• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 17, 2021

The Delay in Obama’s Presidential Center Sets New Record

---

The delay in opening Barack Obama’s presidential center has set a new record as groundbreaking for the center is set to possibly begin this summer.

In recent decades, presidential libraries were opened in about half the time as its taken for Obama’s to even pass the review to get erected, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama’s center was scheduled to open this year, but a number of lawsuits, fundraising efforts, and federal reviews have caused an increased delay.

It took a little over 1,000 days from Ronald Regan’s last day in office for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to welcome visitors. Bill Clinton’s took 1,398 days. George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush averaged 1,653 days while Obama’s center is set to open more than 3,100 days since the 44th president’s final day in office.

Obama’s center is expected to include a museum, offices for his Obama Foundation, a public library, and recreational space, The Hill reported. However, the center has faced a number of legal challenges and federal reviews that have prevented its construction from even beginning.

The building was set to be built inside Jackson Park in Chicago’s South Side. The location is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has faced opposition from the nonprofit Protect Our Parks. The organization feels the center would cause traffic disruptions and environmental damage.

Officials for the center have responded to community outcry by pledging to devote 35 percent of construction jobs to residents of Chicago’s South and West sides, according to The Hill. They also promise to provide funding for job training.

“The Obama Presidential Center represents a historic opportunity for Chicago: a chance to build a world-class museum and public gathering space that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady,” a spokesperson for the center said.

“Not only will the Center generate billions of dollars of economic opportunity and help revitalize Jackson Park, it will also serve as a reminder to young visitors–from around the city and around the world–that their potential is limitless,” the statement said adding that it will be “a first of its kind for a presidential center.”

Jon Gosiery, the founder and CEO of FilmHedge, worked at the illustrious Tyler Perry Studios, where he learned the ins and outs of movie production. Now Gosier is using those gems to help aspiring filmmakers find their footing by securing financing for their feature films, TV shows or documentaries.

Applying for a FilmHedge loan involves detailing a prospective project and its stages of development. Completing information such as justifying why you need the requested funding amount, sharing how much equity has been raised, and submitting other relevant prescreening details is also required.

ATLANTAINNO reported that the Atlanta-based financial technology startup, co-founded by Janelle Alexander and Mickey Vetter, raised $2 million to support the company’s lending software. Additionally,  an unnamed investment bank partnered with FilmHedge. Applying for financing does take adequate preparation. However, the company is equipped to provide fixed-interest loans of up to $1 million, in addition to credit lines up to $5 million.

The interview also noted that a producer must possess a letter of intent from a company that wants to buy the completed film, since FilmHedge is specifically designed for professional or semi-professional filmmakers.  As long as the applying company can meet the criteria, funding can be achieved through the objective process, according to Gosier.

“There’s no reading scripts,” Gosier said. “There’s no, ‘I’ll fund it if you put my son or daughter in the movie.’”

The next session at #Cannes2019 is starting and the role of banks and financial institutions in supporting filmmakers and local film industries is discussed. Featuring Maijang Mpherwane from IDC and Jon Gosier, facilitated by Ernest White ll pic.twitter.com/ARVaNpHBtP

— National Film & Video Foundation (@nfvfsa) May 17, 2019

In 2015, USA Today noted that Gosier has been recognized as a well-to-do tech entrepreneur and angel investor after working in the music industry and wanting to become a filmmaker. Gosier worked at Tyler Perry’s studio, but was left feeling unsatisfied with the entertainment business. At one point, he launched a software development company called Appfrica.

“I like to take leaps of faith,” Gosier told USA Today. 

In a 2019 interview, Georgia Entertainment News noted that Gosier spent 10 years managing his entrepreneurial and investor roles, but he is unafraid of investing in risks. Southbox Entertainment was another one of Gosier’s efforts to provide a capital source for independent filmmakers and TV producers in Atlanta.

“Most films, especially big budget Hollywood films, are financed by entities in cities like Los Angeles, New York, or London. That’s where the real decisions are made about what gets funded,” Gosier said in the interview. “My mission is to help Atlanta become one of those cities. To do that, you have to push to get into quality deals wherever they may originate.”

Please click this link to read more about FilmHedge.

• Black Lives Matter

by Christian Spencer

June 17, 2021

Racist Proud Boys Are Making Money Off Black Lives Matter Merchandise; Could Be Wearing Them At Protests

---

If you have Black Lives Matter gear, you might have purchased it from a racist.

The leader of the far -right Proud Boys has revealed that one of his companies has been profiting off Black Lives Matter slogans, and there is a good chance his racist followers are ironically buying them in support of the pro-Trump group.

Disgraced leader and FBI informant Enrique Tarrio told The Wall Street Journal part of the group’s financial operations of late is selling “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts because according to them, PayPal and Stripe card-processing companies refused to allow their traditional products to be sold.

Related stories: PROUD BOYS JEOPARDIZE PRODUCTION OF COLIN KAEPERNICK’S NETFLIX SERIES ‘COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE’ 

The Journal couldn’t officially confirm the name of the Proud Boys’ website that sells inauthentic BLM products, but a reporter managed to witness a Proud Boy printing out a shirt at the Miami headquarters.

Usually, Proud Boys makes products for its online store 1776, which sells conservatively themed products.

However, since 2017, the Proud Boys have been canceled after reports connected the group with the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA, that led a neo-Nazi to deliberately drive his car into a crowd of people who were peacefully protesting, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

In addition the rally had self-identified members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and various right-wing militias.

On January 6, the Proud Boys, and another racist pro-Trump faction called the Oath Keepers, coordinated the Capitol insurgence using walkie-talkies while sporting “military-style outfits,” the Journal reported.

Since the attack on the Capitol, the organization has not been financially stable due to its reliance on online stores to afloat. And with financial firms and social media blackballing the Proud Boys, its e-commerce business model is dead.

“We’re bleeding,” Tarrio said. “We’ve been bleeding money since January, like hemorrhaging money.”

What is keeping groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers alive are unorthodox crowdfunding sites to pay for the legal defense of certain members who got caught rioting on the Capitol.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 17, 2021

Stolen Military Guns Showing Up in A Series of Street Crimes

---

For decades there has been speculation within the Black community about where all the guns and drugs plaguing our streets actually come from. Now, a recent investigation found that thousands of lost or stolen military weapons have been showing up in numerous street crimes.

An Associated Press investigation released on Wednesday revealed that at least 1,900 military firearms were lost or stolen during the 2010s and resurfaced in violent street crimes.

During a June 2018 arrest, the suspect threw a 9mm Beretta at the police which was later determined to be the property of the U.S. Army. The Army had no clue that the gun was being used in a string of crimes in Albany, New York, as they thought the weapon was on location inside Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

“It’s incredibly alarming,” Albany County District Attorney David Soares said. “It raises the other question as to what else is seeping into a community that could pose a clear and present danger.”

Government records show that a number of pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and automatic assault rifles have disappeared from military bases, supply warehouses, Navy warships, and elsewhere, the New York Post reports. Failed security systems are being blamed for the slip-ups that include sleeping security guards and surveillance systems that didn’t work.

In addition to firearms, military explosives have also been lost or stolen, including an armor-piercing grenade that was found in an Atlanta backyard. That case was closed without military investigators finding the person responsible, and its been determined that many other cases had the same fate.

The Pentagon was once responsible for sharing annual reports on lost or stolen firearms. But the requirement ended years ago and resulted in a lack of accountability.

Following the AP’s investigative report, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that she would be open to new oversight into weapons accountability.

“We have a very large inventory of several million of these weapons,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “We take this very seriously and we think we do a very good job. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t losses. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t mistakes made.”

The news comes amid a string of increased gun violence plaguing cities across the country, NBC News reports. It looks like the rumors within the Black community about where the guns have been coming from have had some truth to them.

• Men

by Derek Major

June 17, 2021

Washington D.C. Inmate Joel Caston Is First Incarcerated Person In City To Win Elected Office

---

Washington, D.C. inmate Joel Caston became the first incarcerated person in the city’s history to win elected office Tuesday.

Caston, 44, who has been incarcerated since he was 18 for a felony offense, won the race for advisory neighborhood commissioner of district 7F07 in southeast D.C. receiving 48 of 142 total votes, according to Neighbors For Justice, an organization that assisted in the election. In the position Caston will oversee the Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter, new luxury apartments and the D.C. Jail where he is currently incarcerated.

Caston ran for the position against four other candidates, all of which were inmates. With the help of the Department of Corrections, each candidate made a video announcing their candidacy. In his video Caston said he would advocate for the women in the shelter and their neighbors in the luxury apartments.

“As your commissioner, I will make sure that I hear your concerns and your voices will always be part of the platform that I speak for,” Gaston said. “To the women in the Harriet Tubman female shelter, as the son of a queen, my mom who is 78, taught me the value of respecting the lives of women and family. I am serious about your concerns and I will take every matter that you have into deep consideration.”

Caston wrote in his candidacy survey that he served as a worship leader and editor of a newspaper at the jail and the founding mentor of the Young Men Emerging program.

The seat Caston won was created in the last round of redistricting almost a decade ago, according to DCist, but Caston is the first person to fill the seat due to the complications of having people in jail participate in an election, as candidates or as voters. Prison reform advocates added they know of no situation like Caston’s anywhere else in the country.

Back in October 2020, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara Wilson, along with the Why Not You Foundation, announced the official launch of its first-ever Why Not You Academy in the state of Washington.

Now, according to an Instagram post by Wilson, the school is finally ready to open.

“WHY NOT YOU ACADEMY is here!” he wrote. “We dreamed & talked about opening a school together the first day we met! We are blessed to say it’s officially here. To be able to help kids dreams come true is such a blessing. @ciara @wnyacademy #WhyNotYou“

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Russell Wilson (@dangerusswilson)

The academy plans to officially open to students in Fall 2021. The new high school is a partnership between authorized charter public school leaders Garth Reeves and Scott Canfield and the Why Not You Foundation. The charter public school, which plans on being tuition-free, will operate in full accordance with the Washington state charter school law.

The celebrity couple explained the reason behind the Why Not You Academy on its website:

“We’ve always held the belief that life’s successes start with a good education, but recognize that access isn’t always created equally for all. The Why Not You Foundation was created with the concept of empowering youth to lead with a why not you attitude and that’s why it was important for our foundation to partner with Scott, Garth, and Cascade Public Schools to help open doors for kids from less fortunate backgrounds. This school is a longtime dream of ours and it was important for us to find a way to combine traditional classroom learning with community and mentorship-based activities, in order to prepare kids for the real world. Why Not You is based on the idea that it can start with one and our hope is that this school will be the first of many.”

— Russell Wilson and Ciara

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Why Not You Academy (@wnyacademy)

A viral video reportedly shows a white woman pulling out a gun on a Black family inside a shopping mall in Vancouver, WA during an argument. No word on if the woman has been arrested yet.

The incident, which took place on Wednesday at a Westfield Mall, began when the two families with a history of arguing with each other, got embroiled in a heated debate.

It is being reported that the unidentified white woman pulled out her gun to defend her teenage daughters during the confrontation, The Colombian reported.

Related stories: BLACK AMERICANS NOW ACCOUNT FOR THE HIGHEST INCREASE IN GUN SALES OF ANY DEMOGRAPHIC

The mother was seen holding a gun while escorting her three teen daughters out of a Lids, a popular headwear store, seemingly prepared to shoot over a verbal disagreement.

https://twitter.com/RyanShead/status/1403502186181529603?s=20

There’s also a 14-second video of a one-woman-standoff between the unidentified woman and four, unarmed Black women.

Two white security guards did nothing to stop the armed white woman in the video, but strangely paced back and forth around the Black family who were in shock, screaming at the white mother.

It is worth noting the four Black women kept their distance from the armed, irate mother.

Even more curious is the fact that the videographer pointing out a bystander, unwittingly, walking in front of the white mother holding the gun.

Eventually, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) were called in, according to The Columbian, but the outlet does not indicate whether or not the white mother was arrested. The VPD only referred to the woman’s imminent charge for displaying a firearm.

According to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), the incident happened on Wednesday at the Vancouver Mall, and the two families have a history of conflict.

As reported by The Colombian, the woman who captured the video aiming a firearm, told police she was defending her teenage daughters during the confrontation.

The original video shared on TikTok by “Theo” has more than 48 million views.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 17, 2021

Coroner Changes Jamal Sutherland’s Death Certificate From ‘Undetermined’ to ‘Homicide’

---

A coroner in Charleston, South Carolina has switched the determination for the cause of death of a mentally ill Black man who was killed by police officers earlier in January.

According to The Associated Press, a coroner has changed the death certificate of a mentally ill Black man, Jamal Sutherland, who died in a South Carolina jail earlier this year. The certificate originally stated that Sutherland’s manner of death was “undetermined,” and it has now been changed to homicide. Charleston County Coroner Bobbi O’Neal had amended the document earlier this month, according to a statement from the family’s attorneys Mark Peper and Gary Christmas.

“The family reached this same conclusion immediately upon seeing the video of his death,” the statement reads. “Thus they are pleased with the amended finding and remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice for Jamal.”

“The family reached this same conclusion immediately upon seeing the video of his death. “Thus they are pleased with the amended finding and remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice for Jamal.”

Last month, the county of Charleston in South Carolina had agreed to pay the family of Jamal Sutherland, a Black man who had a vast history of mental illness, $10 million after he died in January inside the county jail. Two police deputies had used pepper spray on him while forcing him onto his stomach and shocked him repeatedly with Taser guns. The death took place at the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston.

According to CNN, footage from the police killing was released May 12 by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. The video showed deputies pepper spraying and tasing Sutherland, 31, several times after he appeared to resist leaving his cell for a bail hearing. The deputies involved in the incident, Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle, were fired on May 17.

‘Wild N Out’ host Nick Cannon is a busy man managing his entertainment gigs while keeping up with pregnancy due dates.

The father of six received a double blessing this week after his girlfriend Abby De La Rosa gave birth to two new sons on Monday.
De La Rosa shared an intimate video cuddling and cradling her baby boys named, Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir.
Cannon and De La Rosa, a DJ and broadcasting professional, held out until Wednesday, June 17 to give us a first look at the little cuties with a picture simply captioned:
“JUNE 14TH, 2021. Welcome to the world Zion Mixolydian Cannon & ZIllion Heir Cannon.”
“#MyWorld #TwinBoys,” she added.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Abby De La Rosa (@hiabbydelarosa)

Cannon’s got his hands full with his second set of twins. The Masked Singer TV host and superstar Mariah Carey share 9-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe.
Cannon’s also dad to Golden “Sagon” Cannon, 4 and Powerful Queen Cannon, who was born in December to Cannon and Brittany Bell.
And in case you haven’t been keeping a tally, as we previously reported, then there’s Wild N Out actress Alyssa Scott, who is expecting Cannon’s seventh baby. Scott has reportedly named her unborn baby and Cannon hasn’t confirmed the rumor that it is his.
Somebody get Maury on the line please!
In the meanwhile, De La Rosa is basking in the joy of having two new baby boys. She has chronicled her pregnancy and revealed in April that Cannon was the daddy.
“Our dearest sons, my miracle babies, Thank you for choosing me to be your Mommy,” she wrote in a post. “I know the Lord has destined me and prepared me for the gift of not one but two little angels. I pray that God give you both the strength to walk brave and boldly in your individual truth just like your Daddy.”
“That God bless you and your brother and guide you into living out your full purpose,” she continued. “Your Dad and I will always be here for you both; in complete unison and support. No matter what this world may throw your way, know that forgiveness is key and what is for you is for YOU! You both are already so loved, and we can’t wait to meet you both.”
We’ll keep you posted when Cannon has the next batch of kiddies.

Pinky Cole, the Founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan and Derrick “D” Hayes, CEO of Big Dave Cheesesteaks in Atlanta, have linked forces to give back to Black men in a big way.

Not only have the two found common ground, hustling their respective businesses to the top of the Atlanta eatery leaderboard as very popular staples in their communities, but their humble backgrounds have also paved a way for their understanding of what their community needs are.

So, Cole and Hayes are using their platform and financial power to arm thousands of Black men with life insurance. The two said they realize that it’s a much-needed commodity in under-served communities where cash-app payments and GoFundMe campaigns have largely become the norm to pay for funerals for people who don’t have life insurance policies in place.

“While growing up in West Philly, I witnessed people put together fish frys and create GoFundMe pages to pay for their loved one’s funerals,” Hayes said. “I vowed to change that narrative with this program. Now I’m able to provide resources and benefits such as life insurance policies and mental health programs. I am sure we will bridge the wealth gap and strengthen the Black community with this campaign.”

And Black men are at the top of that list of those who lack insurance policies, yet who suffer the most and are highly targeted to be killed.

According to a published report by Statista, “In the first half of 2020, 11 percent of Black Americans had no health insurance.”

“As a Black woman and entrepreneur, it is my duty to build up and equip the Black man,” Cole said. “We established this campaign to create better lives for Black men and their families by providing life insurance and mental health treatment in underserved communities. It is another way we are collectively using our platforms to pour into the communities in which we serve.”

Together, The Pinky Cole Foundation and The David & Derrick Hayes Foundation, worked to create a solution to that call to get more Black men insured by creating a program called, Square 1: The Liife Experience, is aimed at insuring 25,000 Black men between the ages 15-45, earning $30,000 or less annually, by December 2023, said Keeyah Johnson, executive assistant to Cole. They have partnered with New York Life as the insurance carrier.

The Liife Experience Campaign also endeavors to teach the importance of having life insurance and life longevity through routine mental health and wellness screenings. Its goal is to shed a positive light on Black men while uplifting them and bringing nationwide awareness ​centered around financial literacy. The program runs in partnership with Kaleidoscope Therapy for Black Families Fund and Seviin Yoga.

And they are off to a slow, but promising start. This past Saturday at Slutty Vegan’s Edgewood location in Atlanta some 250 men signed up, Johnson said. And on Thursday, June 17, they are doing a live signing event again at Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks.

Eligible participants also must be tobacco free.

Getting Black men life insurance take on an even deeper meaning for Cole and Hayes.

In response to the June 2020 shooting of Rayshard Brooks, who died outside of a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta, Cole and Hayes stepped up by providing Brooks’ family a life insurance policy. The widow, Tomika Miller, was also gifted a new car. The dynamic duo also secured a partnership with Clark Atlanta University to provide scholarships for Brooks’ four children to attend the HBCU.

The need for Black men to have life insurance is uniquely urgent than most: Black men disproportionately suffer from poor health, get involved in high crime-related matters more than other racial groups, and have the lowest life expectancy yet they have the highest death rate compared to both men and women of other racial and ethnic groups, according to a study by Harvard.

There is still time to sign up for Hayes’ event this Thursday on June 17, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at his Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks on 57 Forsyth St NW Suite 63.

For those who can not attend, the application will be available online via this page.