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Mississippi Discriminates Against Black Residents with Appointed Judges, Justice Department Says

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Mississippi Discriminates Against Black Residents with Appointed Judges, Justice Department Says
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, AP News

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A new Mississippi law discriminates against residents of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson by requiring the appointment of some judges in a state where most judges are elected, the U.S. Justice Department said in court papers filed Wednesday.

The department is seeking to join a federal lawsuit the NAACP filed against the state shortly after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the law in April.

Kristen Clarke, the department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement that Mississippi lawmakers created “a crude scheme that singles out and discriminates against Black residents” in Jackson and Hinds County, where the city is located. Clarke said the law creates a “two-tiered system of justice” with judges and prosecutors chosen by state officials.

“This thinly-veiled state takeover is intended to strip power, voice and resources away from Hinds County’s predominantly-Black electorate, singling out the majority-Black Hinds County for adverse treatment imposed on no other voters in the State of Mississippi,” Clarke said.

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has temporarily blocked the law from taking effect. Wingate would have to approve the Justice Department’s request to intervene in the lawsuit.

The department said in its court filing Wednesday that the Mississippi law discriminates against people based on race, violating the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee.

The law creates a new court in part of Jackson with prosecutors appointed by the Mississippi attorney general and a judge appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court chief justice. The law also authorizes the chief justice to appoint four other judges to work alongside the four elected circuit court judges in Hinds County.

Critics say the law takes away self-governance in Jackson and Hinds County, which are both majority-Black and governed by Democrats. Members of the majority-white and Republican-controlled Legislature said they passed the law to improve safety in Jackson, which has had more than 100 homicides for each of the past three years.

The law also expands the patrol territory of the state-run Capitol Police department within Jackson. The NAACP says in its lawsuit that the police expansion also violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection by treating Jackson differently from other parts of the state.

While the Justice Department challenges the appointment of prosecutors and judges, it does not challenge the police expansion.

Derrick Johnson, national president and CEO of the NAACP, praised the Justice Department’s action as “exemplary of what good government looks like.”

“When our state leaders fail those they are supposed to serve, it is only right that the federal government steps in to ensure that justice is delivered,” said Johnson, who lives in Jackson.

The Mississippi Supreme Court — minus the chief justice — heard arguments last week about a state lawsuit that also challenges the new law.

Les Twins Are on a Mission to Improve Student Mental Health

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Les Twins Are on a Mission to Improve Student Mental Health

By Aziah Siid, Word in Black 

If you’ve been lucky enough to score tickets to Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, you know Queen B is on stage dancing with Larry and Laurent Bourgeois — better known as Les Twins.

The 34-year-old identical twin brothers are known for their distinctive hairstyles (afros, braids, or twists) as well as their ability to pop, lock, and effortlessly groove in a variety of dance styles. But while the two Frenchman shine on stage, their life growing up in the projects just north of Paris wasn’t always so glamourous.

“I would share my meal with nine kids. When you’re used to that, you’re not looking for more food —you’re just looking for everybody to have their own meal,” Laurent tells Word in Black. “So, ask me, where I was feeling free? I felt pretty free when I was dancing because it took me away from everything.”

That’s why since the end of May, Les Twins have brought their ability to use dance to improve well-being to the Rise for Mental Health tour. The tour is the result of a partnership with the Kids Write Network, an organization that works to boost student literacy.

“They have changed lives, they have saved lives, they have shifted the way children feel,” Helen Georgaklis, the founder of KWN, says about the impact of Les Twins.

Literacy is crucial, Georgaklis says, but so is the well-being of youth. The recent increase in mental health challenges and teen suicide rates made KWN and Les Twins want to do something to help.

Indeed, the effort is called the Rise Mental Health tour because “we want people to figuratively and literally rise to the occasion of doing something when it comes to speaking about mental health,” Georgaklis says.

I felt pretty free when I was dancing because it took me away from everything.

LAURENT BOURGEOIS

“To be able to destigmatize the whole thing with mental health and to be able to really connect in a way with the youth and with adults like that — we’re rising and standing up for something that we believe in very strongly,” she explains.

The need for the tour is certainly there. In the United States, the suicide rate among Black youth has skyrocketed. Data shows that suicide is the leading cause of death for Black girls aged 12-14.

Given the rise of teen mental health challenges — both during and post-pandemic —educators, parents, and community organizers are all looking for solutions.

To foster emotional resilience and boost student confidence, KWN’s six-step program combines positive psychology with neuroscience. The program empowers students with communication skills and helps them navigate adverse situations.

“Some people, when they’re mad, when they’re not appreciated, not content, or anything, they overstimulate,” Laurent says. “If they don’t know what to do with their emotions, they might beat up someone else, scream in the pillow, or actually cry.”

Once a school registers to participate, teachers are trained to help students regulate their emotions, develop coping skills, and build a positive mindset. Teachers also prepare students for participating in a workshop with Les Twins.

During the workshop, Les Twins show students how to use movement and dance to express themselves through words they may not be able to say, write, or draw. They also talk to them about self-love and acceptance.

“We’ve had teachers come up to us and say [Les Twins] have done in two hours, what teachers have not been able to do in the entire year of school,” Georgaklis says. She says a teacher recently told them that a week before participating in Les Twins’ workshop, a student was contemplating suicide — “and today he wants to live.”

Ultimately, the goal of the tour is to shift the narrative around mental health and create a safe space for youth to express their emotions through art.

“It can be designing, it can be dancing, it can be sports, it can be running, it can be anything — but at least this is the right thing to actually express themselves,” Laurent says.

Texas A&M University President Resigns After Black Journalist’s Hiring at Campus Unravels

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Texas A&M University President Resigns After Black Journalist’s Hiring at Campus Unravels

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M University on Friday announced the resignation of its president in the fallout over a Black journalist who said her celebrated hiring at one of the nation’s largest campuses quickly unraveled over pushback to her past work promoting diversity.

President Katherine Banks said in a resignation letter that she was retiring immediately because “negative press has become a distraction” at the nearly 70,000-student campus in College Station.

Her departure after two years as president followed weeks of turmoil at Texas A&M, which only last month had welcomed professor Kathleen McElroy with great fanfare to revive the school’s journalism department. McElroy is a former New York Times editor and had overseen the journalism school at the more liberal University of Texas at Austin campus.

But McElroy said soon after her hiring — which included a June ceremony with balloons — she learned of emerging pushback because of her past work to improve diversity and inclusion in newsrooms.

Her exit comes as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. are targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses. That includes Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill in June that dismantles program offices at public colleges.

The A&M System said in a statement that Banks told faculty leaders this week that she took responsibility for the “flawed hiring process.” The statement said “a wave of national publicity” suggested McElroy “was a victim of ‘anti-woke’ hysteria and outside interference in the faculty hiring process.”

McElroy has not responded to an Associated Press request for comment Friday.

She previously told The Texas Tribune that she had been “damaged by this entire process” and that she believed she was “being judged by race, maybe gender. And I don’t think other folks would face the same bars or challenges.”

Her work at the New York Times included research into the relationship between news media and race, notably in newsroom practices, Pulitzers, obituaries and sports.

Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, called Banks’ resignation a “wakeup call for all of us” and that Texas A&M’s reputation had been damaged.

“Let’s face it, education of students is no longer a primary consideration,” Bledsoe said. “That lofty goal has been replaced by a political, anti-Black, anti-Brown and anti-education agenda.”

McElroy said the initial offer of a tenure-track position had been reduced to a five-year post, then again to a one-year job from which she could be fired at any time. The 1981 Texas A&M graduate rejected that offer and chose to stay at the University of Texas as a journalism professor.

In an interview with NPR in 2021, McElroy said journalists should be pushed to find information from beyond what she called traditional sources that “skewed white patriarchy.”

“We can’t just give people a set of facts anymore,” she said. “I think we know that and we have to tell our students that. This is not about getting two sides of a story or three sides of a story, if one side is illegitimate. I think now you cannot cover education, you cannot cover criminal justice, you can’t cover all of these institutions without realizing how all these institutions were built.”

A right-leaning outlet in Texas highlighted those comments in a story after McElroy’s hiring and the publisher Friday said it helped expose a “woke agenda” at Texas A&M.

“Just as a little sunlight sends the cockroaches scurrying, exposing the statements and writings of these #HigherEd propagandists sends them into fits of hysteria,” tweeted Michael Quinn Sullivan, the publisher of Texas Scorecard and previous head of a conservative group backed by wealthy GOP donors.

The Rudder Association, which describes itself as a collection of Texas A&M students, former students, faculty and staff who are “dedicated Aggies committed to preserving and perpetuating the core values and unique spirit of Texas A&M,” also has acknowledged complaining to school administrators about McElroy’s hiring.

“TRA believes that a department head should embrace the egalitarian and merit-based traditions that characterize Texas A&M’s values, rather than the divisive ideology of identity politics,” the group wrote last week.

At a meeting with university faculty on Wednesday, Banks said she was not involved in the changes to the contract offer. The faculty then voted to set up a panel to investigate the matter.

On Monday, José Luis Bermúdez, interim dean of the Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences, also announced he would leave that job and return to his faculty position. McElroy said Bemudez had warned her about mounting “hysteria” about diversity, equity and inclusion at Texas A&M and advised her to stay on at Texas.

Banks is the second major university president to resign this week amid turmoil. Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said Wednesday he would resign Aug. 31, citing an independent review that cleared him of research misconduct but found “serious flaws” in five scientific papers on subjects such as brain development in which he was the principal author.

Alabama Lawmakers Refuse to Create 2nd Majority-Black Congressional District

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Alabama Lawmakers Refuse to Create 2nd Majority-Black Congressional District

By KIM CHANDLER and JEFF AMY, Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Friday refused to create a second majority-Black congressional district, a move that could defy a recent order from the U.S. Supreme Court to give minority voters a greater voice in elections and trigger a renewed battle over the state’s political map.

The legislation now goes to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who is expected to sign it.

Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated House and Senate instead passed a plan that would increase the percentage of Black voters from about 31% to 40% in the state’s 2nd District. A conference committee proposed the map as a compromise between plans that had percentages of 42% and 38%, respectively for the southeast Alabama district.

Republicans argued that the proposal complies with a court order to create a district where Black voters could influence the outcome of congressional elections. But Black lawmakers said the new map invoked the state’s Jim Crow history of treating Black voters unfairly and flouted a directive from a three-judge panel to create a second majority-Black district or “something quite close to it” so that Black voters “have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”

“There’s no opportunity there for anybody other than a white Republican to win that district. It will never, ever elect a Democrat. They won’t elect a Black. They won’t elect a minority,” said Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Democrat from Birmingham.

Republicans have been reluctant to create a Democratic-leaning district and are engaging in a high-stakes wager that the panel will accept their proposal or that the state will prevail in a second round of appeals. Republicans argued that the map meets the court’s directive and draws compact districts that comply with redistricting guidelines.

“We also took into consideration not racially gerrymandering our maps,” House Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Pringle said.

The debate in Alabama is being closely watched across the nation, and could be mirrored in fights in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas and other states.

The three-judge panel ruled in 2022 that the current legislative map likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act and said any map should include two districts where “Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority” or something close. The Supreme Court upheld that decision.

Now that the plan has passed, the fight will shift quickly back to the federal court. The plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case have vowed to fight the proposal if enacted.

“Let’s be clear: The Alabama Legislature believes it is above the law. What we are dealing with is a group of lawmakers who are blatantly disregarding not just the Voting Rights Act, but a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court and a court order from the three-judge district court,” plaintiffs in case said Friday in a statement.

Approval of the plan is almost sure to trigger a renewed legal battle over whether Alabama’s congressional districts comply with federal law and offer a fair opportunity to Black voters and candidates in a political landscape dominated by white Republicans. Smitherman said Republicans appear to be hoping that one of the justices will “flip the script” and rule for the state in round two.

Black Alabama lawmakers say it’s crucial that their constituents have a better chance of electing their choices.

“I have people in my district saying their vote doesn’t count, and I understand why they say that,” Rep. Thomas Jackson, a Thomasville Democrat, said during debate Friday. “The person they want to elect can never get elected because they are in the minority all the time.”

An analysis by The Associated Press, using redistricting software, shows that the 2nd District proposed Friday has mostly voted for Republicans in recent statewide elections. Donald Trump won the district by nearly 10 percentage points in his 2020 reelection bid.

Experts have said the GOP proposals fall short of what the Supreme Court said last month is required.

“They have pretended as though the court didn’t say what it said,” said Kareem Crayton, senior director for voting and representation at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. The Brennan Center filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs before the Supreme Court.

Those who study redistricting say that’s simply not enough, considering how sharply Alabama voters divide along racial lines. White people mostly vote for Republicans, and Black people mostly vote for Democrats. That split is also reflected among elected officials. There are 33 Black lawmakers in the 140-seat Alabama Legislature. All but one are Democrats.

Republican lawmakers hope to showcase the issues of compact districts and unified communities in court. They’re hoping a second round of litigation, or even another trip to the Supreme Court, will let them avoid creating a map that gives a second of Alabama’s seven congressional districts to a Democrat.

Crayton was skeptical that the high court would immediately backtrack on its ruling and said federal courts discount compactness and preserving communities in redistricting.

“It can’t take a front seat to matters that are entrenched in federal law,” Crayton said, calling those arguments “silly.”

Tony Bennett’s Life Wasn’t Just Singing; He Marched Along with King, Belafonte for Civil Rights

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Tony Bennett’s Life Wasn’t Just Singing; He Marched Along with King, Belafonte for Civil Rights

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Tony Bennett, the legendary singer whose smooth vocals and timeless classics captured the hearts of millions, died at 96 in his hometown of New York.
Although renowned for his musical achievements, his tireless work in civil rights advocacy has left an indelible mark on history.
Bennett’s journey into activism began early in his life.

Drafted into the Army as a teen in 1944 during World War II, he served on the front lines in Europe, witnessing the horrors of war and its devastating impact on human lives.
“The first time I saw a dead German, that’s when I became a pacifist,” Bennett revealed in an earlier interview with Howard Stern.
“Every war is insane, no matter where it is or what it’s about. Fighting is the lowest form of human behavior. No human being should have to go to war, especially an eighteen-year-old boy.”

His time in the military exposed him to the grim reality of racial segregation within the U.S. Armed Forces.
After being caught consorting with a Black soldier, Bennett was spat upon by a higher-ranking Army official, who assigned him the unenviable task of digging up the corpses of dead military members.

He said the encounter motivated him to speak out for civil rights.
In 1965, Bennett took part in the historic 50-mile Selma to Montgomery marches, standing alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to demand equality and justice for all.
“The mood was anger,” singer and activist Harry Belafonte said in an interview he and Bennett did in 2013.

“The mood was rebellious on the part of the movement, on the part of the civil rights crowd, and the question is: What do we do in the face of this kind of rage and this kind of mayhem? And there was just… the bottom line was that we will go back as often as necessary.”

To rally the crowd during the march, Bennett performed “Just In Time” on a makeshift stage constructed from dozens of empty coffins, a powerful symbol of the lives lost in the struggle for civil rights.

“I didn’t want to do it, but then Harry Belafonte told me what went down,” Bennett recalled.
“How some blacks were burned, had gasoline thrown on them. When I heard that, I said, ‘I’ll go with you,’” he said.
Bennett remained dedicated to championing humanitarian causes and advocating for equality throughout his life.

He was an outspoken ally of various social issues, using his platform to bring attention to pressing global challenges, including the plight of refugees.
Bennett also refused to perform in South Africa during the Apartheid era, and later received the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees Humanitarian Award for his unwavering commitment to humanitarian work.

Additionally, his contributions to civil rights earned him a place of honor as an inductee into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
Beyond his activism, Bennett was a prolific musician with an impressive discography that spanned over 70 albums, earning him 19 performance Grammy awards.

His rendition of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” became a timeless classic, earning him a legion of devoted fans, including fellow artists like Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga.
A Kennedy Center Honoree and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, Bennett is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Johanna and Antonia, sons Danny and Dae.
He also had nine grandchildren.

Broadway San Diego’s Tina Turner Musical Brings Passion & Soul

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Broadway San Diego’s Tina Turner Musical Brings Passion & Soul

By Barbara Smith, Contributing Writer

The Tina Turner phenomenon is sweeping the country and San Diegans will have a chance to jump on board. In its national tour, playwright Katori Hall’s “TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL,” brings to life the story of the Grammy-winning musical icon at Broadway San Diego beginning July 25.

Evenly sharing the role of Turner, each playing four (of eight) performances a week, are two of Broadway’s most highly trained, dynamic actress/singer/dancers, Naomi Rodgers (“Frozen”) and Zurin Villanueva (“The Lion King,” “Mean Girls”), both of whom fill the role of the electrifying Turner with passion, energy and soul. 

With Tina’s passing earlier this year, it becomes ever more precious to pay tribute to and learn from the larger-than-life star’s legacy. The movie “What’s Love Got to Do With It” gave masses an inside look at the life of Turner, but even with that film, her story of early celebrity followed by an abusive marriage and fall from fame, then a dazzling comeback, as told in this Tony-winning production, provides even more insight into the woman behind the legend. 

For each of the actresses, the experience of playing Turner presents an exciting challenge and offers profound rewards. Clearly, the physical demands of the show are intense. The Tina character is onstage for nearly all of the 2-hour, 45-minute show, singing 21 songs.  Added to this are the thrilling kicks, twirls, and gravity-defying dances. Fortunately for both, extensive fitness routines gave them the necessary stamina and skill for the role. Says Rodgers, “I’ve always been very fit and full of energy. My family and friends call me a ball of fire,” she laughs. Villanueva’s 6+ Broadway experiences similarly curated her endurance, she says, along with the plethora of dance classes her mother placed her in, she chuckles, “to get rid of all that energy I had as a child.” 

Turner’s emotional journey became an area for deep exploration for both. Villanueva was astounded to learn of the star’s turmoil in the aftermath of leaving Ike. “He sent people to intimidate and scare her, blocking opportunities to sing at different venues,” she says, and this is a part of the story many don’t know. “But she didn’t quit, she kept moving forward, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. “With all she dealt with, she remained true to herself. I am eternally grateful for Tina’s example.”

Rodgers is especially moved by the scene when Turner leaves Ike for good and checks into a hotel with next to nothing in her pocket and only the clothes on her back. This is the moment she takes control over her life. “Now, she is given a key and that is the beginning of her new life.” The scene resonates deeply with Rodgers as a life lesson. In one’s personal and professional life, following one’s best instincts in decision-making is critical. “I learned I want to lead by Tina’s example,” she reflects. “Lead with love and kindness and strength. In making her own decisions, she became all powerful. That’s what I’ve implemented in my own life.”

“This is an epic musical,” says Villanueva. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, you’ll have a time. Come with an open heart. I hope the audience leaves knowing and feeling that everything is possible, because it is.” 

Adds Rodgers, “I hope people will get their healing in whatever is going on in their life. With all that Tina went through, she still found joy and happiness in anything and everything. She was still steppin’ and kickin’, still showing up and doing what she was called upon to do.”

THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL runs through July 30. For tickets, visit www.broadwaysd.com. 

‘We Persevered’: Spiritual Home of Black Cricket in Zimbabwe Finally Gets International Recognition

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‘We Persevered’: Spiritual Home of Black Cricket in Zimbabwe Finally Gets International Recognition

BY ENOCK MUCHINJO, AP News 

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Bill Flower realized 30 years ago that cricket wouldn’t survive, let alone bloom, in Zimbabwe unless it reached out to the country’s Black majority and found a place in their hearts.

Part of his plan finally came together two weeks ago when Takashinga Cricket Club, set in one of the country’s oldest Black townships, hosted an international game for the first time.

The spiritual home of Black cricket in Zimbabwe, where players looked after the pitch and planted the grass themselves in its early days, finally became a fully fledged international venue when West Indies beat the United States in a Cricket World Cup qualifying game on June 18.

It was a landmark match in which Takashinga lived up to its name, which means “We persevered” in the local Shona language.

“It’s absolutely fantastic and I know that my father would be very proud to witness it, and I’m certainly proud,” said Bill Flower’s son, Andy, the former Zimbabwe captain and Ashes-winning coach with England whose impressive resume includes once being a Takashinga player himself.

Zimbabwe will qualify for the World Cup in India later this year if it beats Scotland on Tuesday in the qualifying tournament it is hosting. That makes Takashinga’s emergence as an international ground even more special, even if Zimbabwe, a regular participant at the World Cup, didn’t play there during the qualifiers.

Bill Flower started in the early 1990s, digging deep into his own pockets to coach Black kids from Harare’s Highfield township where Takashinga is. Then, there were hardly any cricket facilities in Highfield and families couldn’t afford to send their children to Harare Sports Club to practice. Bill Flower used his reputation as a respected coach, and his own car, to take them to the prestigious club.

In Highfield, he discovered talents like Tatenda Taibu, who was nine when he joined Flower’s coaching squad. Taibu went on to become a Zimbabwe test captain.

Bill Flower also found there was potential in Highfield beyond players. A small group had just started Takashinga Cricket Club and it was an obvious opportunity to build something bigger.

Andy Flower, then Zimbabwe’s best player, took his father’s lead in identifying Highfield as crucial for cricket in the southern African nation, which was under white minority rule until 1980 and struggled with racial tensions for years after. A big-name white player, he decided to join the relatively unknown Takashinga team.

“I knew how committed they were in building their club,” Andy Flower said. “I thought it was helpful to have some of my experience, go there and work with them at training, during games, talk to them in the dressing room.”

“I thought it was something that would help to accelerate their development. I thought the bonus would be the mixing of Black and white. That was a special time in my life.”

Takashinga has produced more and more players, including five national team captains so far. Stephen Mangongo, one of the club’s founding members, became Zimbabwe coach.

“Takashinga subconsciously spread self-belief among the generality of Blacks to take cricket seriously countrywide,” said Mangongo.

But the transformation wouldn’t be complete until cricket was played at the highest level in Highfield.

The fixture list didn’t quite work out. It wasn’t Zimbabwe, which has five players in the current team with Takashinga connections, that played on the ground’s international debut. But West Indies was a good second-choice, a team that has won two World Cups and advanced Black cricket internationally more than any other.

“I’m so excited to finally watch them live. I hope to watch more big games here,” said Sakina, an 8-year-old Black girl from Highfield who was at Takashinga for that landmark West Indies-U.S. game and rooting for West Indies, which won by 39 runs but later failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Sakina’s school is a couple of streets from Takashinga and she plays cricket at an academy set up by Elton Chigumbura, one of the former Zimbabwe captains who played for Takashinga.

“My dad’s passion is football, but I love cricket more,” she added. “One day I want to play for Zimbabwe and play many games here at Takashinga.”

While Sakina is a perfect example of Takashinga’s ability to influence young lives, the club struck chords across all generations.

Now 50, Highfield resident Nathaniel Mavima knew nothing about cricket until the club started gaining recognition in the early 2000s.

“I’ve been a big fan for 20 years,” Mavima said. “Over the years, this ground has become more of a community centre.”

Hamilton Masakadza, another Takashinga success story who played for Zimbabwe for 18 years, said it was “bittersweet” that he missed his old ground’s international debut because of his current work as Zimbabwe’s director of cricket.

But he remembered the day it was officially opened in 2003 by West Indies great Brian Lara, whose team was on tour and using Takashinga as a practice venue. A plaque recognizing the moment one of the best players to pick up a cricket bat opened the ground still hangs in Takashinga’s club house.

It took another two decades to host international cricket and Trevor Garwe was never going to miss the moment. A former Takashinga bowler who played one game for Zimbabwe in 2009, he was back at his old club working as a venue manager for the World Cup qualifying tournament.

He said that first game was for the kids of Highfield who still can’t afford to watch the sport they love at other stadiums.

“Takashinga has brought it home,” Garwe said.

With Love Letter to Librarians, Obama Strikes Back Against Book Bans

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With Love Letter to Librarians, Obama Strikes Back Against Book Bans

By Aziah Siid, Word in Black 

Who would have thought that in 2023, librarians in the United States would be threatened with incarceration simply for doing their jobs? For providing families with books, and giving students a safe space to read.

But unfortunately, it’s true. At least 19 states have passed legislation that would lock up librarians for providing “harmful” books to minors, But now former President Barack Obama is standing up for librarians — and democracy.

In an open letter published on July 17, Obama thanked librarians —who are on the front lines of anti-truth and censorship efforts — for promoting and protecting the right to read freely read books.

The former president explained that book bans challenge the foundational principles of American democracy, like freedom of speech and expression.

“Nobody understands that more than you, our nation’s librarians,” Obama wrote. “In a very real sense, you’re on the front lines—fighting every day to make the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions, and ideas available to everyone…That’s why I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the work you do every day—work that is helping us understand each other and embrace our shared humanity.”

Obama also shared the direct impact banned or challenged books and authors had on him.

“Books have always shaped how I experience the world. Writers like Mark Twain and Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and James Baldwin taught me something essential about our country’s character,” Obama wrote. “Reading about people whose lives were very different from mine showed me how to step into someone else’s shoes. And the simple act of writing helped me develop my identity—all of which would prove vital as a citizen, as a community organizer, and as a president.”

The nation’s students might not have that same opportunity. Both politicians and prejudiced parents continue to crack down on books written by queer writers, as well as books by Black writers, that address the Black experience or that tell the truth about the history of racism in this country.

“It’s no coincidence that these ‘banned books’ are often written by or feature people of color, indigenous people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community,” Obama wrote. “Though there have also been unfortunate instances in which books by conservative authors or books containing ‘triggering’ words or scenes have been targets for removal. Either way, the impulse seems to be to silence, rather than engage, rebut, learn from, or seek to understand views that don’t fit our own.”

Efforts — like the Unbanned Book Club and Obama’s appearances in Tik Tok videos to promote book access — continue to be crucial in the fight against these bans and challenges.

A suggestion offered in May during Teacher Appreciation Week was to help a teacher by supporting local librarians. With this open letter, Obama certainly seems to doing just that.

He ended his letter by pointing out that we owe librarians “a debt of gratitude for making sure readers across the country have access to a wide range of books, and all the ideas they contain.”

Obama also asked the rest of us to tell “anyone who will listen — and even some people you think might not — that the free, robust exchange of ideas has always been at the heart of American democracy.”

Black Folks Worldwide Don’t Have Clean Water

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Black Folks Worldwide Don’t Have Clean Water

By Maya Richard-Craven, Word in Black 

Clean water is a right, not a privilege.

Tell that to the more than 2 billion people globally who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.

And, according to a recent report published in the July 17 edition of the journal “Nature Water,” sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions with the least access to clean water — a problem researchers predict will get worse by the year 2100.

Although the report focuses on the African continent, the reality is Black people right here in the United States don’t always have clean water either.

Harris Says Florida Rules on Black History Pushed by DeSantis are ‘Propaganda’

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Harris Says Florida Rules on Black History Pushed by DeSantis are ‘Propaganda’

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said extremists want to “replace history with lies” as she traveled to Florida on Friday to assail Republican efforts to overhaul educational standards, plunging into a battle over schooling that has rippled through classrooms around the country.

“They dare to push propaganda to our children,” she said in Jacksonville. “This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that.”

Her trip came two days after the Florida Board of Education approved a revised Black history curriculum to satisfy legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate who has accused public schools of liberal indoctrination. The new standards include instruction that enslaved people benefited from skills that they learned.

“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked.

She did not mention DeSantis by name, instead referring to “so-called leaders.” However, the speech was another example of how Harris has been the White House point person for addressing cultural issues such as race, schooling and abortion that DeSantis has championed in the governor’s office and on the campaign trail.

DeSantis rejected Democratic criticism over his state’s new education standards, issuing a statement before Harris arrived saying, “Florida stands in their way and we will continue to expose their agenda and their lies.” He accused the administration of being “obsessed” with his state as it ignores other problems, like border security and crime, that Republicans prefer to focus on.

Harris, the first Black person to serve as vice president, spoke from the Ritz Theater and Museum, located in a historically African American neighborhood of Jacksonville.

She described “true patriotism” as “fighting for a nation that will be better for each generation to come,” and she said schools would better prepare students for the world if they don’t gloss over historical crimes.

“Let us not be seduced into believing that somehow we will be better if we forget,” she said. “We will be better if we remember. We will be stronger if we remember.”

Christian Ziegler, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said Harris was out to “lecture Floridian parents that their children belong to the government and the government has a right to indoctrinate and sexualize our children.”

He said “the government overreach on parental rights has already been overwhelmingly rejected in Florida.”

President Joe Biden and Harris have pitched their reelection campaign around preserving freedoms, and they view education issues as one way to highlight Republican extremism.

In a video announcing his bid for a second term, Biden warned about Republicans “dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.”

Jacksonville is a rare bright spot for Democrats in Florida, a longtime swing state that has become increasingly safe for Republicans. Donna Deegan, a Democrat, was elected as the city’s mayor in May, and Harris tried to boost morale among the party faithful on Friday.

“We gotta remind the folks of Florida that you’re not fighting out here by yourself,” Harris said. “We believe in you.”

Florida has shifted to the right under DeSantis’ leadership. As governor, he’s signed legislation on a number of education issues, such as banning drag shows at schools and imposing new requirements for transgender bathroom use.

In 2022, he signed what he called the Stop WOKE Act, which limits how race can be taught in school and which the governor used to attack critical race theory — a subject he has described as “crap.” The law essentially says students can’t be made to feel guilty about their race because of injustices of the past.

Critics said the law was DeSantis’ attempt to suppress an accurate account of Black history. The law is being challenged in court.

“The full measure of African American history is not a hand-picked Rosa Parks here and a Martin Luther King Jr. there,” said Democratic state Sen. Bobby Powell, who is Black. “It is the sweeping collection of stories spanning several centuries, the lessons of cruelty and inhumanity interwoven in the determination of a people to live and breathe free. It is as much Florida’s story as the nation’s story and it needs to be fully told.”

Earlier this year, the DeSantis administration rejected a College Board Advanced Placement course on African American history, which DeSantis said was “indoctrination.”

Florida Decides to Teach That Our Ancestors Benefitted From Being Enslaved

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Florida Decides to Teach That Our Ancestors Benefitted From Being Enslaved

By Aziah Siid, Word in Black 

Florida has taken yet another stride against teaching the full scope of Black history in statewide public schools — and it’s sparking criticism from advocates and families both state and nationwide.

The new standards, posted on July 19 to the Florida Department of Education website, approved require public schools to teach that enslaved people “developed skills that could be applied for their personal benefit” and more.

“The notion that enslaved people benefitted from being enslaved is inaccurate and a scary standard for us to establish in our education system.” Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani said.

“I am very concerned by these standards,” Eskamani said. “Especially some of the notions that you know, enslaved people benefitted from being enslaved is inaccurate and a scary standard for us to establish in our educational curriculum.”

As Harvard Law School professor Cornell William Brooks wrote on Twitter, “Florida‘s new educational standards will assault the emotional health of Black children. If the Supreme Court found segregated education hurt Black children in 1954, THIS segregated white supremacist version of  Black history will do the same in 2023.”

Indeed, the new standards come with clarifications — for middle school students, teachers must educate students on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

High school students will learn about events such as the 1920 Ocoee Massacre, the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the Rosewood Race Massacre, all egregious acts against Black bodies in history.

However, the new rules require that instruction of the Ocoee massacre include “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.” The massacre is considered the deadliest Election Day violence in the nation’s history, and, according to several historical accounts of the incident, it began when Moses Norman, a prominent Black landowner in the Ocoee, Florida, community, attempted to cast his ballot and was turned away by white poll workers.

The decision is just the latest move by Florida politicians — led by Republican governor Ron DeSantis to prevent the accurate teaching of Black history. In January, Florida’s education officials department rejected a proposed pilot version of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course for high school students after it claimed the course lacked educational value.  In addition, the DeSantis-led “Stop WOKE” movement has sparked numerous book bans nationwide.

“Today’s actions by the Florida state government are an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement. “It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back.”

Stellar Awards Return to Las Vegas Nevada

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Stellar Awards Return to Las Vegas Nevada

By Dr. Michelle R. Thompson, M.A.N.D.A.T.E. Records Inc

Stellar Awards return to Las Vegas Nevada and the GODRADIO1.COM team was on location to cover the three-day festivities. This year’s Gospel Music Awards introduced the Stellar + Experience (Stellar + EXP) which provided a full event schedule.

Three full days of interactive activities featuring concerts, panel discussions, master classes, and much more affording fans the opportunity to engage with their favorite artists and producers in the Gospel music industry. More than twenty-five events were happening Stellar Week leading up to the awards ceremony that attracted creatives from near and far.

The 38th Annual Stellar Awards will premiere on the newly-launched Stellar TV. Airdates will range between Monday, July 24 and August 6, 2023, as well as national broadcast syndication from August 7 through September 10, 2023. Follow Stellar Gospel Music Awards on all social media platforms for updates or changes to airtimes in your area.

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