’s what sparked everyone’s curiosity. Inquiring minds want to know if “Rebel” is indeed a part of the couple’s family.

“Eboni, my love, Rebel, my love,” Queen Latifah said.

After making comment, the entertainer added, “Happy Pride.”

So, who is Rebel?

Queen Latifah has a reputation of keeping her private life under wraps, so she has not confirmed nor denied what she meant in her reference to someone named “Rebel.”

Back in 2012, Queen Latifah performed at Long Beach’s Lesbian & Gay Pride event. At that time, she remarked that performing for a gay pride show was fun, but Queen Latifah had not come out as gay just yet.

Despite the star’s privacy demands, photos and rumors occasionally turn up. In 2019, Radar Online reported that a source who is close to Queen Latifah confirmed that she and Nichols were parents of a baby.

“Eboni and the baby have given Latifah something very special to live for,” the unnamed source told Radar Online.

The story also mentioned that Queen Latifah had been seen going to a medical facility which “specializes in the treatment of “advanced cancer and blood diseases.”

Additionally, Nichols supposedly sported a baby bump in 2019, per an additional Radar Online report that included photos of an infant and Nichols.

 

Heartbroken Mother Still Waiting For Arrest Of ATV Driver Who Crashed And Killed Her Daughter

Heartbroken Mother Still Waiting For Arrest Of ATV Driver Who Crashed And Killed Her Daughter


An Atlanta mother has been left heartbroken after losing her daughter and only child to an ATV accident where the driver fled the scene.

Niani Gibson was on an ATV with an unidentified man on May 16 when the driver crashed at Metropolitan Parkway and St. John’s Avenue, WSB- TV reports. However, instead of stopping and getting help for Gibson, the driver fled and left Gibson lying on the road with a gash to her head. She died a day later.

“But the fact that you chose to leave her on the street, you left someone on the street with their head busted open. What kind of person does that? What kind of person are you?,” Niani’s mother Ericka Gibson said.

Ericka described her 26-year-old daughter as “a beautiful person, inside and out,” who left behind a 4-year-old son.

“I don’t even know what justice would look like because my baby ain’t here, and this baby has to grow up without a mommy,” Ericka said.

Atlanta police recently released surveillance footage of the ATV driver accused of leaving Niani to die.

“He got off of the ATV and got on another one and left my baby in the street,” Gibson said, as captured by CBS Atlanta.

“We don’t know where he is, so we need you to turn yourself in,” Gibson’s friend Keona Jones added.

Now the Public Safety Commission is hoping to propose that off-road vehicles, like ATVs and motorbikes, be required to display identification like a license plate.

“Removing an individual’s [ability] to hide behind who they are or who the vehicle belongs to. Obviously, we have a much better track record of countering activity with cars because we know who the vehicle belongs to,” said Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum.

Ericka is devastated and reflecting on the loss of her daughter coming on the anniversary of the death of her mother, Dorothy Height, who died on May 16, 2016.

“My mama died May 16. They hit [Niani] on the anniversary of my mama’s death,” she said.

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