Sha’Carri Richardson Thanks Girlfriend After Win For Choosing Vibrant Hair Color
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 25, 2021

Sha’Carri Richardson Thanks Girlfriend After Win For Choosing Vibrant Hair Color

Sha’Carri Richardson is making strides during Pride Month and making sure to thank her girlfriend along the way.

The country’s fastest woman took the time to shout out her girlfriend after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. Richardson donned fiery orange hair while dominating the 100-meter women’s sprint at the Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Ore. on June 19, Advocate reports.

After winning the race with a time of 10.86 seconds, Richardson credited her girlfriend for helping her put her eye-catching look together.

“My girlfriend actually picked my color,” Richardson told USA Today on June 18. “She said it like spoke to her, the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am.”

On Juneteenth, she followed her special shoutout by tweeting out a rainbow emoji that sent the Twitter community ablaze.

https://twitter.com/itskerrii/status/1406315591611289605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1406315591611289605%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fsports%2F2021%2F6%2F21%2Fshacarri-richardson-thanked-her-girlfriend-after-making-olympic-team

“This is all we needed to see,” one person said in response. “Dude make a YouTube channel so that everyone can see your lively personality,” added someone esle. “I know you have haters, but deep down they’ll probably become obsessed with you like how they do Lebron. Just my opinion.”

Richardson praised her grandmother and supportive family following her big win. She also shared the recent hardships she faced after losing her biological mother the week before.

“My grandmother is my heart. My grandmother is my superwoman,” Richardson said. “Honestly, that was one of my biggest goals in life – to have her see me compete in one of the highest levels, and be successful.”

While she didn’t elaborate on the loss of her mother, Richardson thanked her for bringing her into the world.

“That’s not anything I want to talk about, so I’m not going to get too much into details,” she said. “… But what I will say is I am grateful for her giving me life, bringing me into this world.”

Jesse Jackson Arrested For Protesting Senate Republicans’ Filibuster
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 25, 2021

Jesse Jackson Arrested For Protesting Senate Republicans’ Filibuster

Capitol police didn’t do much arresting during the January 6 insurrection. But they had time to arrest 79-year-old Rev. Jesse Jackson for protesting a Republican-led filibuster.

The civil rights leader and social justice activist Rev. William Barber II were both arrested on Wednesday during a Capitol Hill protest in response to Senate Republicans blocking legislation to counteract the restrictive voting laws recently enacted, News One reported.

Jackson and Barber were participating in the “Moral March on Manchin and McConnell,” a rally put together by the Poor People’s Campaign to call out West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and other Republican lawmakers to get the “For The People” voting rights bill passed, CNN reported.

They were among the 21 people arrested on Wednesday for crowding and obstructing.

“When you start rolling back voter registration, rolling back early voting, undermining mail in balloting, putting limits on people even being able to get water, doing racist gerrymandering, class-based gerrymandering, you hurt Black people, you hurt White people, you hurt Asians, Natives, Latinos, young people, and the disabled,” Barber told CNN.

Barber stood in the middle of Constitution Avenue as swarms of demonstrators marched behind him with a banner that read “Manchin, stop hurting West Virginia: Stop the filibuster.” The pastor said he didn’t mind getting arrested to make sure his message was heard, Religion News reported.

“It took this to win it, it’s going to take this to keep it,” Barber said.

Jackson shared the same rhetoric ahead of his arrest.

“We come not as an insurrection group, but as a resurrection group,” Jackson said. “Today we must fill up the jails. If you call yourself a child of God, you oughta act like it sometimes.”

The protests were in response to the Senate’s recent failure to sign voting rights legislation dubbed the “For the People Ac”t that would undo the recent restrictions a number of Republican-led states put into place, including limiting mail-in voting and poll hours.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 25, 2021

Kanye West Files Lawsuit Against Walmart for Selling Knockoff Yeezys

Kim Kardashian has been taking classes to become a lawyer, yet it seems as if her soon-to-be ex-husband is the one in court all the time now!

According to The New York Post, Kanye West and his Yeezy brand sneaker label filed a lawsuit against the megastore retailer Walmart, accusing them of selling fake knock-offs of his shoes.

The complaint against Walmart was filed Thursday in a California court in Los Angeles. The suit claims the giant discounter has been selling knock-off versions of his sold-out Foam Runner slides.

“Walmart is flagrantly trading off of his and Yeezy brand’s popularity by offering for sale an imitation version of the Yeezy Foam Runner,” according to the lawsuit filed. The document makes a claim that “the Yeezy brand is worth billions of dollars, and that the potential loss from the knock-off shoes is in the ‘hundreds of millions.’”

According to Hypebeast, the “Daeful Mens Womens Kids Summer Beach Shoes Foam Runner Anti Slipper Sandals Casual” were priced between $23.99 and $24.49 USD and were seen and sold on Walmart’s website. It states that an exact replica of YEEZY‘s unique design sells for $80. In the suit, it claims that the footwear, which comes in seven different colors, is losing millions of dollars because of Walmart’s sale of the “fake YEEZY Foam Runners.”

“Consumers likely would have purchased the Yeezy Foam Runner were it not for the cheaper, knock-off imitation shoe,” according to the complaint.

Walmart has released a statement in regards to the filed lawsuit. “The product referenced in the complaint is not sold by Walmart, but rather by third-party Marketplace sellers. We take allegations like this seriously and are reviewing the claim. We will respond in court as appropriate after we have been served with the complaint.”

Florida Woman Person of Interest In Death of Two Young Daughters
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 25, 2021

Florida Woman Person of Interest In Death of Two Young Daughters

A Florida mother has been deemed a suspect in connection with the death of her two young daughters.

Tinessa Hogan, 36, was listed as a person of interest after her two daughters’ bodies were found in a South Florida canal on Tuesday, NBC News reported. Destiny Hogan, 9, and Daysha Hogan, 7, were found dead just eight hours apart in a canal located outside the city of Fort Lauderdale, police said Wednesday.

Lt. Mike Bigwood confirmed that Hogan was not in police custody but police were aware of her location. Bigwood could not elaborate on why Hogan was not arrested due to legal reasons. The two girl’s exact cause of death is still not known as the medical examiner’s office investigates.

“At this point, I would classify it as two suspicious deaths. We are definitely treating it as if it was a criminal investigation,” Bigwood said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The two girls were last seen with their mother around 5 p.m. on Monday. A neighbor said the mother was acting strangely.

“She was in the water swimming, she had a bible and she told me to come here. I said, ‘Why?’ She said she wanted to baptize me,” Lawana Johnson said, according to Newsweek.

A neighbor, identified only as Kenyani, who lives near the canal with his mother said his mother also noticed how strangely Hogan was acting. The next morning, they saw the bodies.

“It was just horrifying and traumatizing,” Kenyani said.

During the press conference, Bigwood said police have received similar information about Hogan being in the canal offering to baptize people in the neighborhood.

“At this time, we are exploring all possible leads. Detectives have been working nonstop since yesterday,” he said. “I think any knowledge of the family, the family dynamic, activities that the family engaged in together, just general information about who they were and what their day to day life was like would be extremely helpful.”

The Justice Department Is Suing Georgia Over Its Voting Restrictions Bill
by Derek Major

June 25, 2021

The Justice Department Is Suing Georgia Over Its Voting Restrictions Bill

Reuters – The U.S. Justice Department will file a lawsuit on Friday challenging a Georgia election law that imposes new limits on voting, saying that it infringes on the rights of Black voters, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

The Georgia law, which also bans the distribution of water or food to people waiting on long lines at polling places, is one of a wave of new measures https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-erect-voting-barriers-across-number-politically-crucial-us-states-2021-06-15 passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures this year, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his November election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.

“This lawsuit is the first of many steps we are taking to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote,” Garland told a news conference. “We are scrutinizing new laws that seek to curb voter access and when we see violations of federal law, we will act.”

The lawsuit is the first of many actions the Justice Department plans to protect Americans’ right to vote, Garland said. It will also be offering new guidance on post-election audits, following a wave of challenges to the results of the 2020 supporters by Trump supporters, and issue the FBI and federal prosecutors new directions to prosecute threats to election workers.

After a sweeping Democratic-sponsored bill aimed at protecting access to the ballot died on a party-line vote https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-voting-rights-plan-faces-long-odds-us-senate-2021-06-22 in the Senate this week, President Joe Biden vowed to take other steps to protect voting rights.

The Republican governors of Arizona, Florida and Iowa have also signed new voting restrictions this year, while state legislatures in Pennsylvania and Texas are trying to advance similar measures.

The Georgia law, signed by Governor Brian Kemp on March 25, tightened absentee ballot identification requirements, restricted ballot drop-box use and allowed a Republican-controlled state agency to take over local voting operations. The state was a key battleground in the 2020 presidential election.

President Joe Biden, who became the first Democratic presidential candidate in three decades to win Georgia, has staunchly criticized Georgia’s new law, calling it an “atrocity.”

Trump repeatedly sought to pressure election officials in Georgia after losing the state to Biden. In a phone call to the secretary of state, Trump asked him to “find” the votes that would be needed to overturn his election loss.

He also pressured the Justice Department to oust the U.S. Attorney in the Atlanta region. His actions are now under investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)

Amanda Seales Called Out For Defending Shaun King Against Samaria Rice
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 25, 2021

Amanda Seales Called Out For Defending Shaun King Against Samaria Rice

Amanda Seales was issued a few reads on Twitter after she interjected herself into Samaria Rice and Shaun King’s feud.

King became a trending topic this week after he was called out by Tamir Rice’s mom on Instagram. In a lengthy statement shared online, Samaria accused Shaun of being a “white man trying to be Black” and profiting off her son’s death without her approval, NY Post reports.

While Shaun has remained silent on Samaria’s shade, one person who came to his defense was none other than outspoken actress/comedian Amanda Seales. After the story was reported on by The Shaderoom Thursday, she hopped into their comments offering her two cents on the matter.

“It’s no secret that i have sideyed SK. However, bigger picture, nobody finds it somewhat odd that she’s just, out the blue, going out of her way, and being given EVERY platform, with no receipts shown, to “call out,” one by one, black activists/organizers that have been the visible faces of the movement? Just food for thought,” she wrote, as noted by Shine My Crown.

But not everyone was on the same side of the fence as Amanda was on this sensitive topic. Considering that Samaria has been speaking out against popular activists only as it relates to the tragic death of her 12-year-old son, many found Amanda’s stance to be insensitive to Samaria’s ongoing fight for justice for Tamir Rice.

“Were you planning to ask Shaun King and these other “activists” to provide receipts showing the donations went to the right recipients? Since you care so much about receipts,” one Twitter user said while tagging Amanda to screenshots of her controversial comment.

https://twitter.com/PNoirWest/status/1408129870807265281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408129870807265281%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fshinemycrown.com%2Famanda-seales-defends-shaun-king-blasts-samaria-rice-for-going-on-every-platform%2F

“That woman has every right to speak on anything anyone using her son’s name does and she doesn’t need receipts,” added someone else. “That’s her child. She didn’t ask anyone to make him the face of a movement or to act on his behalf. WTF is wrong with Amanda Seales? (that’s a rhetorical question)”

“I was soooo confused by her comment,” someone else tweeted. “Like what? How is this out of the blue when everytime Ms. Rice spoke it was after an incident had occurred. Tamika performed on that awards show, she spoke out. SK did an interview, she spoke out. When does “out of the blue” come into play?”

It looks like Amanda might want to read the room next time before offering her unsolicited opinion on a delicate situation.

V.P. Kamala Harris Visits Southern Border Amid GOP Pressure
by Derek Major

June 25, 2021

V.P. Kamala Harris Visits Southern Border Amid GOP Pressure

Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border Friday since President Joe Biden put her in charge of the border situation and amid increasing GOP pressure.

According to ABC News, Harris will visit a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Central Processing Center in El Paso, TX. She will also meet with migrants, nonprofit organizations, immigration attorneys and hold a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Harris will be joined by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) who represent the El Paso area.

Democrats and Republicans have been pressuring the Biden Administration to visit the border. The calls for Harris to visit the border grew after she visited Guatemala and Mexico but bypassed the border. Rather than find a better way to manage the border, the Biden Administration wants to determine the root causes of migration

Even when this trip was announced, many wondered why Harris chose to visit El Paso as opposed to the Rio Grande Valley, where there is a higher flow of migrants crossing and an overcrowded CBP facility.

Harris’ spokeswoman Symone Sanders defended Harris’ position.

“El Paso being the birthplace of the previous administration’s family separation policy,” Sanders said according to NBC News. “It is an important part of the story here, and one that you can expect we will continue to tell tomorrow on the ground.”

Sanders added the trip isn’t about playing politics, but “really about building on the work that she has been doing. This is not happening in a vacuum and it is not just to go and see.”

Harris’ office announced the trip not long after Former President Donald Trump announced he would visit the border with Texas Gov. Greg Abbot and Republican lawmakers.
In March, Biden told migrants not to come to the border and in early June, Harris told migrants in Guatemala not to come to the border because the journey was dangerous and would mainly benefit smugglers. However, neither statement has curbed those coming to the border.
HarperCollins Publishers Is Now The Official Publisher of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Archives
by Andrea Blackstone

June 25, 2021

HarperCollins Publishers Is Now The Official Publisher of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Archives

HarperCollins Publishers—which is the world’s second-biggest consumer book publisher— reached a deal to become the official publisher of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives.

Per a press release issued by the publisher, “world rights to publish from the archives of Dr. King across all formats,’  include ebooks, audiobooks, journals, and graphic novels. The negotiated agreement included an agent and manager of King’s estate, in addition to Judith Curr, who is the president and publisher of HarperOne Group. To compliment the timing of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the initial titles are scheduled for U.S. publishing in January of 2022.

“We are thrilled to be the official publisher of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s archives,” Curr said. “We view this as a unique global publishing program, leveraging the company’s collective creative efforts to develop region-specific yet universally appealing publications that illustrate how extensive and inclusive Dr. King’s work is. We see this as an opportunity to further solidify Dr. King’s legacy as one of the world’s essential figures in the fight for justice and equality.”

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Local Memphis added that Beacon Press had been publishing King’s works since 2009. According to the interview, the literary agent who represented the late civil rights leader’s estate, remarked that sales performance had been recently  ‘disappointing.’

“We felt the books had to be packaged in a much more contemporary way,” Amy Berkower said.

Although this significant deal marks a new partnership, HarperCollins Publishers published several of King’s works, including his first book called “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” according to the recent announcement.

“The King estate is pleased to return the publishing rights to Dr. King’s literary archive to his original publisher. Dr. King’s prophetic message of peace, hope, love, and equality continues to impact the world today. That message is needed now more than ever. We look forward to utilizing HarperCollins’s global footprint to continue the perpetuation of Dr. King’s wonderful legacy through new creative literary projects,” Eric D. Tidwell said.

Tidwell works as the Managing Director and General Counsel of Intellectual Properties Management, Inc. (IPM).

Morehouse College previously made efforts to preserve King’s priceless collections, which includes ‘drafts of the “I Have a Dream” speech, King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, and sermons from his ministry and personal notes.’ Additionally, leaders established a multi-million-dollar deal to prevent Sotheby’s in New York from auctioning the items. King’s studies at Morehouse College began when he was 15, according to Morehouse’s website.

 

AOC Slams All-White Group Infrastructure Negotiators ‘That’s How You Get GOP On Board’
by Derek Major

June 25, 2021

AOC Slams All-White Group Infrastructure Negotiators ‘That’s How You Get GOP On Board’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the all-white group of senators who came to a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure package pointing out the group’s lack of diversity and arguing the deal excluded marginalized communities.

“The diversity of this ‘bipartisan coalition’ pretty perfectly conveys which communities get centered and which get left behind when leaders prioritize bipartisan dealmaking over inclusive lawmaking (which prioritizes delivering the most impact possible for the most people),” the Progressive Democrat tweeted alongside a photo of the group of lawmakers with President Joe Biden outside the White House on Thursday.

“The exclusion & denial of our communities is what DC bipartisan deals require. That’s how you get GOP on board: don’t do much/any for the working class & low income, or women, or POC communities, or unions, etc. We must do more.”

Ocasio-Cortez has noted in the past that communities of color have been left behind and ignored is typically what allowed the bipartisan deal to get done.

The bipartisan group that agreed on an infrastructure package included Republicans Mitt Romney (Utah), Rob Portman (OH), Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME), and Lisa Murkowski of (AK). The Democratic senators included Joe Manchin (W.V.), Jon Tester (MT), Mark Warner of (VA), Jeanne Shaheen of (NH), and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ).

The group’s $1 trillion package included $579 billion in new spending dedicated to physical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, broadband access, and public transit. However, it excludes Biden’s plans to fund childcare, paid family leave, and free community college.

Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the only Democrat upset with the deal including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“There ain’t going to be an infrastructure bill unless we have the reconciliation bill passed by the United States Senate,”  Pelosi told reporters Thursday.

Senate Democrats plan to bring forth the other parts excluded from the infrastructure package the reconciliation, which allows the bill to pass on a party-line vote.

Ocasio-Cortez also attacked Republicans for blocking the For The People Act, saying “a minority of Senators” shouldn’t be able to “block voting rights for millions of people.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 25, 2021

Girl Dad + ‘Fast And Furious’ Star Ludacris Talks About Expecting Baby Number 4

Rapper and actor Christopher Brian Bridges, who we know as Ludacris, with his “Southern Hospitality” is expecting another child, thus making it his fourth baby! The baby will be the second child with his wife, Eudoxie Bridges.

According to Today, the actor, who has been involved in the “Fast and Furious” franchise since the second installment, is expecting his fourth child, which will be the second with his wife, Eudoxie. Earlier this week, he made an appearance on Today to speak about his upcoming latest addition to his family. He has three daughters, Karma, 13, Cai, 6, and Candace, who is 5.

The Atlanta rapper was on the show to promote the latest “Fast and Furious” feature, “F9”, which is being released today.

Since he has all girls, “Today” weatherman and host, Al Roker, asked Ludacris if he was “holding out for a boy?”

Ludacris responded by saying, “I will be happy with whatever the Most High wants to give me. We don’t know the sex of the child. We’re gonna wait until the day. It’s like one of the only things that’s left to just be unpredictable these days, and it’s exciting.”

The “What’s Your Fantasy” rapper also spoke about being a girl dad.

“There’s so many great things that have happened from me being a girl dad,” he said. “One, in particular, I have a Netflix series called ‘Karma’s World’ that comes out at the end of this fall, and it’s literally to enrich and empower young girls.”

Late last year, Netflix had announced that Ludacris, 9 Story Media Group, and Karma’s World Entertainment will be producing a new CG animated series, Karma’s World.

“I’ve had a lot of accomplishments in my life, but everything that I’ve experienced seems to have led up to this point to where I can leave a legacy for all my daughters,” says Ludacris in a written statement. “Karma’s World is one of those legacies. I hope this series will show kids that there are many ways to overcome difficult situations. This show is going to move hip-hop culture forward, and show young girls that they have the power to change the world. This project has been a long time in the making and I can’t wait to bring Karma’s World to the entire world.”

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