• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 10, 2021

George Girtman Facing 15 More Sex Crimes While Serving Out Life Sentence

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An Orlando, Florida man dubbed the “Malibu Rapist” is now facing charges in 15 more sex crime cases that occurred decades ago.

George Girtman was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for an armed rape he committed back in 1990, Orlando Sentinel reported. Cops gave him the nickname since most of his attacks took place in the Malibu Groves neighborhood in West Orlando. He had been terrorizing the area in a string of rapes during the mid-80s to early 90s.

Now, new legislation has added another 15 sexual battery cold cases to his disturbing rap sheet. On Monday, police announced they had re-examined more than two dozen sexual battery and attempted sexual battery investigations and decided to close out 26 of them and file charges against Girtman in 15 of them, Click Orlando reports.

Orlando police Special Victims Unit Detective Graham Cage revealed the 15 victims range in age from 6 years to 40, with some dying before their attacker was identified. He explained why it was important to still file charges against Girtman despite his current life sentence.

“Filing these charges gives these victims the opportunity to receive justice, to have their voices heard, where they can say in their own words how these violent crimes impacted them for the rest of their lives,” Graham said. “Even though 30-plus years have passed, (Girtman) will be held accountable for his actions, and for terrorizing a part of our community.”

Gail Gardner is one of Girtman’s victims. He held a knife to her throat and threatened her son while sexually assaulting her in 1988, WESH-2 News reported. Her rape kit went untested for 30 years and a match came back to Girtman late last year, she revealed.

The results came after the Florida legislature passed the “Gail’s Law” bill earlier this year, establishing a database for rape kits. Legislators are waiting for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ to sign the bill into law.

“The actions of this man have impacted countless lives, including the survivors of his crimes, and the families, friends, detectives, prosecutors, religious leaders, elected leaders, and state legislators who have worked to support those survivors,” OPD spokesperson Autumn Jones said.

Don’t call it a comeback! Tyler Perry is bringing his most popular character out of retirement.

The mega studio owner announced via his Instagram account that Madea is back, and the next installment of the series will be seen on streaming giant Netflix.

“Hey, guess what’s happening? Madea’s coming to Netflix. We need to laugh, man. Too much is going on in the country. We need to laugh, so I was done, but she’s coming back. Madea on Netflix. I can’t wait.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry)

Netflix confirmed that Perry would bring his beloved character Madea out of retirement for the 12th installment, tentatively titled A Madea Homecoming. The next movie will be shot entirely at Tyler Perry Studios and is expected to be released on Netflix in 2022.

The Madea movie will be the latest work from Perry for Netflix, following last year’s release of A Fall From Grace. According to Netflix, that movie was seen by 39 million households in just its first month of streaming. He will also be writing, directing, and producing A Jazzman’s Blues for Netflix. That project will star Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer. The film unravels 40 years of secrets and lies in a tale of forbidden love and family drama soundtracked by juke joint blues in the deep South.

Perry will write and direct A Madea Homecoming and executive produce the film, along with his company’s president of production and development, Michelle Sneed. Will Areu and Mark Swinton will be the producers for the project.

The onslaught of movies Perry has produced–including 11 of them being a part of the Madea franchise– has collectively grossed over $1 billion at the North American box office.

Perry’s massive mainstream success started in 2005, when he wrote, directed, and starred as Madea in Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

• Business

by Andrea Blackstone

June 10, 2021

A Spelman College Alumna Has Been Named Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Orchard

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The Orchard, a music distribution company, announced that Naledi Nyahuma Seck was selected as the company’s Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

The Los Angeles-based Spelman alum will work alongside Tiffany R. Warren– the Executive Vice President of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Sony Music Group. Seck will help move the organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives forward while establishing talent pipeline and development programs for employees. The announcement also stated that Seck would report to Orchard’s Chief Operating Officer, Colleen Theis.

“We will continue to focus on instituting fair practices across the board and making The Orchard a place that truly fosters equity and inclusion,” Colleen Theis, the Orchard’s Chief Operating Officer, said in a press release. “We launched our employee-led Council for Equity and Progressive Action, which has rolled out many new initiatives over the past year. We’re excited to welcome Naledi as she brings her experience, passion and leadership alongside our company’s vision for a diverse and inclusive workplace.”

Seck stated in the announcement that the company’s mission aligns with her personal values.

“The Orchard has demonstrated a commitment to empower artists and labels, uplift employees, and inspire fans to create a more equitable society. These are commitments and values that I personally believe in and am invested in.”

“Music is a valuable connector of people,” the woman continued. “As we record this chapter in history, it is imperative that we show compassion while we educate and elevate our communities and take collective action through our efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am honored to join The Orchard.”

Seck is a seasoned leader newcomer in the music industry. The execs’ extensive experience includes serving as Senior Director, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for Universal Music Group, among other noteworthy career accomplishments. She also held noteworthy positions at AEG and The Recording Academy.

• News

by Derek Major

June 10, 2021

Biden Administration Says U.S. Will Donate 500 Million Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Globally

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Reuters – The Biden administration plans to donate 500 million Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries over the next two years, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

The United States is likely to distribute 200 million shots this year and another 300 million in the first half of next year, they said.

It will donate them to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, they added.

The donations will go through the COVAX vaccine program that distributes COVID-19 shots to low- and middle-income countries and is backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce the deal on Thursday at the Group of Seven meeting of the world’s wealthiest countries in Britain, one of the people said.

The deal was negotiated over the past four weeks by White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients and the COVID-19 task force team, one of the sources said.

The White House and Pfizer declined to comment.

The U.S. president told reporters before boarding Air Force One for Britain that he had a global vaccine strategy and would be announcing it but did not offer details.

The White House has been under mounting pressure to boost donations of COVID-19 shots to other countries.

The United States has given at least one shot to around 64% of its adult population and has begun vaccinating adolescents, while other countries like Brazil and India are struggling to get desperately needed doses.

“This action sends an incredibly powerful message about America’s commitment to helping the world fight this pandemic,” said Tom Hart, acting chief executive of The ONE Campaign, a nonprofit working to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

The Biden administration had said it would share 80 million vaccine doses worldwide by the end of June. The White House earlier this year pledged $4 billion to COVAX and urged other countries to boost donations as well.

GAVI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pfizer has said it expects to produce as many as 3 billion COVID-19 shots in 2021 and upwards of 4 billion next year.

The New York Times reported that the United States will buy the doses at a “not-for-profit” price, citing people familiar with the deal. They also reported that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla will accompany Biden during the announcement.

The agreement is in addition to the 300 million shots the United States has already purchased from Pfizer and brings the total number of Pfizer/BioNTech shots purchased by the United States to 800 million, the Times said.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Allison Martell; Editing by Howard Goller and Bill Berkrot)

• Business

by Black Enterprise Shop

June 9, 2021

Save An Extra 20 Percent On This Course Bundle On Project Management

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No matter the industry, project managers are always in demand. But over the next 10 years, it’s reported that the demand for them will grow faster than demands for workers in other occupations. The Project Management Institute reveals that through 2027, the project management-oriented labor force in seven project-oriented sectors is expected to grow by 33 percent, amounting to nearly 22 million new jobs. That’s a lot of roles to fill, which you can take advantage of if you have an interest in breaking into the field.

Should you wish to pursue this high-demand career, the 2021 Complete PMP Career Training Certification Bundle can give you a leg up. You will get insight into premium training on project management, methodologies, Lean Six Sigma, and more. Right now, you can get it on sale for an extra 20 percent off with this Father’s Day deal.

Across ten insight-packed courses, this package will fill you in and give you a deeper understanding of what it takes to be an effective project manager. From the process of initiation and planning to execution and delivery, it leaves no stone unturned when it comes to teaching you how to meet your organization’s bottom line. You’ll learn how to make your project workflow more efficient using programs like Monday, Jira, and Trello, as well as proven and tested methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, Scrum, and Agile.

By the time you finish all courses, you’ll be well-equipped to plan a project and know the scope, schedule, budget, and risks before you start.

Normally on sale for $34.99, the bundle is on sale for much lower with our Father’s Day sale. Get Complete PMP Career Training Certification Bundle for $27.99 (reg. $1,990) with code WELOVEDAD.

Prices subject to change.

The work Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and D-Nice did to get us through the pandemic isn’t going unnoticed. The three music producers will be honored at this year’s ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.

On Tuesday, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers announced that Swizz, Timbo, and D-Nice will all receive the ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award at the 2021 virtual award show, Vulture reports. The award is given to ASCAP members who have a major influence on music and culture.

Through the success of Swizz and Timbaland’s Verzuz and D-Nice’s Club Quarantine, people around the world were able to unite in the name of music and culture while stuck inside their homes. The two live-streamed shows proved to be a solace to Instagram users during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Verzuz has taken fans down memory lane and entertained the masses with mashups of some of music’s biggest stars like Gladys Knight vs. Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott, Beenie Man vs. Bounty Killer, Earth, Wind & Fire vs. The Isley Brothers, Snoop Dogg vs. DMX, and more. Club Quarantine brought Instagram users together in a live chat where viewers watched and listened to DJ D-Nice spin sets of funk, disco, hip-hop, and R&B, Billboard reports.

The three music visionaries will discuss the accomplishments from their platforms during a panel discussion “Voices of the Culture: How Swizz Beatz, Timbaland & D-Nice United the World Through Music.” Topics range from their success in music and how Verzuz and Club Quarantine served as a tool for many in the Black community during a global crisis.

The panel takes place on June 22 at noon ET/9 a.m. PT. Participants can RSVP for the virtual event here. Potential attendees can also submit a question for the trio of creators before June 10.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 9, 2021

Barack Obama Couldn’t Be ‘Prouder’ of Malia And Sasha Marching in Black Lives Matter Protests

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Sasha and Malia Obama joined the thousands of Americans who took to the streets in 2020 to protest against police brutality following the police killing of George Floyd.

Now the former President is opening up about how proud he is of his daughters for joining the masses and peacefully making their voices heard. Barack Obama told People Magazine how Sasha and Malia felt “the need to participate” in the nationwide protests following the unjust killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and many others.

After spending eight years in the White House, the sisters have maintained low-profile lives after their father left office in 2017. It took an interview Obama did last November for him to reveal his daughter’s participation in the Black Lives Matter protests, People reports.

Now the 44th president shared how the two college students take his advice while making their own decisions on advocating for social justice.

“I didn’t have to give them a lot of advice because they had a very clear sense of what was right and what was wrong and [of] their own agency and the power of their voice and the need to participate,” Obama said. “Malia and Sasha found their own ways to get involved with the demonstrations and activism that you saw with young people this summer, without any prompting from Michelle and myself, on their own initiative.”

He went on to applaud his girls for joining the protests in a genuine effort and not “looking for limelight,” he said. “They were very much in organizer mode. I could not have been prouder of them.”

While many would assume the two sisters took after their politician father in being a beacon for change, Obama would rather give his daughters credit for taking the initiative all on their own.

“I think a couple of times they asked for sort of very specific suggestions about what would be the best way to communicate X or what would be the most useful thing that, if we were mobilizing a whole bunch of friends, to have an impact, what should we be doing?” he said. “But they didn’t need to be encouraged. Their attitude was — we’ve seen something wrong and we want to fix it, and we think we can fix it. And we understand that it’s not gonna take just a day or a week or one march to fix it. But we’re in it for the long haul.”

He isn’t sure if either of his daughters will pursue a career in politics in the future. But he’s certain his daughters will be “active citizens” and continue advocating for positive change the masses can benefit from.

“They’re reflective of their generation in the sense they want to make a difference, and they think about their careers in terms of– How do I have a positive impact? How do I make the world better?” he said. “I think they’re going to want to have an impact, and their friends feel the same way.”

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James didn’t end the season in the way that he hoped or anticipated after losing the first round of the playoffs after taking the title last season. You’d think he could rest while absorbing the bruises of a season that didn’t end with a championship. Well, he may have to wait for a little longer to get that much-needed rest!

According to data acquired from Sportsinsider.com, as seen on The Score, King James holds the distinction of being the ‘Most Hated Player’ in the NBA. A map was posted on Twitter that used geotagged data from the social media platform from the last month, showing that James is the most hated NBA player in a whopping 24 states and gained the title of the most “hated” player overall. James, being hated in 18 states, was his former teammate and Brooklyn Nets guard, Kyrie Irving.

The map is based on more than 70,000 tweets, including hashtags and direct keyword phrases that mentioned the hate and dislike for the NBA players in each listed state.

Most Hated NBA Player in Each State

(Via Sports Insider) pic.twitter.com/A8G5HkJCdG

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) June 8, 2021

Amazingly, after James, the next three most hated athletes are Brooklyn Nets players, Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant. Washington Wizards’ Russell Westbrook and Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George round out the list.

This past year hasn’t been an ideal one for King James. In early May, the basketball player made headlines after he tweeted out a photo of the officer who fatally shot Ma’Khia Bryant and said YOU’RE NEXT #Accountability,” WKYC reports. The tweet came after James tweeted the word “ACCOUNTABILITY” in response to Derek Chauvin being found guilty of killing George Floyd. After leaving the tweets up for a few hours, James deleted the tweet and claimed it was being used to spread more hate.

James later returned to Twitter and admitted to sending out a poorly worded tweet after Bryant’s death. “I fueled the wrong conversation about Ma’Khia Bryant, and I owe it to her and this movement to change it,” the four-time NBA MVP wrote.

I fueled the wrong conversation about Ma’Khia Bryant and I owe it to her and this movement to change it. Thank you @fabiolacineas for educating us about Ma’Khia and her story and why this needs to be about her. https://t.co/Owh1vDJWXi #sayhername #Blacklivesmatter

— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 3, 2021

In late April, one of the most popular and best players to play in the NBA didn’t list James on his first all-time team. to make matters worse, he didn’t even place James on his second all-time team of players.

Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius Erving, who played in the air before Michael Jordan figured out he can fly, had his reasons for not picking James.

“When you look at LeBron and anybody he sort of picks with him … he played with so many guys. He’s the guy who has led the charge in terms of superteams being put together.”

“When he put together the team in Miami, he put together that team in Cleveland as well and put together a team in Los Angeles,” Erving continued. “So he can pick his own team, I’m not going to pick his team. I’m not saying nothing bad about LeBron.”

A song can hit differently as you grow older and times change. That’s exactly the case for Destiny’s Child 2004 track, “Cater 2 U”.

Black Twitter started to debate the song’s dated lyrics after one user shared how she started to look at the track sideways. “Me listening to “cater 2 u” @TheBaddestMitch tweeted along with a meme of Erika Dixon looking skeptical.

Destiny’s Child’s fans can remember the group’s iconic performance of the song at the 2005 BET Awards, where Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle did a little dance routine for Terrence Howard, Nelly, and Magic Johnson. But with the trio’s fanbase growing up within today’s woke era, some people think the song suggests a woman should be too submissive to her man.

“Beyoncé lost me in the first verse when she said, ‘my life would be purposeless without you,'” the user added. “Then she followed later with, ‘I’ll brush your hair. Put your durag onnnn.’ Do you know how particular black men are about their durag tying technique? It’s too much.”

https://twitter.com/TheBaddestMitch/status/1401295763259461635?s=20

Others agreed the song served out tremendous “pick me” vibes. “Such a pick me song,” added someone else.

https://twitter.com/reallifenurse7/status/1401043931035492355?s=20

When looking back at the song’s message, it’s all about pleasing your man to the best of your ability. No matter the time of day or circumstances, it seemingly suggests a woman’s job to cater to her man.

Some of the lyrics include:

“When you come home late, tap me on my shoulder, I’ll roll over
Baby, I heard you
I’m here to serve you
If it’s love you need, to give it is my joy
All I wanna do is cater to you, boy.”

Another Twitter user addressed this while tweeting a gif saying, “Wait a minute, hold up!”

“Tap me on my shoulder I’ll roll over” https://t.co/PQ9m5pY3pY

— masc mandate (@TruePlantDad) June 5, 2021

“Michelle literally said she’ll give her man her will to live,” one user said with two crying emojis.

https://twitter.com/LegsJupiter/status/1401302995770486790?s=20

Another user quoted the song while including a memorable scene from the movie Get Out that showed a Black woman smiling while shaking her head no. “I’ll put my life in your hands,” they said with another crying emoji.

https://twitter.com/Cocoakisses_21/status/1401310500672229382?s=20

Beyonce recently teased new music is on the way while on a group call with Kelly and Michelle, MSN reported. Maybe the ladies will cook up a new love ballad with more modernized female empowered lyrics.

Florida Representative and Black woman Val Demings will challenge Florida Republican Marco Rubio for his Senate seat.

In a three-minute video announcing her candidacy, Demings discussed her upbringing as the child of a janitor and a maid and how that helped guide her to joining the Orlando police department, where she worked her way from an officer to the first female police chief in the department’s history.

“When you grow up in the South poor, Black and female, you have to have faith in progress and opportunity. My father was a janitor and my mother was a maid. She said, ‘Never tire of doing good, never tire,’” Demings says in the ad. “I’ve never tired of standing up for what I believe is right, now I’m running for the United States Senate because of two simple words: never tire.”

Demings has served in the House of Representatives since 2017. She also served as the chief of police for Orlando’s police department from 2007 to 2011. Her husband, Jerry Demings, is the current mayor of Orange County.

Demings also gained national notoriety last year when she served as an impeachment manager for the first Senate trial of former President Donald Trump after he tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate current President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.

NBC News reported in May that Demings had been considering a Senate for a while. Those around her were pushing her to run and believe she’d make a tough opponent for Rubio. which appears to be correct given his reaction to the news.

In a video he posted to Twitter, Rubio called Demings a “do nothing House member without a single significant legislative achievement,” before adding that she wanted to close schools and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

No matter who wins the democratic Senate primary in #Florida my opponent will be a far left extremist#Sayfie #flpol pic.twitter.com/quy0pMUHS6

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 9, 2021

He also posted a retweet of a video of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) posting that Demings has voted with Omar 90% of the time.