When it comes to people taking and/or getting credit for other people’s creativity and work within the entertainment industry, it’s been a widespread problem for decades. One of the most famous if not the most famous case of such an incident comes with the story of Milli Vanilli, famously known for their hit video and song, “Girl You Know It’s True.”

Now, that story is coming to life according to MRC Entertainment. The company has just announced that it is producing a project “Girl You Know It’s True,” a new documentary based on the controversial career of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, better known as the lip-syncing frontmen of Milli Vanilli.

Back in 1987, German producer Frank Farian had put together two young men, Morvan and Pilatus, to create the pop duo Milli Vanilli. The two men became virtual overnight stars with the release of “Girl You Know It’s True,” a Top 10 hit that resonated with audiences across the globe. The duo’s success and popularity garnered them a GRAMMY® for Best New Artist and they ended up selling over 10 million records.

Shortly thereafter, the discovery that the duo never sang a note on the songs recorded for their debut 1989 album sent the world into a tailspin. This led to the duo being stripped of the awards they collected, their financial independence, their dignity as artists, and eventually the tragic death of Pilatus.

RELATED CONTENT: The Business of Entertainment: Reflecting on Janet Jackson and Rhythm Nation’s Legacy

“For 30 years, Fab and Rob have been unfairly maligned while the industry machinations that exploited them continued to flourish,” said Amit Dey, Head of MRC Non-Fiction in a written statement. “Luke and Bradley’s perspective comes from a place of empathy and understanding for characters who were caught in a game where nobody explained the rules. We’re excited to go on that journey with Fab and the whole team.”

The project will feature never-before-seen footage and interviews with the real singers who recorded the projects who were never allowed to speak on it. There will also be an exclusive interview with the surviving member, Morvan.

“Milli Vanilli has made an indelible mark on music and pop culture history, yet the truth of what happened is more bizarre than anyone knows,” adds director Luke Korem. “There are so many layers, characters, and twists that have never before been revealed. I’m elated to partner with MRC and share the truth behind what has been dubbed the greatest con in music history.”

The Georgia State’s NISS offers guidance to colleges and universities on ways to identify and overcome institutional barriers to equity and college completion. To do that, it supports these universities by employing success-systems and data-driven intervention.

RELATED CONTENT: Tennessee Owes Its State HBCU More Than Half A Billion Dollars

 “Financial barriers are the primary reason students drop out or stop at universities and a major cause of equity gaps nationally,” Dr. Timothy Renick, the NISS’s founding executive director, said in a news release.  “Truist has long been committed to supporting Georgia State and other universities as we work to address these issues proactively.  This new gift will further this important work, allowing us to collaborate closely with a cohort of HBCUs to ensure their students receive the most effective, data-informed support.”

By connecting members of Georgia State’s student success operation with peers from across the U.S. and globally, the NISS claims it incubates, tests, and disseminates the next generation of innovations in student success. Georgia State is known for implementing scalable models for student success. The university reports it has more than doubled its graduation rates for Black, Hispanic, first-generation, and low-income students.

“Our support of Georgia State’s student success programs is a key part of the work at Truist Foundation to help build career pathways to economic mobility,” said Jenna Kelly, Georgia regional president at Truist, speaking on behalf of Truist Foundation. “We believe in empowering the next generation of workforce leaders with the education, resources and skills they need to succeed, and Georgia State has always been ahead of the pack. We’re proud to continue our partnership to uplift the National Institute for Student Success.”

Over the next 10 years, the NISS said it wants to help at least 100 colleges and universities create clear and supportive pathways to success for their students to replicate the improvements in graduation rates seen at Georgia State.

by Derek Major

May 17, 2021

Tennessee Owes Its State HBCU More Than Half A Billion Dollars

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After withholding funding for decades, the state of Tennessee owes Tennessee State University (TSU), a public HBCU more than $500 million.

A bipartisan legislative committee determined the state has failed to fund TSU in matched land grants since the 1950s. According to NPR, the committee believes the state has withheld between $150 million and $544 million from the HBCU.

When TSU was founded in 1912, it was designated a land-grant university, meaning the state is required to match federal funds sent to the university every year. However, the university has been underfunded for decades as the state starved the university of vital funds.

“We are pleased with the findings of the land-grant study committee and excited about the possibilities of what this means for the University,” TSU President Glenda Glover said in a TSU release. “TSU will be made stronger and more vibrant, which benefits all of Tennessee.”

HBCUs in general are severely underfunded when compared to other public and private universities but they’re vital to the education of Black Americans. HBCUs account for about 3% of four-year nonprofit colleges, however, 80 percent of Black judges, 50 percent of Black lawyers and doctors, and 25 percent of Black undergraduates who earn degrees in STEM come from HBCUs.

This also isn’t the first time a state has starved an HBCU. The state of Maryland will pay $577 million over 10 years to settle a federal lawsuit alleging discrimination and underfunding of the state’s four HBCUs.

MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, gave more than $1 billion to HBCUs last year amid the Black Lives Matter protest and a commitment to racial equity. Scott gave more than $380 million to 17 HBCUs. Oprah Winfrey also donated $2 million to TSU last summer.

State Rep. Harold Love Jr., a TSU alum and chairman of the bipartisan committee, said in a TSU release  he hopes a plan can be put in place to address the funding shortfall.

• Career

by Christian Spencer

May 17, 2021

Families Will Receive $300 Monthly Per Child From IRS Starting July 15

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Starting July 15, parents with a child under the age of six will qualify to receive $300 per month until the end of December. However, a permanent benefit under the Biden administration might be coming.

Families with children older than six will receive $250. As reported in The Washington Post, if a parent has two children, for example, a five-year-old and a 13-year-old, that parent gets $550 directly into his or her bank account from the IRS.

Related stories: THE IRS WILL ISSUE MONTHLY STIMULUS CHECKS TO FAMILIES, $3,600 PER CHILD

• Career

by Black Enterprise Shop

May 17, 2021

Work Towards a Project Management Certification With This Comprehensive Training

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Despite being established in 1984, it wasn’t until fifteen years ago that employers started looking for certifications from project managers. You’d be hard-pressed to find project management roles that don’t require or at least prioritize certifications like PMP. There are now over 1 million who have earned the certification. There are also over a million professionals who have advanced in their career thanks to PMP’s ability to beef up your credentials.

You can be part of that statistic with the help of the Accredited PMP Exam Prep Course, a prep program that promises a 100% pass guarantee. Comprised of instructor-led classes and over 1,500 practice questions, it’ll prep you to get PMP-certified in just 6 weeks. You can get a 1-year subscription to the program for 60% off for a limited time.

A PMP certification is a crucial tool for project managers to showcase their expertise. With this training, you’ll understand the big picture of how PMI wants you to manage projects by getting to grips with the PM concepts, terms, processes, as well as learning how ITTOs connect together. This way, you’ll learn and progress faster as you go through the lessons.

RELATED CONTENT: Add Project Management Certifications to Your Resume With This Training Bundle

The course also comes with many exam hacks, memory aids, tips, and tricks to speed up your learning process. This is ideal not only for busy professionals who want to get certified. You don’t even need any supplementary material to review like the PMBOK. This course is all you need to get certified.

Best part of all, since it’s an online small-group course, you’ll get all the individual attention you need. The coaches will walk you through every single detail that you need to get your certification on your first try. Plus, all the 35 hours you spend training can be counted towards the required contact hours.

A 1-year subscription to the Accredited PMP Exam Prep Course usually retails for $499, but for a limited time, you can get it on sale for only $199.

Prices subject to change. 

by Andrea Blackstone

May 17, 2021

Hurley C. Goodall, Former State Representative and Civil Rights Advocate, Dies at 93

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Hurley C. Goodall, the first African American to be elected to Muncie, IN’s school board in 1970 who later served a seven-term stint in the Indiana general assembly, died May 12. According to an obituary published in The Star Press, he was 93.

“Among his proudest achievements in the legislature was his involvement in establishing the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, a group that enabled Black legislators to become major players at the Statehouse and to chair important committees that have real power in the legislative process,” the obituary also said.

WTHR reported that when Goodall served in the Indiana general assembly, he sponsored legislation to recognize January 20 as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

According to the Indiana House Democratic Caucus, Goodall’s commitment to public service spanned decades. He was a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for two years before returning home to Muncie in 1947. Goodall’s life was marked by more years of public service as a board and committee member who supported a wide array of organizations. They included Action, Inc. of Delaware County; Arts Commission; Central States Region National Caucus of Black School Board Members; Muncie Human Rights; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Muncie Chapter; and the Whitely Community Council.

In 2019,  the Indiana House Democratic Caucus honored former Rep. Goodall. To commemorate his dedicated service to the Muncie community, a life-size statue of him was commissioned by the Delaware County Historical Society and Community Enhancement Projects.

In a statement, State Representative Cherrish Pryor described Goodall’s legacy as awe-inspiring.

“It is an inexplicable feeling to sit on the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus that he founded and walk these same hallways where he stepped up for Black people’s rights. He was the first of many, but he worked to ensure he was not the last,” Pryor said.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 17, 2021

Amazon Offers $50,000 Reward for Information on Nooses Found at Warehouse Site

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The racist antics that have been ongoing for years continue to affect the lives of people of color. In an Amazon warehouse that is being built in Connecticut, there were a number of nooses spotted in the facility several weeks ago.

According to NBC Connecticut, an incident was reported to the local authorities that there were nooses visible at a construction site for an Amazon warehouse between April 27-April 30. The Windsor Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the report.

Initially, the construction company, RC Andersen LLC, had placed a $25,000 reward for information on the incident. Now Amazon has added an additional $25,000 to the reward for a total of $50,000.

“Amazon remains deeply disturbed by the incident that occurred in Windsor a couple of weeks ago,” spokesperson Kelly Nantel told NBC Connecticut in a statement. “Hate, racism, and discrimination have no place in our society and are not tolerated in any development associated with Amazon — whether it be under construction like this one, or fully operational. We are committed to working with the Town and Windsor Police Department, as well as our development partners, to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that all members of our community feel valued, respected, and safe. We are contributing towards the reward to find and bring to justice those responsible.”

RELATED CONTENT: Black Sailor Finds Noose in his Bed Aboard Navy Ship Docked in San Diego

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a supervisor at the construction site that is located on Kennedy Road north of Hartford had told police that he found a “hangman’s noose” hanging from a steel beam on the second floor of the building on April 27.

Police had been called to the scene and the rope was removed and an email was sent to all the site employees “informing them of the incident,” according to a news release from Windsor Police Capt. Andrew Power.

The very next day, the police were called back to return to the work site after a “report of a rope that was thrown around a beam,” Power said, but the police officers determined the item was “not a noose.”

Police were then called to the site another time on the morning of April 29 when five more pieces of ropes “that could be interpreted as nooses” were found hung on different floors throughout the facility, officials said.

by Christian Spencer

May 17, 2021

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder And Marxist Patrisse Khan-Cullors: Black Homeownership Disrupts White Supremacy

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News about Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ properties continue to be an issue for the principled Marxist—a socioeconomic belief that works against capitalism or the right to private ownership and operation of profit.

When The New York Post showed she owned a property portfolio worth about $3.2 million, Khan-Cullors doubled down and said Black homeownership was one of the best ways to defeat White supremacy, Fox Business News reported.

Khan-Cullors, 37, responding to the NPR documentary series We Hold These Truths, specifically the episode called “Black Americans And The Racist Architecture of Homeownership,” said the series was “highlighting the history of racism inside the housing market,” and that “Black homeownership has always been a way to disrupt white supremacy.”

“Related stories: BLM DEFENDS FOUNDER PATRISSE KHAN-CULLORS FROM FINANCIAL CRITICISM

Black homeownership is concerning as the rate of Black homeownership from 1970, 41.8%, is not much different than the rate of homeownership from 2019, 42.3%, according to NPR.

The Daily Mail reported Khan-Cullors owns a $415,000 “custom ranch” in Conyers, GA, with its own pool and airplane hangar on 3.2 acres of land; two Los Angeles homes, one being a three-bedroom home in Inglewood for $510,000 and the other being a four-bedroom home in South L.A. for $590,000.

Khan-Cullors’ defense as to why a Marxist like herself would invest into millions of dollars in housing, has something to do with her being “in direct support to Black people,” and saying the highlighted attention she is getting mostly from conservative media is “racist and sexist.”

“I think that is a critique that is wanting, and I say that because the way that I live my life is in direct support to Black people, including my Black family members, first and foremost,” Khan-Cullors told Marc Lamont Hill in an interview. “For so many Black folks who are able to invest in themselves and their community, they choose to invest in their family, and that’s what I have chosen to do.”

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the activist is being accused of profiting off the nonprofit organization, which is illegal. However, she is adamant that she made her riches off her brand, which is outside of the BLM organization.

• News

by Andrea Blackstone

May 17, 2021

Black Women Leaders Promoted a Day of Action to Support Department of Justice Nominee Kristen Clarke

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On May 12, The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation hosted a live call to action online to show support from Black women leaders and allies who want Department of Justice nominee Kristen Clarke confirmed as the Department of Justice’s U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. Heads of Jack and Jill of America Inc., The National Council of Negro Women Inc., and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. are among organizations standing with Clarke. Racial discrimination, a rise in hate crimes, attacks on affirmative action, and voter suppression were just some of the issues raised by leaders who say that Clarke could properly address these kinds of issues if confirmed as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

“We need someone fully prepared and equipped to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, and that person is Kristen Clarke. If you hear opposition to her, the opposition to her is not because of Kristen. The opposition is because they know that she is fully prepared to take that department, lead that team, and reinvigorate civil rights enforcement in the Department of Justice,” Sherrilyn Ifill, president and Director- Council NAACP Legal Defense Fund said.

Black women leaders asked all day for online event attendees to use the hashtags #ConfirmClarke #WinWithBlackWomen via social media, and call senators and tell them they want Kristin Clark confirmed to prepare for the Senate Judiciary’s decision to consider voting for her nomination.

Yahoo! News said that the Senate Judiciary Committee did advance Clarke’s nomination, but her confirmation is still uncertain. Some key moderate senators have not announced their stance regarding Clarke.

“She also has a history of making highly controversial statements, including a 2020 Newsweek op-ed headlined: “I Prosecuted Police Killings. Defund the Police—But Be Strategic,” according to Yahoo! News.

Democracy Now! reported that Republican senators in Washington are trying to block Clarke, who is a prominent voting rights advocate.

“The Senate Judiciary Committee has deadlocked on an 11-11 vote on whether to move Clarke’s nomination for assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to the Senate floor for a full vote,” Democracy Now! said.

It was also mentioned that Clarke would be the first Black woman to hold the position if she wins the vote.

After having Harvey Mason Jr. serve as interim president of the Recording Academy since January 2020, the Recording Academy’s board of trustees has officially made him president and chief executive officer.

Mason will officially assume the titles on June 1. Before serving as the unpaid interim president position, he was chair of the academy’s board, a position he will now give up.

“There is nothing more rewarding than having the trust and respect of your colleagues and peers,” Mason said in a written statement. “I am honored to have been appointed to continue to lead the Recording Academy on our transformative journey. While I had not initially expected to be in this position, I remain deeply invested in the success of the organization and am motivated to help us achieve our greatest ambitions. I will serve humbly with a steadfast commitment to building a more inclusive, responsive, and relevant Academy.”

As interim president, Mason improved the transparency of the Grammy Awards process, while making important changes to voting procedures and making moves to ensure a more diverse and inclusive membership body. Under his direction, the academy launched a Songwriters & Composers Wing and the Black Music Collective.

RELATED CONTENT: ITG Brands Selects Kim Reed As the Company’s Next President and CEO

Search committee co-chairs John Burk and Leslie Ann Jones stated: “We are delighted that Harvey will remain at the helm and continue to steer the organization through this pivotal time. As we journeyed deeper into our extensive search, it became clear that the best person for the job was Harvey. We are immensely impressed by the remarkable work he has done during his interim tenure and look forward to the continued evolution of the academy under his effective, results-driven leadership.”

“I want to commend the search committee and our partners at Heidrick and Struggles for orchestrating a robust and exhaustive search for our next president and CEO,” said Tammy Hurt, vice-chair of the Recording Academy. “I am not surprised that they faced a significant challenge in finding candidates that would meet the standard that has been set by Harvey during these past 16 months. He has led the academy through one of the most difficult periods in our history. As a music creator himself, he has provided hope, inspiration, and a vision for the future that we are well on our way to achieving. We are all thrilled that he has agreed to become our permanent CEO and will continue to lead us into the future.”