A football player who was recently drafted to play in the National Football League (NFL) two weeks ago has decided to reclaim his name after years of allowing others to call him another name because they couldn’t pronounce it.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Baltimore Ravens’ first-round draft pick, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, will start using his given first name when he will be playing in the NFL. Oweh, who allowed people to refer to him by his middle name, Jayson, has decided that, in a nod to his Nigerian heritage and to start the latest chapter in his life, he will revert back to Odafe.

• News

by Andrea Blackstone

May 12, 2021

Black Financial Data Scientist Creates a Cryptocurrency Platform For Global Peer-to-Peer Lending

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Look out, banks. You have some competition.

Anade Davis is the founder of The World Data Science Institute (WDSI), which is currently raising funds to launch a platform for lending and borrowing called CryptoShare.

Thus far, $24,100 of a $60,000 goal has been raised on the Wefunder crowdfunding portal. Investing as little as $100, and spreading the word were helpful ways of boosting Davis’ efforts, according to Shoppe Black’s interview.

“Cryptoshare is a crypto lending platform specifically targeted to minorities and underserved communities across the USA, Africa, and South America,” Shoppe Black reported.

Davis explained to Shoppe Black that he has struggled with credit and access to funding for his businesses for years. Traveling to different countries made him realize how many people were dealing with the same struggles internationally. The global banking and credit system, he said, excludes scores of people, but just $1,000 is enough in many countries to a business.

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“Over a billion people of color around the world do not have access to financial instruments such as credit, banks, and loans,” Davis said. “Our users will be able to access immediate funds utilizing cryptocurrency ATMs, cellphones, and/or computers.”

Davis told Shoppe Black that he was inspired to take action by creating an international peer-to-peer lending solution for people around the world—utilizing cryptocurrency and ATMs—to enable people to have access to funding without going to a bank or completing a credit check. In the interview, CryptoShare was described as the first African American owned peer-to-peer cryptocurrency lending company The data scientist also mentioned Cryptoshare makes lending more accessible to everyone since users do not have to open a bank account, know about their credit score, or have their income considered.

“It is convenient,” David said. “The only document borrowers will need to provide is their ID,.”

Learn more about CryptoShare by watching this video.

• Fashion & Beauty

by Andrea Blackstone

May 12, 2021

Amanda Gorman Announced Co-chair of The 2021 Met Gala

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in N.Y. announced that poet and author Amanda Gorman will be among the honorary co-chairs for a more intimate Costume Institute Benefit–which is also known as The Met Gala– on Monday, September 13.

Actor Timothée Chalamet, singer Billie Eilish and tennis star Naomi Osaka will also serve as co-chairs. The evening’s honorary chairs will be Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri, and Anna Wintour.

The exhibition’s theme will celebrate American fashion. The fundraiser provides The Costume Institute with its primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements.  The Costume Institute’s collection consists of more than 33,000 objects representing seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories.

CNN explained that every year, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its doors for the Met Gala, the invitation-only fundraiser primarily draws the cream of the A-list.

“Filling the rest of the seats (only about 600 people were invited in 2015) are brand representatives, emerging designers, and invited patrons happy to spend upwards of $30,000 for a ticket,” CNN reported.

Vogue called The Met Gala the fashion world equivalent of the Oscars. The event was cancelled last year, due to COVID-19. Now it is returning with some modifications.

“Typically held annually on the first Monday in May, fashion’s biggest night of the year—it’s the Super Bowl of fashion!—will return in September as a smaller, more intimate affair,” Vogue said. “While it may look a little different this year, there will still be a red carpet in September filled with fabulous fashions and celebrity sightings.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Amanda Gorman (@amandascgorman)

On Instagram, @amandascgorman posted about the event, along with a photo.

“Met Gala here we come 🙏🏿 honored to co-host alongside giants,” Gorman said.

@metmuseum replied with hearts and kudos.

“❤️❤️❤️ The honor is ours!” the Metropolitan Museum replied.

Gorman is officially becoming a fashionable trendsetter, in addition to her literary talents.

On a lot of people’s NBA (National Basketball Association) G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time) list, you will see the top two players listed as Michael Jeffrey Jordan and Kobe “Bean” Bryant as No. 1 and No. 2 respectfully, as there are many arguments stating this in regular, everyday conversations. The bond between the two was even tighter as Bryant looked up to Jordan before and during their time in the league. The mentorship aspect continued even after Bryant retired from basketball as the two kept in touch in their everyday life.

Due to that unbreakable bond, last month, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that NBA Hall of Famer (2009), and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan will be in attendance to induct his good friend and mentee, Bryant.

According to ESPN, Jordan revealed that he still has the last pieces of communication he had with the deceased Bryant who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this upcoming weekend on May 15.

Jordan has shared those messages in an interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan.

“This tequila is awesome,” Kobe texted, referring to Jordan’s Cincoro Tequila, a bottle of which was sent to Bryant at the launch.

“Thank you, my brother,” Jordan responded.

“Yes, sir. Family good?” Kobe replied.

“All good. Yours?”

“All good.”

Jordan smiled, then decided to have a little fun. “He was really into coaching Gigi,” MJ explains, “so I hit him up about that.”

“Happy holidays,” Jordan texted back, “and hope to catch up soon. Coach Kobe??!”

“I added that little crying/laughing emoji,” Jordan chuckles.

“Ah, back at you, man,” Kobe wrote. “Hey, coach, I’m sitting on the bench right now, and we’re blowing this team out. 45-8.”

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame had announced the full list of Hall of Famers scheduled to present the Class of 2020 at the May 15 enshrinement ceremony at Mohegan Sun Arena. There will be more than 50 Hall of Famers expected at the ceremony, including all the presenters.

The 2020 Hall of Fame

The 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees and Presenters:

Patrick Baumann, presented by Russ Granik (’13), Vlade Divac (’19)

Kobe Bryant, presented by Michael Jordan (’09)

Tamika Catchings, presented by Alonzo Mourning (’14), Dawn Staley (’13)

Tim Duncan, presented by David Robinson (’09)

Kevin Garnett, presented by Isiah Thomas (’00)

Kim Mulkey, presented by Michael Jordan (’09)

Barbara Stevens, presented by Geno Auriemma (’06), Muffet McGraw (’17)

Eddie Sutton, presented by John Calipari (’15), Bill Self (’17), Sidney Moncrief (’19)

Rudy Tomjanovich, presented by Calvin Murphy (’93), Hakeem Olajuwon (’08)

A Pennsylvania native has trailblazed her way into collegiate sports after becoming the first Black head hockey coach in NCAA history.

Arcadia University’s Kelsey Koelzer set a new landmark after signing on as the new head hockey coach at the school, a first for Black people in the sport, Action News reports. She played hockey since childhood and recalled not feeling represented.

“I’ve been shouting that from the rooftops from the time I entered college,” she says. “Because one, hockey was not a huge sport for girls, and two, especially not minorities so to speak. Tackling the female in a male sport you kind of have to get that under control first in order to make it more accessible to Blacks, whites, Asians, any ethnicity, any race.”

The star Princeton University player was the No. 1 pick in the NWHL Draft where she went on to play three seasons. Her experience within the professional sport paved the way for her to take on a leadership position in Arcadia’s new program and serve as Advisor to the Commissioner on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NWHL.

“It’s gonna be weird for me,” says Koelzer. “For 20 plus years I have been on the other side of it, so being behind the bench is just gonna be a completely new experience that I’ll get to live through like I’m playing the sport for the first time again.”

Now as the NCAA’s first Black head hockey coach, Koelzer hopes to inspire the next generation of Black and female hockey players. “If you have the love for the game, the skill, put in the hard work, then you belong there and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she said.

She shared her mixed feelings about looking at herself as a pioneer in hockey.

“In some ways I do, but on the day-to-day, it’s not something I think about. I’m just me,” Koelzer says. “I do sit there and recognize that I am the first in some senses, but I think it’s exciting to know that I won’t be the last.”

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 12, 2021

Black Woman Dragged Out of Her Car By Police Has Charges Dropped

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A Virginia state prosecutor blasted a police trooper for the “sickening and unacceptable” March arrest of Juanisha C. Brooks.

Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano dismissed all charges against Brooks and submitted a letter on Tuesday to Captain Robert P. Chappell Jr. requesting an investigation, Washington Post reports.

“It’s sickening and unacceptable that any member of our community fears for their safety during a routine traffic stop,” the statement read. “That’s why I will not rest until we bring about the day when this is no longer the case.”

It was March 6 when Virginia State Police Trooper Robert G. Hindenlang stopped Brooks who was driving home on the Capital Beltway, WJLA reports. Dashboard video shows Brooks repeatedly asking the officer why she was pulled over, with Hidenlang telling her to step out of her car and find out.

After Brooks told the officer that she didn’t want to leave her car, the video shows him unlock the car door before he pulled her out, pushed her up against the vehicle, and arrested her. After she admitted to having one drink and refused a sobriety test, Hindenlang asked why her eyes were watery.

“Why were my eyes watering?” Brooks replied. “Because people are being shot by the police. I’m freaking nervous.”

She was taken into custody and given a breathalyzer that twice showed a 0.0 blood alcohol level, her attorney, Patrick M. Blanch said. Hindenlang charged Brooks with resisting arrest, eluding police, failing to have headlights on, and reckless driving, StarTribune reports.

Brooks, who works as a senior video producer for the Defense Department, recalled being questioned about her arrest.

“My whole livelihood was on the line,” Brooks said. “You can’t have any charges when you have a clearance.”

On March 1, a Virginia ban on pulling people over for dark taillights went into effect. The measure is to help avoid unnecessary confrontation between civilians and the police. Descano cited this in his request for an internal investigation. His letter claimed “the stop was without proper legal basis,” and the “dashcam footage does not provide a factual basis to support the warrants.”

• News

by Derek Major

May 12, 2021

U.S. Gas Demand Climbs As Cyberattack Leads To Shortages In The Southeast

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A ransomware attack on one of the nation’s largest pipelines that carries refined gas and jet fuel along the East coast forced it to shutdown last Friday.

Now gas shortages have started popping up in the south and prices have started to climb.

The disruption of the Colonial Pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey, has begun to disrupt both the auto and air industries. Airlines are now moving jet fuel by air to continue service. On the ground, the national average for a gallon of gas has hit three dollars for the first time since 2014 as prices in the southern states have risen anywhere from three to ten cents and people have begun hoarding gas.

Gas stations in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina are all reporting more than 10% of their gas stations have no fuel and Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are reporting less than 5% of stations are without fuel. While the shortages are relatively minor at this point, the Colonial Pipeline is responsible for about half (45%) of the gas transported along the East Coast. Meaning if the pipeline remains shut down into the middle of next week, things could get serious.

GASOLINE OUTAGES as of 6am CT… percent of all stations in state without gasoline:
GA 15.4%
AL 1.8%
TN 2.8%
SC 13.4%
NC 24.8%
FL 4.2%
VA 15.0%
MD 3.5%

— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) May 12, 2021

According to the New York Times, the situation has become so dire, some stations have begun 10 gallon limits per customer and state lawmakers are also getting involved.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order suspending the state’s gas tax through the weekend. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper have all declared states of emergency in order to suspend fuel transportation rules.

Colonial Pipeline has remained largely silent during this situation. It has not commented on the cyberattack or its security, but said it hopes to restore the pipeline by the end of the week. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters Tuesday residents do not need to hoard gas and the pipeline should be fully operational by Monday.

“Much as there was no cause for, say, hoarding toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic,” Granholm said. “There should be no cause for hoarding gasoline, especially in light of the fact that the pipeline should be substantially operational by the end of this week and over the weekend.”

• News

by Christian Spencer

May 12, 2021

Soldier and Mother Gunned Down For Dating Colleagues Ex Two Days Before Mother’s Day

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Kelia Horton, a soldier and mother, was killed two days before Mother’s Day.

Authorities say Horton, a 22-year-old Fort Bragg servicewoman, was gunned down by fellow soldier Tiara Nicole Vinson, 26, in Fayetteville, NC.  

“The suspect drove up to the residence where the victim was in her car in the driveway and the suspect began shooting,” Fayetteville Police Department Sgt. Jeremy Glass told People. “There were a couple of witnesses that saw it and called it in.” 

“They had a mutual male friend in common,” he aids. “It wasn’t an unknown person just going out and shooting another unknown person.” NBC News confirmed that with Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West.

“What we appear to have is that the defendant had a previous relationship with a gentleman that lived at the location where the homicide occurred,” West said.

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“Our victim was in an existing romantic relationship with the gentleman that lived in the home,” West said. “A verbal altercation took place between the two of them, and our allegation is that the defendant, at that point, began firing into the car.”

Vinson held in Cumberland County Jail with no bond on charges of first-degree murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

According to the Fayetteville Observer, Horton was a motorpool clerk assigned to the 525th Military Intelligence Brigade at Fort Bragg. Vinson was with the 3rd Special Forces Group as a parachute rigger at Fort Bragg.

Horton was the mother of two children. Her family described her a being a sweet and giving person who loved serving her country.

“My cousin was the sweetest. She would give you the shirt off of her back. There was nothing bad you can say about Kelia,” said Jadiah Farris, Horton’s cousin.

• News

by Andrea Blackstone

May 12, 2021

Levar Burton’s Book Club Launches With James Baldwin Novel

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“Take a look, it’s in a book” is about to get an update.

The social reading app Fable has launched the LeVar Burton Book Club, led by the erstwhile Reading Rainbow host and veteran actor (Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Fable was founded by Padmasree Warrior. Burton is leading the first premium Fable Book Club and joins Folio’s curators. Fable Folios spotlight exceptional book recommendations which are handpicked by tastemakers, experts, acclaimed authors, world-class athletes, and industry titans. The Fable book app allows members to read together and share highlights, comments, links, and pictures to discuss them.

Burton hand-selected books written by Black authors to read alongside Fable’s premium subscription members, for his first Folio.

“For me, books are more than words strung together. They are portals into existences of every variety, stripe and hue; the universe and all there is, captured in the pages of good books!” Burton said on Fable’s website.

James Baldwin’s book, Go Tell It On The Mountain, is  Burton’s first book club pick. Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower is another one of Burton’s book club selections.

“At a time when Black people had very little representation in the publishing industry, Baldwin delivered a debut novel that introduced to the world an essential voice in American literature. I invite everyone to join me on Fable as I am both inspired and energized by the opportunity to not only re-read this story but also share my point of view and hear everyone else’s as we read together,”  Burton said in the announcement.

The book lover told Entertainment Weekly that his passion for reading began because his mother was an English teacher who insisted that reading, and the written word,  would be a consistent part of life when he and his sisters were growing up. Nevertheless, it took Burton so long to create a book club because he was just looking for the right platform.

“And it wasn’t until Fable was created that I saw an opportunity to gather together those who wanted to be a part of the LeVar Burton Book Club in an environment that gave me the access to my audience in a way that was able to engage them in a successful exploration of the literature that I chose for us all to read,” Burton told Entertainment Weekly.