NAACP calls for the resignation of top leaders at HBCU Bethune-Cookman University

A leading civil rights group on Monday called for the resignation of top leaders at a historically black university where Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is set to deliver the commencement address.

The NAACP Florida State Conference is urging the university president and board chairman of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, to step down following the announcement of DeVos' speech last week.

The organization is claiming that faculty members have been threatened with termination and students could have their degrees withheld for speaking out against her appearance.

In addition, protests took place last week and more are expected on campus outside the hall where DeVos is scheduled to address those graduating on Wednesday. The anti-Trump group Indivisible, the NAACP Florida Conference and students plan to demonstrate at the event.

University president Edison Jackson has defended the invitation, however, saying it benefits students to hear from those with controversial ideals and differing beliefs.

"If our students are robbed of the opportunity to experience and interact with views that may be different from their own, then they will be tremendously less equipped for the demands of democratic citizenship," he said in a statement posted online.

The university has not responded to the NAACP Florida Conference's call for the leadership to step down.

An online petition with over 6,000 supporters wants to stop DeVos from delivering the commencement speech, charging the secretary had reduced consumer protections for student loan repayment plans and amnesty programs -- something many of the Bethune-Cookman's students depend upon.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Excessive Force Lawsuit Filed in Jordan Edwards Shooting

The family of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards, the teenager who was shot by a now-former Balch Springs police officer, have filed suit against the city, department and the officer.

The lawsuit by the Edwards family, filed in Dallas on Friday, claims Roy Oliver used excessive and deadly force while on the call and lacked proper training in his job as a police officer for the City of Balch Springs.

In the suit, the family's attorney said when the teens heard what sounded like gunshots, they tried to leave the area but said Oliver shot into the vehicle with a rifle. Edwards was shot in the head, according to the lawsuit, and his brother drove away after the shooting and called his father.

The attorney said as the driver of the car was stepping out of the vehicle for police, he went the wrong direction and an officer said, "this n----- doesn't know his f----- left from his right."

The family also claims Edwards' brother was handcuffed and taken into police custody.

Read more: NBCDFW

Underground could be looking for a new network soon

There could be some bad short-term news for fans of the WGN America show Underground. The show which is popular with African American audiences could be looking for a new network soon due to the recent sale of WGN's parent company, Tribune Media to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

From Variety.Com:

Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley didn’t mince words: WGN America’s programming focus will be very different once Sinclair’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media is completed.

The Baltimore-based station owner has great ambition for using the heft of its expanded national footprint to launch new businesses, potentially even an MVPD-like bundle of channels, but high-end scripted originals will no longer be a priority if Sinclair and Tribune secure federal approval to tie the knot.

Ripley told Wall Street analysts Monday that WGN America’s ratings cannot support the channel’s current level of spending on original series. Sinclair’s focus will be on “repositioning WGN America for profitable growth.” Ripley noted that WGN America already had begun paring back under the direction of interim Tribune CEO Peter Kerns, emphasizing lower-cost originals and acquired series.

“The ratings WGN America (delivers) doesn’t justify the type of spending they do on the original programming side,” Ripley said. “The channel could be run much more profitably on a fraction of what they spend on programming.”

Ripley didn’t name specific shows but his remarks left no doubt the WGN America will back away from scripted dramas, a field it moved into aggressively under previous CEO Peter Liguori. Liguori left the company in March after four years at the helm.

“Underground,” WGN America’s top original series, has drawn critical acclaim and a respectable audience, by WGN America standards. The historical drama wraps its second season on Wednesday. It’s likely that producer Sony Pictures Television will look to find a new home for “Underground.”

Black men, get screened for Prostate Cancer

An important message to black men on the importance of getting screened for Prostate Cancer.

African American Lady Liberty Coin

Celebrate the United States Mint’s 225th anniversary with a brand new design that remembers our past and embraces the future! This new design featuring an African–American woman as Lady Liberty is a fresh take on our Nation’s cultural roots, the traditional allegorical representation of Liberty, blending one of the most important symbols of our past with the creation of a modern American symbol. This new coin embraces our Nation’s founding principles that “all men are created equal … with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Join us as we celebrate this anniversary with a newly “minted” American symbol, the culmination of 225 years of progress and artistic vision.

Designer Justin Kunz has crafted a modern classic in his depiction of Liberty on the 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin. This 99.99% 24–karat gold coin is the first high relief coin with a proof finish ever minted by the United States. Each coin is hand packaged in an exquisite black–lacquered hardwood presentation case and is accompanied by a companion hard–cover book detailing the fascinating numismatic history of our Nation’s most cherished symbol.

CHECK OUT THE $2,865.00 PRICED COIN HERE: American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin

Trump questions constitutionality of key funding source for HBCUs

Looks like Trump played some HBCU presidents who are desperate for school funding not just for a photo-op, but for suckers and fools. Trump was speaking out of both sides of his mouth when he promised more funding for HBCUs (which he did not put in the budget) as he is now questioning the constitutionality of a key funding source for the schools. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

In February, President Donald Trump invited leaders from historically black colleges and universities to the White House, a move they hoped signaled his support for the institutions and showed an effort to give them more clout in his administration. But critics had a more cynical description of the Oval Office meeting: a photo op.

Those naysayers got more ammunition on Friday after the White House released a signing statement connected to the recently approved federal funding measure. Tucked away in the last paragraph, the White House announced that it would treat a program that helps HBCUs get low-cost construction loans "in a manner consistent with the (Constitutional) requirement to afford equal protection of the laws."

People in higher education circles worried that the statement meant that the president was planning to get rid of a capital financing program that helps historically black colleges repair, renovate and build new facilities. Congress approved the program in 1992 after finding that "HBCUs often face significant challenges in accessing traditional funding resources at reasonable rates," according to the Education Department.

"I would rather have Trump do nothing with HBCUs - not even know they exist," Marybeth Gasman, a University of Pennsylvania professor who has researched HBCU history, told The Washington Post. "He will see them as a handout. He doesn't understand that he was given a leg up by his rich father. He doesn't see that other people need help from programs because of past discrimination and inequity."

Read more: Trump questions whether key funding source for historically black colleges is constitional.

Police officer arrested and charged with murder of Jordan Edwards

Roy Oliver, the fired Balch Springs police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards as he was driving away from a party, was arrested on a murder charge Friday night.

Oliver, 37, turned himself in at the Parker County Jail. Bail was set at $300,000. He was released before 10 p.m. after posting bond.

If convicted of murder, he faces up to life in prison. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

The arrest warrant affidavit says another officer used his gun to break the car's rear window before Oliver got behind the officer and fired several rounds into the car as it drove past. It also says that Oliver "committed this offense while he intended to cause serious bodily injury in an act clearly dangerous to human life."

[SOURCE: DALLASNEWS.COM]

Black members of congress respond to Republican healthcare bill

Today Republicans passed a healthcare bill in the House of Representatives with many not having even read it, and it not being scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Not many House Democrats were happy about it and black members of the House such as John Lewis and Bonnie Watson Coleman took to Twitter to vent about it. Read those post below.

Never have I seen legislative action that reveals such clear disdain for the human dignity of the most vulnerable among us.

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) May 4, 2017

Not going to sugarcoat it - this #Trumpcare bill is astonishingly evil. One of the worst bills I’ve seen in all my years in Congress.

— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) May 4, 2017

This is shameful, despicable, and #unAmerican. My fight to #ProtectOurCare is not over. Not at all. Not ever. https://t.co/FduGQSrbXc

— Bonnie WatsonColeman (@RepBonnie) May 4, 2017

52 years in the House, and I can't recall such a blatant sell out of the American people for insurance companies

— John Conyers, Jr. (@RepJohnConyers) May 4, 2017

#Trumpcare means higher costs, more than 24M Americans losing coverage, gutting key protections, a crushing age tax & stealing from Medicare

— Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (@RepMarciaFudge) May 4, 2017

The fate of healthcare now rests in the Senate’s hands to protect the coverage of millions. Know that our fight continues. pic.twitter.com/4twQk9gQ4e

— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) May 4, 2017

April Ryan Named 2017 NABJ Journalist of the Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2017) – April Ryan has been selected as the 2017 Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). The annual award recognizes a black journalist who has a distinguished body of work that has extraordinary depth, scope and significance to people of the African Diaspora.

A 30-year journalism veteran, Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House – a position she has held for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) since January 1997. Her position as a White House correspondent for AURN has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues and political struggles of our nation’s last three presidents.

“April Ryan is a true trailblazer and truth seeker. She’s dogged and unapologetic about her pursuit of the story,” said NABJ President Sarah Glover. “In the White House press corps circle, where too few black women have been given an opportunity to report, April has excelled and persevered in spite of the many obstacles she has confronted. Her work has risen to the top.”

Trailblazer adequately describes Ryan, who received the 2016 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Trailblazer Award from the National Council of Negro Women, an honor she was ecstatic about receiving. She has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondent’s Association. She is one of only three African Americans in the association’s more than 100-year history to serve on its board. She is also a member of the National Press Club.

On behalf of American Urban Radio Networks’ 300 affiliates, and through her “Fabric of America” news blog, Ryan delivers her readership and listeners a “unique urban and minority perspective in news.”

A Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, Ryan gives back by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists, and helps develop up-and-coming broadcasters. As much as she loves her job, which has expanded since recently joining CNN as a political analyst, Ryan is especially proud of what she calls her greatest life’s work — her two daughters, Ryan and Grace.

“It is wonderful to be honored by such an esteemed organization,” said Ryan. “I am humbled and honored. So many of these [NABJ] journalists do important work and I am so thankful they would think of me for this honor. It has been an amazing couple of months and you guys give me some wind to say ‘keep going.’”

Ryan has made headlines while working her beat at the White House. She had public exchanges with President Donald J. Trump over the Congressional Black Caucus and with Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Her tense exchange with Spicer helped fuel the #BlackWomenAtWork hashtag.

While thankful for the honor, Ryan also took a minute to reflect on the industry and encourage black journalists to remain vigilant because “we add to the stories.”

“We all have a job to do and some of the stories we are doing wouldn’t be told if it weren’t for us,” Ryan elaborated. “We all need to keep pressing because the First Amendment is under attack.”

Ryan is more than deserving of this award,” said NABJ Vice President-Broadcast Dorothy Tucker. “She has had a stellar career and we know that she will continue to cover the White House providing accurate, fair and exceptional reports, while asking the tough, probing questions that we know and respect her for.”

Ryan is the author of the award winning book, “The Presidency in Black and White,” garnered her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author. Her latest book, “At Mama’s Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White,” published in December 2016, looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. A paperback version of “The Presidency in Black and White,” with updates about President Trump, will be published later this year.

Ryan will be recognized at the NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards at the NABJ Convention and Career Fair on Aug. 12, 2017 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. NABJ Convention registration and Salute to Excellence Awards tickets are for sale here.

NABJ congratulates April Ryan on this well-deserved honor.

[SOURCE: NABJ

Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America

New book, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America by Stacey Patton

A challenge to the cultural tradition of corporal punishment in Black homes and its connections to racial violence in America

Why do so many African Americans have such a special attachment to whupping children? Studies show that nearly 80 percent of black parents see spanking, popping, pinching, and beating as reasonable, effective ways to teach respect and to protect black children from the streets, incarceration, encounters with racism, or worse. However, the consequences of this widely accepted approach to child-rearing are far-reaching and seldom discussed. Dr. Stacey Patton’s extensive research suggests that corporal punishment is a crucial factor in explaining why black folks are subject to disproportionately higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions, criminal prosecutions, improper mental health diagnoses, child abuse cases, and foster care placements, which too often funnel abused and traumatized children into the prison system.

Weaving together race, religion, history, popular culture, science, policing, psychology, and personal testimonies, Dr. Patton connects what happens at home to what happens in the streets in a way that is thought-provoking, unforgettable, and deeply sobering. Spare the Kids is not just a book. It is part of a growing national movement to provide positive, nonviolent discipline practices to those rearing, teaching, and caring for children of color.

CHECK OUT THE BOOK

PAPERBACK------ KINDLE VERSION

Michael Slager pleads guilty in shooting death of Walter Scott

HIS NAME IS WALTER SCOTT. In a case that has been under the radar the police officer who murdered Walter Scott has taken a plea to federal charges against him. This wont bring Walter Scott back but Slager wont be on the street to kill anyone else for awhile. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com.

In a plea deal with prosecutors, former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager admitted to using excessive force in the 2015 shooting death of Walter Scott.

Slager shot Scott in the back as the unarmed man was running away from Slager after a traffic stop. In a reversal from his previous account, Slager admitted in court Tuesday that he did not shoot Scott in self-defense and said that his use of force was unreasonable.

With his family and Scott's family present, Slager pleaded guilty Tuesday in US District Court in Charleston to a federal charge of deprivation of rights under the color of law. In exchange for the plea, state murder charges, as well as two other federal charges, will be dismissed.

The civil rights offense has a maximum penalty of life in prison. The plea agreement states that the government will ask the court to apply sentencing guidelines for second degree murder, which carries up to 25 years in prison. He was taken into custody after the hearing and will remain there until sentencing later this year.

Scott's mother said the sentence mattered little to her now that Slager had admitted responsibility.

"What made me feel good about it is that Michael Slager admitted what he did. That was enough years for me," she said in response to the question how much time she wanted Slager to serve.

"No matter how many years Michael Slager gets, it would not bring back my son," she said. "This is a victory for Walter. This is justice for the family, but this is just the beginning."

[SOURCE: CNN]

Ohio quadruplets choose Yale

After being accepted into several ivy league schools, all of the Wade quadruplets have decided they will attend Yale University in the fall. Aaron, Nigel, Nick and Zachary Wade announced their decision during the Today Show Monday. Watch their announcement below.

Police Account Changes in Killing of Jordan Edwards

HIS NAME IS JORDAN EDWARDS! Thank God for the body cams on the police officers involved in the murder of Jordan Edwards. The officers had fabricated a story about the car coming at them and were going to paint Jordan Edwards,an honor student, his brother, and his friends as thugs and the aggressors. We now know that that story is false and the boys had not been drinking. Well lets see if Trump comments at all or at least ask his "Justice" department to look at the case. George L. Cook III African American Reports.

As family and friends mourned the death of a 15-year-old boy shot in the head by a police officer in a Dallas suburb over the weekend, the police chief said Monday that new evidence showed the killing did not unfold the way the authorities had originally claimed.

The Police Department in Balch Springs, Tex., said Sunday that the officer, whose name has not been released, fired on a car carrying the teenager, Jordan Edwards, a freshman at Mesquite High School in Balch Springs, because the car was reversing down a street toward the officer in an “aggressive manner.”

But Jonathan Haber, the police chief, told reporters at a news conference on Monday afternoon that video showed the opposite. He said the officer fired when the car was “moving forward as the officers approached,” according to The Associated Press. The Dallas County medical examiner’s report ruled the death a homicide caused by a “rifle wound” to the head.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the Edwards family, praised the police chief for his willingness to admit the department’s mistake and called the new account “a big deal.”

Read more: Police Account Changes in Killing of Texas 15-Year-Old

Sigma Pi Phi donates $20,000 to the NAACP to help in fight for equality and justice

During its April executive committee meeting in Baltimore, the Grand Boule of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, announced a new strategic alliance to increase its support of NAACP’s work in protecting civil rights. 

The agreement encourages members of the Grand Boule, the nation’s oldest African American Greek lettered fraternity to promote lifetime NAACP memberships among its group, increase organizational participation in civic engagement and “get out the vote” efforts, as well as expanded engagement in activities in support of the NAACP’s strategic plan. 

Additionally, the Northern, Virginia based Beta Nu and Epsilon Zeta-member Boules, presented the Legacy Award, a monetary donation of $20,000, to NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks in support of the organization’s continued fight for equality and justice.

“The NAACP applauds the Grand Boule and the Beta Nu and Epsilon Zeta-member Boules for its gracious donation and continued support of our work as the nation’s leading defender of civil rights for all people. Their commitment to serve as an influential and engaged ally, sets a powerful example for all organizations within our community,” said NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks, also a member of the Boule.

“The nation’s oldest civil right organization and oldest fraternity are developing a strategic alliance to more effectively address issues of people of color. The NAACP stands on the vanguard of issues ranging from discrimination, criminal justice, education, and economic parity, just to mention a few,” said Royce West Chair of the Grand Boule’s Public Policy Committee.“Sigma Pi Phi has men with considerable expertise, experience and influence in many of these areas. The alliance of these organizations will facilitate cooperation on the national, state and local level,” he added.

The Grand Boule, also known as the Boule, is the nation’s first Greek-letter fraternity founded by African American men. The Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity is best known as the Boule, a Greek term meaning “council of noblemen.” Founded in 1904, Sigma Pi Phi is the oldest Greek-letter organization comprised primarily of African-American men. 

The Boule has more than 5,000 members and 119 chapters throughout the United States and the Caribbean. Its membership consists of some of the most accomplished, affluent, and influential men-leaders who are making lasting contributions to their communities, our society, and the world.

Purple Rain Re-Release to be released June 23,2017

Prince’s “Purple Rain” is finally getting the royal reissue treatment it deserves. As expected, Warner Bros. and NPG Records will re-release the landmark 1984 movie soundtrack with bonus material on June 23, based on a deal that Prince made with his former record label about a year before his death.

Both the “Deluxe” and “Deluxe Expanded Edition” will feature a remastered version of the original album -- the refurbishing of which Prince himself purportedly oversaw -- along with a second disc featuring other studio tracks recorded around the same time but never formally released, including “Electric Intercourse,” “Our Destiny / Roadhouse Garden” and the instrumental “Father’s Song,” all of which have been hot bootleg tracks for Prince completists over the years. Six of the tracks were supposedly unearthed from the Paisley Park vault for the project and never before heard, including studio versions of “Possessed” and “Katrina’s Paper Dolls” and a 10-minute track whose title, “We Can F---,” probably explains why it never saw daylight.

The “expanded edition” will also feature a third disc, “Single Edits & B-Sides,” plus a DVD of a concert on the “Purple Rain” tour recorded March 30, 1985, in Syracuse, N.Y. The former features alternate cuts of tracks like “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry” alongside such beloved B-sides as “Erotic City” and “17 Days.”

Fans can pre-order the album starting today and will receive a download of “Electric Intercourse” if they do. The full track listings are below.

PURPLE RAIN DELUXE
 Disc One:  Original Album (2015 Paisley Park Remaster)
1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Take Me With U
3. The Beautiful Ones
4. Computer Blue
5. Darling Nikki
6. When Doves Cry
7. I Would Die 4 U
8. Baby I'm A Star
9. Purple Rain
 
Disc Two:  From The Vault & Previously Unreleased
1. The Dance Electric
2.  Love And Sex
3.  Computer Blue ("Hallway Speech" version)
4.  Electric Intercourse (studio)
5.  Our Destiny / Roadhouse Garden
6.  Possessed (1983 version)
7.  Wonderful Ass
8.  Velvet Kitty Cat
9.  Katrina's Paper Dolls
10. We Can F--k
11. Father's Song
 
PURPLE RAIN DELUXE - EXPANDED EDITION
Includes Disc One and Disc Two as Listed Above
Disc Three:  Single Edits & B-Sides
1.  When Doves Cry (edit)
2.  17 Days
3.  Let's Go Crazy (edit)
4.  Let's Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix)
5.  Erotic City
6.  Erotic City ("Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive")
7.  Purple Rain (edit)
8.  God
9.  God (Love Theme From Purple Rain)
10. Another Lonely Christmas
11. Another Lonely Christmas (extended version)
12. I Would Die 4 U (edit)
13. I Would Die 4 U (extended version)
14. Baby I'm A Star (edit)
15. Take Me With U (edit)
 
DVD:  Prince And The Revolution, Live at the Carrier Dome,  Syracuse, NY, March 30, 1985
1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Delirious
3. 1999
4. Little Red Corvette
5. Take Me With U
6.  Do Me, Baby
7.  Irresistible Bitch
8.  Possessed
9.  How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?
10. Let's Pretend We're Married
11. International Lover
12. God
13. Computer Blue
14. Darling Nikki
15. The Beautiful Ones
16. When Doves Cry
17. I Would Die 4 U
18. Baby I'm A Star
19.  Purple Rain

Omarosa Manigault: Blacks not trying hard enough to work with Trump

Here's another example of Omarosa's and the Trump administrations tone deafness to the black community. They don't seem to get that the onus is in them to earn the trust and respect of the community through THEIR actions and not the other way around. Refusing to enforce consent decrees, cuts to education and HBCUs, attacks on healthcare (ACA), Jeff Sessions appointment as Attorney General, talking about making stop and frisk the law of the land, not doing anything about discriminatory voter ID laws, and cutting environmental protections don't give the impression that the Trump administration wants to work with African Americans. George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.

President Donald Trump's liaison to the black community, the former "Apprentice" star Omarosa Manigault, says African-American activists aren't trying hard enough to work with the new administration.

The White House aide delivered the pointed message in an interview with The Associated Press in advance of an appearance Thursday at the annual convention of an activist organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

"We're here waiting, willing to work with the community," Manigault said when asked about Trump's moves to slash programs that benefit minorities. "This president wants to engage. It's not a one-way street."

She was more measured Thursday afternoon as she faced hundreds of black activists, who, like African-American voters across the nation last fall, overwhelmingly opposed Trump's presidency.

Several participants refused to utter the president's name in convention sessions, referring to the 45th president only by the number 45. Trump got just 8 percent of the African-American vote last November, according to exit polls.

"I'm ready," Manigault told the crowd as some murmured their disapproval. "I know what I came into, and I ain't never scared."

She insisted she's spent her first 100 days in Washington fighting for the black community. She noted that Trump has met personally with the Congressional Black Caucus and the presidents of historically black colleges and universities.

Manigault called on black leaders to help the struggling institutions as well.

"As I fight for you from the White House, I need you to fight on the outside," she said from the podium of a Manhattan hotel ballroom.

Read more: Trump Aide: Blacks not trying hard enough to work with Trump

Eric Holder Rips Republicans For Trying To Make It More Difficult To Vote

Former Attorney General Eric Holder says it’s “shameful” Republicans are seeking to implement photo ID laws and other measures that make it more difficult to vote.

Holder, who is leading a national redistricting reform effort, accused Republicans of trying to suppress potential voters who are less likely to support them. He made the remarks during the National Action Network’s annual convention in New York City on Wednesday.

“Some Republicans have declared, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, change the rules.’ Make it more difficult for those least likely to support Republican candidates to vote,” he said. “This is done with the knowledge that by simply depressing the votes of certain groups, not even winning the majority vote of these groups, elections can in fact be effective.”

“The attempts in certain states to make even registration more difficult are shameful,” he added.

Holder went on to cite a 2014 study by the Government Accountability Office showing that voter ID laws in Kansas and Tennessee reduced turnout among young and African-American voters.

“If one were to try to find vote fraud or a rigged election system, that is exactly where it is,” he said.

Read more: Eric Holder Rips Republicans For Trying To Make It More Difficult To Vote

Fox News anchor Kelly Wright discusses suing network for racism

Fox News anchor Kelly Wright is the latest on-air personality to sue the network. This afternoon, Wright joined a racial-discrimination case filed last month in Bronx Supreme Court against Fox News, its parent company 21st Century Fox, general counsel Dianne Brandi, and former comptroller Judith Slater. Watch Wright explain why he joined the lawsuit below.

Beyonce giving scholarships to four women

Beyonce Knowles announced today that she will be giving away four scholarships via a posting on her website:

FORMATION SCHOLARS

To add to the celebration of the one-year anniversary of LEMONADE, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter announces the establishment of Formation Scholars awards for the 2017-2018 academic year, to encourage and support young women who are unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious and confident.

Four scholarships will be awarded, one per college, to female incoming, current or graduate students pursuing studies in creative arts, music, literature or African-American studies. The schools selected for participation are Berklee College of Music, Howard University, Parsons School of Design and Spelman College. All details and application deadlines are available directly from the colleges.