NBA Star Tracy McGrady, Ben Crump And Others Back the Advance Black Americans In Sports Non-Profit
by Derek Major

September 3, 2020

NBA Star Tracy McGrady, Ben Crump And Others Back the Advance Black Americans In Sports Non-Profit

Gary Charles is teaming up with several high-profile individuals to launch Advancement of Blacks in Sports Inc. (ABIS), a nonprofit organization with a mission to boldly advocate for racial, social, and economic justice for Black Americans in sports.

According to a press release, Charles has been working vigorously on the effort in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and has partnered with a unique team of leading African American professionals in sports, music, law, and business to assist in the normalization of equal rights and fair treatment of Black Americans.

Some of the members of ABIS include, former NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, rapper Chuck D, Florida State Men’s Basketball Coach Leonard Hamilton, and female college basketball coaches Dawn Staley and C. Vivian Stringer, among many others.

ABIS will work toward eradicating inequitable hiring practices among professional sports organizations, improving economic opportunities for minority-owned business at sporting events, generating knowledge of Black history in sports, promoting voter registration and participation, and protecting student-athletes at all collegiate levels.

Charles said in a statement, ABIS will work to continue the legacy former Georgetown coach John Thompson Jr. and other Black Americans in sports have created.

“The passing of John Thompson means another American icon has passed away. One of the best ways to honor him is for us to continue the legacy he started,” Charles said in a statement. “We have not been fully embraced in the board room, have not been offered a substantial amount of head coaching positions, and have been consistently blocked out of revenues earned through contracts specific to athletics. It’s time for advancement.”

According to Charles, ABIS will focus on the development and holistic growth of the intercollegiate athlete, and the state and federal legislation affecting student athletes. ABIS will also work to team student-athletes with professionals who are willing to use their voice for the betterment of all Black Americans in sports, whether its playing or working in the sports industry.

Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson Blast ‘New York Post’ Over Racially Biased Headlines
by Dana Givens

September 2, 2020

Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson Blast ‘New York Post’ Over Racially Biased Headlines

Critics are calling out corporations and institutions for allowing racial injustices to take place in their ranks.

Recently, social media users grew furious overo two headlines related to the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Now, Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis is calling for others in Hollywood to boycott media outlets over biased headlines.

Davis took to her Instagram account to highlight two different headlines from the New York Post about the protests in Wisconsin and white vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been accused of killing two Black Lives Matters protesters, in comparison to stories about Trayvon Martin’s killing in 2012. One headline reads that 17-year-old Martin had “traces of marijuana” in his system when he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. However, eight years later, the outlet observed how Rittenhouse was cleaning off graffiti before the shootings took place. Taraji P. Henson, the star of Empire, echoed Davis’ sentiments, accusing The Post of humanizing Rittenhouse, an accused murdered, while demonizing Martin, a victim.

“You [New York Post] are foul for this.] You are [a part] of the problem,” Henson wrote on Instagram. “Entertainers we need to boycott publications that continue to criminalize innocent [people of color] after they have been murdered by the law. This is cruel and traumatizing to the loved ones left behind.”

 


Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: America is ‘Descending Into A Race War’
by Derek Major

September 2, 2020

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser: America is ‘Descending Into A Race War’

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said she fears the U.S. is ‘descending into a race war’ as violence across the country continues and the FBI probes a potential network of domestic terrorists who may be traveling to protests.

“What I’m worried about is this country descending into a race war,” Bowser said at a press conference on Monday, adding that an increase in police forces in some cities, like Portland and Seattle, has created more anger among protesters.

“And I’m worried about the continued incitement of violence from leadership who should be focused on bringing our communities together. Our police and peaceful protesters will be safer when we come together as a community and tamp down this Black-versus-white rhetoric,” Bowser added.

DC Police Chief Peter Newsham added there was evidence large groups of people were traveling to cities with large scale protests to provoke more violence and create havoc. Newsham added the FBI is now investigating potential domestic terror groups.

D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has arrested 527 individuals for curfew violations riot-related to burglary and other violations between May 30 and Sunday, according to department data. Of those arrested, 44% were from the District of Columbia, 27% from Maryland, 12% from Virginia, and 4% from other states.

Bowser also criticized prosecutors for being too soft on rioters who were arrested freeing them up to return and create more carnage.

“When we make an arrest for violent protests, we need those violent agitators to be prosecuted. … There hasn’t been a willingness from the US Attorney’s Office to prosecute them,” she said.

Protests have been occurring in the nation’s capital all summer. In June, President Trump had the Secret Service tear gas Black Lives Matter protesters so he could take a photo outside St. John’s Episcopal Church. Later the same week, protesters posted their protest signs on the fence the Secret Service installed outside the White House as an extra security measure.

Multiple cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Bloomfield, CT,  have also erected large scale Black Lives Matter murals including one outside of Trump Tower, which the president called ‘a symbol of hate.’

 

 

 

Trump’s Approval Rating With Black Americans Grows After RNC
by Derek Major

September 2, 2020

Trump’s Approval Rating With Black Americans Grows After RNC

President Donald Trump’s approval rating among Black Americans jumped by 9% during last week’s Republican National Convention.

A new Hill-HarrisX poll showed 24% of Black voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president, up from the 15% approval rating he received in a survey conducted Aug. 8–11. Trump’s approval rating among Hispanics grew as well, but just 2% from the last poll which had Trump at a 30% approval rating among Hispanics.

The president’s approval rating among Republicans remains high at 82%, a one-point increase from the last poll; 18% disapprove.

Despite the good news for Trump, Vox reported Aug. 30 that Trump’s overall approval rating actually fell one percentage point from the previous week in a post-convention ABC News-Ipsos poll. Even worse, Americans did not respond positively to the convention’s message.

According to Vox, 59% of Americans disapproved of the content over the RNC’s four nights, versus the 37% who approved. Additionally, 48% of Americans reported watching the RNC, compared to 50% who said they watched the DNC.

Trump doesn’t seem to be worried much about the polls as he boosted tweets and analysis from right-wing Twitter account @PollWatch2020 more than 20 times Sunday morning as well as polls from the Democracy Institute and the Trafalgar Group showing him winning nationally and in key swing states.

However, the Trafalgar Group received a C- in FiveThirtyEight’s pollster ratings, and the Democracy Institute isn’t listed. The numbers from the two groups contradict just about every other poll.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Biden’s average lead in Michigan stands at 6.4 percentage points, and that includes the Trafalgar poll that shows Trump winning. In fact, Trafalgar’s poll is the only FiveThirtyEight-recognized poll this month to show Trump winning by any margin in the state.

Trump has tried to make polls he doesn’t agree with seem less legitimate before. In June, the Trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to CNN concerning a poll it published showing Trump losing to Biden. The cable news giant laughed off the letter, calling it “factually and legally baseless” and “yet another bad faith attempt by the campaign to threaten litigation to muzzle speech it does not want voters to read or hear.”

In the key swing states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Biden still retains a lead that’s also reflected in national polls.

White Florida Couple Arrested After Firing Shots at Black Men and a Child Returning U-Haul Van
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 2, 2020

White Florida Couple Arrested After Firing Shots at Black Men and a Child Returning U-Haul Van

A white couple from Florida was arrested after allegedly shooting at two Black men after they dropped off a U-Haul van, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

Late last week, Charles McMillon Jr. was at a U-Haul dropping off a rented van with his son and childhood friend Kendrick Clemons. They had just left the van at a U-Haul drop-off location at Fountain Plaza on Apalachee Parkway and as they were sitting in a truck where McMillon was preparing to leave and typing in the mileage on a phone app, there was a gunshot. As the men looked back, they noticed an older white couple coming in their direction with guns pointing at them. The couple then yelled “Don’t move!” and demanded that the men surrender. But McMillon placed his GMC truck in reverse, drove around the rented van, and took off in fear as they heard more gunfire as they fled.

The white couple, Wallace Fountain, 77, and his wife, Beverly Fountain, 72, own the strip mall and claimed that they were having problems with people stealing gas and wanted to scare off any culprits.

McMillon and Clemons assert that the couple racially profiled them and that’s the reason they shot at them without asking questions or trying to find out what they were doing there.
“They saw three Black people, unarmed, dropping off a U-Haul,” McMillon said. “They got guns, they started shooting. That’s why it’s racially motivated.”
Beverly Fountain denies that the shooting had anything to do with race. She claims she didn’t even know McMillon or Clemons’ skin color.
“Were they Black?” she asked. “We weren’t going off on that at all. You’ve got vandalism and theft going on at your property. Trying to protect your property — that’s the only issue.”
Tallahassee Police Department said police officers arrested the Fountains on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. They were carrying several pistols, including a .357-caliber Magnum and a Glock 19. Officers also found a shotgun in their U-Haul.
Tyler Perry Has Officially Joined the Black Billionaires Club
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 2, 2020

Tyler Perry Has Officially Joined the Black Billionaires Club

Tyler Perry is officially a billionaire, according to Forbes.

The Hollywood executive is the seventh Black American billionaire, joining the ranks of tech investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith, NBA legend Michael Jordan, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, tech founder David Stewart, along with hip-hop heavyweights Jay-Z and Kanye West.

The 51-year-old entertainment mogul has a robust catalog of content that includes more than 1,200 episodes of television, 22 feature films, and at least two dozen stage plays. Add to that an innovative new 330-acre studio lot that was built on the grounds of a former Confederate military stronghold in Atlanta.

He negotiated a deal with ViacomCBS that pays him $150 million a year to produce new content for BET and an equity stake in the new BET streaming service, BET+, which premiered last September.

Forbes estimates that Perry has earned more than $1.4 billion in pretax income since 2005, in which he was able to purchase homes in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He also owns two private planes. The magazine estimates that his net worth is $1 billion.


Tyler Perry by the numbers:

Tyler Perry by the numbers
(Image: Forbes.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perry is looking to replicate the success that Disney and Universal have done on their perspective lots. He plans to build restaurants, shops, and an entertainment complex with a theater and a theme park-like experience. This is in addition to his plans to include housing for trafficked women and LGBTQ youth and an academy to teach kids the benefits of financial literacy.

“I can go outside and take this dirt and put it on my hands and know that there were Confederate soldiers here walking this land, plotting and planning everything they could to keep us Negroes in place,” Perry told Forbes about the land on which his studio was built. “The very fact that I am here on this land, the very fact that hundreds of people—Black and brown people—come here to make a living, that is effecting change.”

CDC: Renters Cannot Be Evicted Through End of 2020
by Derek Major

September 2, 2020

CDC: Renters Cannot Be Evicted Through End of 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented a temporary eviction moratorium through the end of the year, protecting U.S. renters from losing the roof over their heads.

The Trump administration announced Tuesday the moratorium will apply to all rental units across the country until Dec. 31 and goes into effect immediately. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a U.S. House of Representatives panel Tuesday the moratorium would cover around 40 million renters.

“In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratorium—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease,” the CDC’s unpublished order said, according to MarketWatch.

A study released in June showed renters are more affected than homeowners by the coronavirus due to making less money than homeowners, the inability to take advantage of home-equity loans, or using cash equity from refinancing and potentially being priced out by landlords who opt to raise rents.

The moratorium will apply to any state that does not already have a more protective ban in effect, according to the order. New York, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. all have an eviction ban in place.

Renters who received an economic impact payment or stimulus check will also be eligible for the moratorium’s protection. The order, which will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, includes a declaration for renters to sign and give their landlord. Senior Trump administration officials added the form will be made available on the CDC’s website.

Renters must indicate on the declaration they cannot afford to pay their rent in full and that if they become evicted, they will become homeless or forced to move into a shared housing facility. Renters must also be able to prove they made an effort to receive government assistance and could not afford their rent.

The moratorium does not excuse renters from paying rent. Back rent is still owed to landlords and senior administration officials said renters should attempt to make partial payments if they cannot make them in full.

Landlords will still be able to evict tenants in certain instances in which the tenant has destroyed property or poses a threat to the health or safety of others.

Trump: The Black Lives Matter Movement Is ‘Bad For Black People’
by Derek Major

September 2, 2020

Trump: The Black Lives Matter Movement Is ‘Bad For Black People’

In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, President Trump called the Black Lives Matter movement “a Marxist organization,” and added the name is “discriminatory.”

“The first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, I said, ‘That’s a terrible name.’ It’s so discriminatory. It’s bad for Black people. It’s bad for everybody,” Trump said according to The Grio.

Trump spent much of the interview slamming the protests taking place in many American cities across the country this summer. The majority of the protests have been peaceful rebukes of the police killings of Black people, however, Republicans and conservatives, many of whom supported the anti-quarantine protests, have called these protests violent takeover attempts.

“Biden won’t calm things down. They will take over. They will have won,” Trump said about former Vice President Joe Biden. “If Biden gets in, they will have won.”

“They will have taken over your cities. It’s a revolution,” he continued. “You understand that. It’s a revolution. And the people of this country will not stand for that.”

Fox News host, Tucker Carlson made a similar claim Monday.

“This may be a lot of things, this moment we are living through, but it is definitely not about Black lives,” Carlson said. “Remember that when they come for you,” he said. “And at this rate, they will.”

A Fox News spokesperson claimed Carlson was referring to Democrats, not Black protesters, but that was unclear.

On Monday, Trump continued his fear-mongering, insinuating 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense when he shot three people, killing two, during a protest for Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back seven to eight times by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer.

Democratic presidential nominee Biden said in a speech Monday the violence taking place across American streets is Trump’s fault. “The president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country. He can’t stop the violence because, for years, he’s fomented it.

 

Missouri Sports Radio Host Fired Over Offensive Comments About Kamala Harris
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 2, 2020

Missouri Sports Radio Host Fired Over Offensive Comments About Kamala Harris

Another sports announcer has been fired for making derogatory comments about Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

Missouri sports radio host Nate Lucas, who hosted the The Nate Lucas Show on Springfield’s Jock radio stations, was taken off the air after he allegedly made offensive comments about Democratic vice presidential nominee  Sen. Kamala Harris.

The News-Leader reported that a recording of the controversial statement made by Lucas was not available, but three people with knowledge of the incident stated that he used an offensive, sexist slur to describe Harris on his show Friday.

The announcement was made by operations manager Tom Ladd, who hosted the show Monday morning. Ladd informed listeners about Lucas’s absence but didn’t go into details on the reason Lucas wouldn’t be appearing but cautioned listeners to allow time for the station to investigate.

“While we’d like to say more about the situation right now, it would probably be better if we leave it at that for the time being,” Ladd said on air.

Sources also stated that Lucas was critical of Missouri State University’s football program after he found out that the team was planning to march through campus to raise awareness about racial injustice.

On Monday afternoon, Art Hains, who is the longtime host of Sports Talk on the Jock and is also the play-by-play man for Missouri State athletics, had announced that he would be stepping away from the station indefinitely due to the “regrettable” comments that Lucas had made about Missouri State student-athletes and staff and he did not want to be associated with the sports radio host.


Hains said that he decided to step away after reviewing the tape of Lucas’ show from Friday. He said he would not be on the air until the situation with Lucas is resolved.

Lucas was previously broadcasting on 98.7 FM but had recently moved over to 96.9 FM and 1060 AM after the station was acquired earlier this summer by Zimmer Midwest Communications.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 2, 2020

Howard University President Celebrates Chadwick Boseman’s Life and Achievements

Following the death of Howard University alum Chadwick Boseman, the university’s president wrote a heartfelt message celebrating the life of the Black Panther star, who lost a four-year battle with colon cancer and died on Aug. 28.

On the Howard University website, Wayne A. I. Frederick left a message for the real-life hero who captivated audiences around the world with his talent. Below is an excerpt from the letter as well as the commencement speech he gave in 2018.

“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of alumnus Chadwick Boseman who passed away last night after a long private battle with colon cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.

“It was Boseman’s desire to see the students of Howard achieve greatness. Together, he and I shared many conversations preparing plans for a project that would bring him back to campus, which was very close to being ready to announce. Although now he will not be here to witness the harvest of the seeds he planted, we will continue to water and cultivate them in his memory.

“Although he was only 43, Boseman leaves to us a remarkable body of work portraying Black men of honor, purpose and dignity: Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall (Law ’33), and James Brown. This young man’s incredible talent will forever be immortalized in those performances and through his own personal journey from student to superhero!

“Love is Life and he had an abundance of both. Boseman reminds us that the quality of life is not measured in time, but rather it is measured in how well we live it and what we prioritized. He prioritized his wife, his family, his friends, his craft, and loving others. The characters he portrayed will be celebrated but his greatest gift to us was himself.

“Rest in Power, Chadwick!”

 

 

 

×