Super Bowl, Ledisi — Ledisi (Photo: WireImage/ Tammie Arroyo)

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 10, 2025

Conservatives Bothered By Black National Anthem’s Inclusion At Super Bowl LIX

Conservatives are sounding off about the Black National Anthem being performed at Super Bowl LIX.

Conservatives are up in arms over the Black National Anthem being performed before Super Bowl LIX.

Ledisi was among the Grammy Award-winning New Orleans natives who performed national anthems at Super Bowl LIX in their hometown on Sunday. Decorated Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste delivered a New Orleans-inspired rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” while Ledisi, accompanied by the Greater New Orleans High School Chorale Collective, powerfully performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called the Black National Anthem.

Although it’s not the first time the Black National Anthem has been performed at the Super Bowl, its performance during Super Bowl LIX—coinciding with the opening weeks of another Donald Trump presidency—prompted swift criticism from conservative viewers.

The “Alternative News Source” Breaking 911 shared Ledisi’s performance on X and made a shady reference to the “white National Anthem” being performed after the Black National Anthem.

The ’Black National Anthem’ is performed at the Super Bowl.

The White National Anthem will come later.

Equity, tho. pic.twitter.com/oDQe3DxMCe
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 9, 2025

“This is a disgrace. There is only one national anthem—The Star-Spangled Banner,” one critic wrote in response.

“Black players make up 53% of the @NFL earning millions and millions to play a sport we were once banned from,” another critic wrote. “But sure, let’s have a separate #BlackNationalAnthem and pretend that we haven’t overcome. It’s tone-deaf. There’s only ONE national anthem.”

Another user claimed that “Black folks are AMERICANS” and “share the same national anthem as everyone else here.”

“I just don’t see the utility of continuing to split people up by race,” they wrote. “They didn’t start doing this before every Super Bowl until after the 2020 BLM stuff. What is the need? The Super Bowl should be a national unifying experience where we aren’t focused on race politics!”

The inclusion of the Black National Anthem before the Super Bowl has sparked controversy among fans since the NFL introduced it at the end of the 2020 season. The criticism seemingly resurfaces when the NFL includes the Black National Anthem in the Super Bowl, which is watched by 100 million viewers.

RELATED CONTENT: Negro National Anthem

Saint Jhn, Puerto Rico — The Come Up Show from Canada, wikimedia commons

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 10, 2025

SAINt JHN Calls Out His ‘Racist’ Experience Living In Puerto Rico: ‘It’s Loud, Active, And Very Present’

SAINt JHN is calling out Puerto Rico for racism and the absence of dark-skinned music artists.

SAINt JHN is speaking out about the racism he’s encountered while living in Puerto Rico, describing it as “loud, active, and very present.”

The Guyanese-American rapper and singer has been living in his beautiful “art-filled home” (as cited by Forbes) in Puerto Rico for a few years. During a recent appearance on The Way Up with Angela Yee, the Brooklyn-born musician opened up about the racism he’s experienced while living on the island.

“If I’m being really transparent, Puerto Rico’s racist. No one talks about that, and I’ve never even said that out loud,” Saint Jhn declared in a clip

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The “Roses” singer spoke out about the colorism he believes affects the Latin music industry, highlighting the underrepresentation of dark-skinned Afro-Latino artists in mainstream music.

“Even when you think of Latin artists, you don’t think of nobody that don’t look whitish,” he continued.

SAINt JHN called out the artists that he feels get to “represent the culture” and how they lack diverse ranges of color.

“You don’t see any, you don’t see people of varying color,” he said. “You start thinking that only that exists, and only that should be celebrated, because that’s the only thing that they’re allowing to be celebrated.”

The “Who Do You Blame” singer recalled a trip to the mall where he noticed that no one acknowledged him, and he believes it was because of the color of his skin.

“I remember nobody looking at me. And I remember thinking, ‘OK, that’s not crazy that people aren’t looking at me.’ But people would go out of their way to not look in my direction,” SAINt JHN explained.

“And it took me a while to process. I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ I just didn’t get it. I couldn’t, because my brain doesn’t default to, ‘They don’t love me because of the color of my skin.’ Because my skin is beautiful. I’m glowing.”

SAINt JHN’s criticism about the racism in Puerto Rico sparked a debate, with some agreeing and others shutting down his claims of the island having no dark-skinned Latin artists.

“Yes and no. Artists of diverse colors are celebrated and recognized, i.e., Celia Cruz, Tego Calderon, Don Amor, etc. BUT colorism does exist,” one person wrote.

“Eeeeeehhhhhh wrong. Just cause you don’t understand the language doesn’t mean no one talks about it,” added someone else. “Tego Calderon made ALBUMS regarding the active racism and colorism in Puerto Rico.”

hockey, Laila Edwards — (Photo: Justin Berl/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 10, 2025

Black Women Gaining Interest In College Hockey

The number of Black women playing college hockey is steadily rising.

More Black women have been entering hockey at the college level, according to NHL.com.

In a sport that has low numbers of Black athletes on the college and professional level, Black women athletes in hockey have risen in the past decade.

According to a NCAA demographic database, in 2015, nine Black women were on the rosters of hockey teams in the NCAA. In 2019, it was four. But this season at least 13 players are currently on rosters in Division I and Division III schools.

Kelsey Koelzer is a former Princeton University player who became the first Black woman to coach an NCAA hockey team. In 2016, she became the first Black player to be chosen No. 1 in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL). She, along with other people involved in the sport, sees the growth.

“As I’m recruiting, I feel I’m constantly shocked that it’s getting less and less out of the ordinary to see girls that are getting recruited to NCAA [Division I] who are (Black),” said Koelzer, who is the coach of Arcadia University’s new women’s hockey team. “I think it’s a really hopeful sign.”

The Black women hockey players for this current season are, University of Wisconsin defenseman Chayla Edwards, Clarkson University defenseman Avery Mitchell, University of New Hampshire forward Tamara Thierus, Syracuse University forward Rayla Clemons, Lindenwood University forward Jada Burke, Finlandia University defenseman India Charles, Yale University forward Kiersten Goode, Augsburg University forward Kensie Malone, State University of New York-Plattsburgh defenseman Sierra Benjamin, Nazareth College forward Maria Di Cresce, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute forward Asiah Taylor-Waters, Lindenwood University defenseman Teagan Heaslip, and Dartmouth College forward Jennifer Costa.

Blake Bolden, the first Black player in the NWHL in 2015 and the first Black first-round draft pick in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2013, is excited about the pending change.

“Girls hockey has grown tremendously over the last few years, so I think it’s inevitable that there would be more diversity in the game. Not tons, but it’s an improvement, so that’s good.”

Bolden also became the first Black female NHL pro scout when the Los Angeles Kings hired her in February 2020.

“This past year, I have had numerous calls with prep schools that I’ve been to and that I’ve worked with just wanting to be more educated in supporting diverse individuals and players,” she said.

With recruitment efforts geared toward more diversity, the change may help draw more girls and women to the sport.

RELATED CONTENT: Tennessee State Reveals Official Hockey Jersey

Haiti, france, reparation, Haitians, Haitian Heritage Month — (Photo: Manuel Augusto Moreno/Getty Images)

by Mitti Hicks

February 10, 2025

City Of Springfield, Ohio, Sues Neo-Nazi Group That ‘Led To’ Haitian Intimidation

Springfield, the small Ohio city that faced chaos, threats, and drama in 2024 over its Haitian immigrant population, is taking legal action.

The small Ohio city that was caught up in chaos, threats, and drama in 2024 over its Haitian immigrant population is taking legal action.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and several others are suing the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, accusing the group of “engaging in, and inciting, a campaign of harassment and intimidation, motivated by ethnic and racial hatred, against those who supported Springfield’s Haitian community in the face of Defendants’ racist attacks.”

According to the Associated Press, Springfield city leaders named the group’s leaders, Christopher Pohlhaus, Drake Berentz, and several others, in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Dayton.

In September, Springfield’s city hall was evacuated after city officials received bomb threats after President Donald Trump falsely accused Haitian immigrants of eating residents’ pets during his Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Then-Ohio Senator JD Vance, now Trump’s vice president, also spread rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting pets and eating them. He later admitted to making false claims to highlight immigration issues nationwide.

Close to 300,000 Haitians were granted residence in the United States under the Temporary Protected Status. In June 2024, the Biden administration extended TPS status for Haitians until Feb. 3, 2026.

Following Vance and Trump‘s lies, Springfield was riddled with bomb threats and school evacuation. Residents were harassed.

The plaintiffs are asking the court for a jury trial to block the group from making further threats that impose damages. According to the Associated Press, the complaint alleges that the Blood Tribe first coordinated a “hit” against the city in July and called Haitian immigrants an “invasion” that was threatening Springfield’s “good White residents.”

The lawsuit doesn’t directly reference Trump’s or Vance’s remarks. However, it notes that the group’s leader, Pohlhaus, “gleefully took credit for the growing notoriety” of the spread of false claims.

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by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

February 10, 2025

N.C. Family Allow Visitors Into Their Home For Innovative Black History Tour

The house tour offered a grassroots way to engage in Black history.

Historian couple Chris and Selena Johnson shared their wealth of knowledge with fellow Black history enthusiasts last week. Guests entered their home in Wilmington, North Carolina, to get an in-depth exhibit featuring numerous artifacts on African American culture and heritage.

The couple hosted a Black history tour on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at 299 Carolina Farms Blvd in Carolina Shores.

“For me, I think its important because it’s knowledge that most of us don’t get in a public school education, and you actually have to dive into yourself,” Chris Johnson told WECT.

Visitors were greeted by Selena before voyaging into the abode to learn more about Black history. However, the effort was not a solo venture. Other community members joined in to provide visitors with an immersive experience detailing Black accomplishments.

These volunteers acted as historical characters, speaking on these achievements to attendees. The tour also featured a historian talking about the legacy of the Gullah Geechee people. Originating in the low country region, which includes North Carolina, this Black ethnic group developed their own Creole language and culture derived from African customs.

The tour, now in its third year, emphasizes that exploring Black history literally starts at home. While the Johnsons open up their own home for an invaluable education, they hope the learning does not there.

“Everybody gets really excited about Black history, and that’s what we love to see. Most definitely, it’s important to learn about your history, and what better way than to open up our home,” Selena Johnson said.

The house tour comes at a time when teaching our history remains in jeopardy across many schools, especially in the South. However, these grassroots efforts hope to keep Black history alive for future generations.

The Johnsons hope to continue the tour in 2026.

RELATED CONTENT: Black History Month 2025

AIDS, HIV — Photo: Barbara Debout/AFP via Getty Images

by Mitti Hicks

February 10, 2025

UNAIDS Chief Warns HIV Infections Could Increase Without U.S. Support

The warning from UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima comes after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would freeze all foreign assistance for 90 days.

The head of the UNAIDS agency is worried that new HIV infections will increase more than six times by 2029 without American support. The warning from UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima comes after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would freeze all foreign assistance for 90 days. However, experts fear the president will cut off funding permanently.

“We will see a surge in this disease,” Byanyima said, speaking from Uganda, told the Associated Press. “This will cost lives if the American government doesn’t change its mind and maintain its leadership,” making it clear to reporters that it isn’t her place to criticize any government’s policy.

UNAIDS is the world’s leading organization for collecting and analyzing HIV and AIDS data. According to Byanyima, HIV infections have decreased over the last 20 years. In 2023, 1.3 million new cases were reported, a 60% decline since the virus peaked in 1995.

Without U.S. support, Byanyima says there could be close to 9 million people with new infections, nearly seven million deaths, and an additional three million or so children infected. She also adds that more disease-resistant strains could emerge without mitigation efforts.

Trump’s Freeze of Funding Leaves Thousands of HIV Workers Without Jobs

Byanyima says Trump’s decision to freeze funding has created panic, fear, and confusion in countries hit hardest by HIV and AIDS.

In Kenya, at least 550 HIV workers were immediately laid off. Meanwhile, thousands of people were terminated in Ethiopia. The layoffs mean health officials are unable to track the epidemic.

The U.S. provided 90% of UNAIDS’ funding. Nearly $400 million is invested in Uganda, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

What’s more frustrating for Byanyima is that foreign assistance from the U.S. only accounts for less than 1% of its overall budget. She said it also doesn’t make economic sense because the lifesaving medication, lenacapavir, sold as Sunlenca, was developed by the American company Gilead, providing economic opportunity.

“[International Aid] helped an American company to innovate, to come up with something that will pay them millions and millions, but at the same time prevent new infections in the rest of the world.” The freeze in American funding, she said, didn’t make economic sense.

So far, other countries have not stepped up to assist with funding, but Byanyima hopes that changes.

“People are going to die because lifesaving tools have been taken away from them,” she said. “I have not yet heard of any European country committing to step in, but I know they are listening and trying to see where they can come in because they care about rights, about humanity.”

USPS, holiday shipping — (Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 10, 2025

Former Postal Employee, Co-Conspirator Sentenced After Stealing Over $24M Worth Of Checks

Nakedra Shannon, Desiray Carter, and Donell Gardner have all pleaded guilty and will serve at least four years in prison.

A former U.S. Postal Service employee in North Carolina and a co-conspirator are headed to prison for their involvement in a scheme that dealt with over $24 million of stolen checks.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of North Carolina, has announced that the USPS employee, Nakedra Shannon and Desiray Carter, who resided in Charlotte, were both sentenced to more than four years each, followed by two years of supervised release for their roles in stealing incoming and outgoing checks from the U.S. mail.

Shannon was sentenced to five years in prison while Carter was given four years and six months. A third person involved in the theft, Donell Gardner, was sentenced on July 2024, to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release after his release.

The defendants all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and theft of government property. All three defendants will also have to pay $113,333.87 in restitution, jointly and severally.

Court records show that from March 2021 to July 2023, Shannon was working at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as a mail processing clerk at a distribution center in Charlotte. The 30-year-old admitted in court, that from April to July 2023, she worked with Gardner and Carter to steal incoming and outgoing checks from the post office. After receiving the stolen checks, Gardner and Carter sold them to other individuals who also used the Telegram channel OG Glass House.

The checks that were stolen totaled over $24 million, including over $12 million in stolen checks posted for sale on OG Glass House. This also included more than $8 million in stolen U.S. Treasury checks. The three defendants received hundreds of thousands of dollars in criminal proceeds from the mail theft scheme.

Amtrak, historic black town — King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

by Sharelle B. McNair

February 10, 2025

Amtrak Added To Lengthy List Of Companies Ending DEI Programming

The list keeps growing....

Trains reported that railroad company Amtrak was announced as the latest company to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs effective immediately after being recognized as one of the best employers for diversity in 2023.

Employees of the federally chartered corporation were notified on Feb. 6 following a memo handed down by new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordering agencies within the department to “identify and eliminate” all activities related “in any way to climate change, ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, racial equity, gender identity, ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ goals, environmental justice, or the justice 40 initiative.”

Duffy followed orders from President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order on Jan. 23 that terminated all DEI programs, policies, and activities within the federal government, a domino effect from the Supreme Court’s ruling to end affirmative action in college admissions.

Under the ruling, according to Newsmax, Chief Justice John Roberts said that, for too long, universities have wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. “Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice,” he continued in the ruling.

Some of Amtrak’s diversity-related verbiage has already been scrubbed off the company website. In its replacement, a message from CEO Stephen Gardner appears, stating the company is “cultivating a workplace culture that welcomes everyone.” Press releases for the company’s 2023 and 2024 diversity reports have stayed put, although the links no longer work for the four diversity reports, beginning with 2020. The press releases highlighted Amtrak’s track record in the diversity space, including a 55% promotion rate for diverse talent in 2023 and growth in membership in Employee Resource Groups at 60%, “which offer camaraderie, personal, and professional development opportunities.”

After being listed in Forbes as one of the Best Employers for Diversity in 2023, former chief human resources officer Qiana Spain said, “Amtrak is building a new era of passenger rail that will change how America moves.”

“This includes a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy that supports recruiting, developing and retaining our people. Being recognized as Forbes Best Employers for Diversity validates our efforts as we work to deliver more trains to more people,” she said in a press release.

In addition to DEI being tossed aside, so is remote work for Amtrak employees. Starting March 3, a company spokesperson confirmed employees will be required to report to the office four days a week. The move also aligns with another executive order from Trump requiring all executive-branch employees “to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.”

Ye, Kanye West, Kamala Harris, Trump — Photo by Gotham/GC Images

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

February 10, 2025

Ye Shoots Low-Budget Super Bowl Ad For Yeezy Slides

The controversial music producer releases low-budget commercial for his website

A new Yeezy commercial featuring Ye was aired during the Super Bowl (in local markets) that had people questioning him again.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the artist formerly known as Kanye West has been in the news recently after re-appearing on social media and filling his posts with rants that have been labeled as anti-semitic. He praised Adolf Hitler again and labeled himself a Nazi while denouncing the #MeToo movement and other comments and statements that revert to the type of messages he spewed years ago during his rants before losing his adidas, GAP, and Belencia partnerships.

He has recently promoted his latest Yeezy product, the SL-01, AKA The Yeezy Slides. The commercial shows the music producer in a dentist’s office advertising his website, which he states he filmed on his iPhone.

“I spent like all the money for the commercial on these new teeth,” he says in front of the camera. “Once again I had to shoot it on the iPhone. Um…Um…. Go to Yeezy.com.”

The ad wasn’t seen nationally, but only on several local stations near the end of the Super Bowl. It stated that it was “paid for by Yeezy LLC.”

The site previously listed articles of clothing including the new slides, Yeezy shorts, sweats, hoodies, and music. However, now, it only shows a T-shirt with the nazi emblem on the front.

Ye once again deleted his X account but before doing so, he did have one final message he left for his followers.

“MY TWITTER REACH HAS BEEN LIMITED SO I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TREND DOING SUPER BOWL I AM SETTING UP A DISCORD CHANEL ON MY WEBSITE WELCOME TO AMERICA”

Ye’s antics have caught the attention of the public after he just announced that after losing business and being reportedly “canceled,” he announced last month that Eton Venture Services confirmed that he has reached billionaire status again after they declared his net worth “stands at $2.77 Billion… based on his music portfolio and his sole ownership of the Yeezy mark.”