Dear Black Boy, a new children's book by former NFL star Martellus Bennet

Dear Black Boy, written by former NFL star Martellus Bennet is a letter of encouragement to all of the black boys around the world who feel like sports are all they have. It is a reminder that they are more than athletes, more than a jersey number, more than a great crossover or a forty-yard dash, that the biggest game that they'll ever play is the game of life, and there are people rooting for them off of the courts and fields, not as athletes, but as future leaders of the world. The same things that make these strong beautiful black boys great on whatever playing surface they choose are the same things that will propel them forward in life: mental toughness, dedication, passion, determination, and effort are all things that carry over into the game of life. With the right preparation, every Black Boy can win. 10% of proceeds from book sales will go to charity.

"I just felt like I needed to write something for the Black kids who had to see or witness these things," Bennett told The Root. “I thought about myself as a kid and the things that [kids today] see because of the way media is consumed. We didn’t have access to as many things that were happening in the world. Now, you see all these things.”

The book can be purchased through Bennet's own website at https://www.theimaginationagency.com/shop-categories/books/dear-black-boy/

Nzingha Stewart to direct Misty Copeland biopic, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

New Line's Misty Copeland biopic, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, has found its director in Nzingha Stewart.

The feature project adapts Copeland's best-selling memoir of the same name from the star dancer who became the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre.

The movie will chronicle Copeland's rise from her poor and tumultuous beginnings — she only began ballet at the late age of 13 and found herself in the middle of a custodial struggle between her mother and the ballet teachers who were her legal guardians at the time — to becoming a crossover star that has written books, appeared in movies and commercials, and has become a speaker.

"As an African-American woman, I know firsthand that when Misty Copeland leaps, we all soar," said Stewart in a statement. "As a filmmaker, I am thrilled to bring this hopeful, triumphant and cinematic story to the big screen."

Stewart is a prolific television director and has worked on shows ranging from How to Get Away With Murder and Scandal to Grey's Anatomy and A Million Little Things. She was also an exec producer on Tyler Perry's drama For Colored Girls. She is currently filming her feature directorial debut with Tall Girl, a coming-of-age story for Netflix.

[SOURCE: HOLLYWOOD REPORTER]

Cory Booker focusing on Trump's racist policies

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker responded Friday to critics who believe he should unequivocally call President Trump “a racist.” Booker, campaigning for president at Reedy Fork Baptist Church, said he has been “very focused” on fighting Trump’s “racist and harmful policies” and is less concerned with “how you label” the president. He also accused Trump of emboldening white supremacists in the country.

Yahoo News asked Booker how he felt about the distinction at his event on Friday. He offered a lengthy critique of Trump’s positions on racial issues.

“Donald Trump has been using race … as a way to divide Americans. He’s been attacking people. He’s been using racist policies and language. He’s been empowering hate,” Booker said.

Booker went on to note FBI data showing that the number of hate crimes in the country spiked in 2017, Trump’s first year in office.

“We’ve seen unfortunate reports of biased incidences going up. I believe we need to protect ourselves and our communities and our neighborhoods from the kind of racist policies and actions that we see coming from this president,” Booker said. “It’s deeply unfortunate that this is a man who … can’t condemn Nazis … a guy who, literally, you see white supremacists using his language in their own materials.”

Booker added that Trump’s behavior has been “unacceptable” and is “something we should stand up against.”

“This is something that I’m very focused on from the time that I’ve been in office. I want to stand strong against the kind of policies that are hurting people,” said Booker.

After his extended criticism of the president, Yahoo News pressed Booker on whether he thought Trump was a “racist.”

“I’m less concerned about how you label him than I am about protecting people that he’s hurting and protecting against his racist and harmful policies,” Booker said.

[SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS]

Ava DuVernay's 'When They See Us' trailer

Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

When They See Us was created by Ava DuVernay, who also co-wrote and directed the four parts. Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey from Harpo Films, and Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions will executive produce the limited series alongside DuVernay through her banner, Forward Movement. In addition to DuVernay, Attica Locke, Robin Swicord, and Michael Starrburry also serve as writers on the limited series.

The series stars Emmy Award® Nominee Michael K. Williams, Academy Award® Nominee Vera Farmiga, Emmy Award® Winner John Leguizamo, Academy Award® Nominee and Emmy Award® Winner Felicity Huffman, Emmy Award® Nominee Niecy Nash, Emmy Award® Winner and two-time Golden Globe Nominee Blair Underwood, Emmy Award® and Grammy Award® Winner and Tony Award® Nominee Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.

Watch the trailer below:

Bennett College files a lawsuit in an effort to keep its accreditation after losing appeal

Bennett College has filed a federal lawsuit to keep its accreditation, the school’s president, Phyllis Dawkins, announced on February 22nd.

A federal judge in Atlanta granted a temporary restraining order, which means the college’s accreditation will remain intact while the court case proceeds, Dawkins said at a news conference. The legal proceeding is expected to last months or even years, she said.

The action followed the news earlier that Bennett had lost an appeal to its accrediting agency. The college had raised $9.5 million in a dramatic, two-month drive to prove to the agency that it could survive financially.

The appeals committee, the news release said, “found that Bennett College had ‘failed to show that the institution possesses resources demonstrating a stable financial base to support the mission and scope of programs and services.’”

The decision was a blow to the historically black women’s college in Greensboro — one of two such schools in the nation. Bennett had waged a successful national campaign for its survival, bringing in well more than its $5 million goal for fundraising.

A loss of accreditation typically carries with it the loss of federal funding, such as student financial aid, and can lead to a school’s closure.

The college has also submitted an application to another accrediting agency that focuses on Christian schools. A team from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools will visit Bennett in March, Dawkins said.

[SOURCE: NEWSOBSERVER]

Cory Booker reintroduces The Marijuana Justice Act

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), today reintroduced their landmark bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana.

In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

"The War on Drugs has not been a war on drugs, it's been a war on people, and disproportionately people of color and low-income individuals," said Booker. "The Marijuana Justice Act seeks to reverse decades of this unfair, unjust, and failed policy by removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances and making it legal at the federal level."

"But it's not enough to simply decriminalize marijuana. We must also repair the damage caused by reinvesting in those communities that have been most harmed by the War on Drugs. And we must expunge the records of those who have served their time. The end we seek is not just legalization, it's justice."

"The War on Drugs has destroyed lives, and no one continues to be hurt more than people of color and low-income communities," said Wyden. "There is a desperate need not only to correct course by ending the failed federal prohibition of marijuana, but to right these wrongs and ensure equal justice for those who have been disproportionately impacted."

"Millions of Americans' lives have been devastated because of our broken marijuana policies, especially in communities of color and low-income communities," said Gillibrand. "Currently, just one minor possession conviction can take away a lifetime of opportunities for jobs, education, and housing, tear families apart, and make people more vulnerable to serving time in jail down the road. It is shameful that my son would likely be treated very differently from one of his Black or Latino peers if he was caught with marijuana, and legalizing marijuana is an issue of morality and social justice. I'm proud to work with Senator Booker on this legislation to help fix decades of injustice caused by our nation's failed drug policies."

"As I said during my 2016 campaign, hundreds of thousands of people are arrested for possession of marijuana every single year," said Sanders. "Many of those people, disproportionately people of color, have seen their lives negatively impacted because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use. That has got to change. We must end the absurd situation of marijuana being listed as a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin. It is time to decriminalize marijuana, expunge past marijuana convictions and end the failed war on drugs."

"Marijuana laws in this country have not been applied equally, and as a result we have criminalized marijuana use in a way that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of young men of color. It's time to change that," said Harris. "Legalizing marijuana is the smart thing to do and the right thing to do in order to advance justice and equality for every American."

"Marijuana should be legalized, and we should wipe clean the records of those unjustly jailed for minor marijuana crimes. By outlawing marijuana, the federal government puts communities of color, small businesses, public health and safety at risk." said Warren.

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"This long-overdue change will help bring our marijuana laws into the 21st century. It's past time we bring fairness and relief to communities that our criminal justice system has too often left behind." said Bennet.

"Communities of color and low-income communities have been devastated by the War on Drugs," said Lee. "As Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, I'm proud to sponsor legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, address the disproportionate impact of prohibition on people of color by expunging criminal convictions, and promote equitable participation in the legal marijuana industry by investing in the communities hardest hit by the failed War on Drugs."

"Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by misguided marijuana policy for far too long," said Khanna. "Rep. Lee, Sen. Booker, and I are proud to introduce this important legislation and deliver justice for so many Americans."

The Marijuana Justice Act seeks to reverse decades of failed drug policy that has disproportionately impacted low-income communities and communities of color. Beyond removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances - making it legal at the federal level - the bill would also automatically expunge the convictions of those who have served federal time for marijuana use and possession offenses, and it would reinvest in the communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs through a community fund. This community reinvestment fund could be used for projects such as job training programs, re-entry services, and community centers.

The bill would also incentivize states through the use of federal funds to change their marijuana laws if those laws were shown to have a disproportionate effect on low-income individuals and/or people of color.

By going further than simply rescheduling marijuana with expungement and community reinvestment, Booker, Lee, and Khanna's bill is the most far-reaching marijuana legislation ever to be introduced in Congress.

The bill is retroactive and would apply to those already serving time behind bars for marijuana-related offenses, providing for a judge's review of marijuana sentences.

Full text of the bill is here.

Background on Booker's leadership on issues of marijuana and criminal justice:

Booker has seen the effects of our broken marijuana laws first-hand, dating back to his time as a tenant lawyer, City Council member, and Mayor of Newark, where he created the city's first office of prisoner re-entry to help formerly incarcerated individuals re-integrate into their communities.

In the Senate, Booker was an outspoken critic of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' effort to revive the failed War on Drugs. Most recently, he pressed Trump's newest pick for Attorney General, William Barr, on his stance on marijuana legalization and the Cole memo, winning a commitment from Barr to leave alone states that have already legalized marijuana.

In addition to the Marijuana Justice Act, Booker is the co-author of the bipartisan CARERS Act, which would allow patients to access medical marijuana in states where it's legal without fear of federal prosecution, and the bipartisan REDEEM Act, which would allow nonviolent drug offenders to petition a court to seal and expunge their drug offenses, while automatically sealing, and in some cases expunging, the nonviolent records of juveniles. These reforms would reduce a major barrier that formerly incarcerated individuals face when attempting to rejoin society. He is also a cosponsor of the Fair Chance Act, which prohibits the federal government and federal contractors from asking about the criminal history of a job applicant prior to a conditional offer of employment. Earlier this month, the Fair Chance Act passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Booker was a key architect of the First Step Act, the most sweeping overhaul of our criminal justice system in a decade, which passed the Senate on December 18, 2018, and was signed into law on December 21. Booker was instrumental in adding key sentencing provisions to the package after opposing the House-passed version of the First Step Act first released in May 2018. The sentencing provisions in the final bill include: reducing the "three strikes" penalty from life in prison to 25 years; giving judges greater discretion to circumvent mandatory minimum sentences when warranted; eliminating the so-called "stacking" of mandatory minimum sentence enhancements related to certain firearm offenses; and making retroactive a 2010 law that reduced the egregious sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine -- disparities that overwhelmingly and disproportionately affect African-Americans.

Booker also successfully fought to include provisions that effectively eliminate the solitary confinement of juveniles in federal supervision.

The legislation also includes provisions Booker has long advocated for that ban the shackling of pregnant inmates and require that healthcare products be provided to incarcerated women.

Elijah Cummings: It appears Trump committed a crime in office

After the Michael Cohen hearings with the House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) told reporters that based on Michael Cohen's testimony "it appears" President Donald Trump committed a crime while in office. Watch that video below:

Jumaane Williams Wins Special Election for Public Advocate in New York City

Jumaane D. Williams, a Democratic councilman from Brooklyn, was elected as New York City public advocate Tuesday night, notching a victory over 16 other candidates in a free-for-all race that could give him a platform to seek higher office.

“We cannot wait, we cannot stand still, because the challenges in our city are too great,” Mr. Williams said. “But the opportunity to create change is even greater.”

He pledged to listen to his fellow New Yorkers and then take action on behalf of the city’s most disadvantaged residents, naming people living in public housing and victims of gun violence. He vowed to help “ upend a system of injustice that criminalizes black and brown communities, and to give those who have been caught in the system a second chance. Most of them, a first chance.”

The public advocate serves as an ombudsman to the city and is first in line to succeed a mayor departing before the end of his term. It is also seen as a potential launching pad to higher office; Mr. de Blasio went from being public advocate to becoming mayor.

[SOURCE: NY TIMES]

Chicago will have its first female African-American mayor

Two African-American women will face each other in a runoff for Chicago mayor after defeating a member of a family that has dominated the city’s politics for most of the past six decades and 11 other candidates in Tuesday’s election.

Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters, but neither received more than the 50% needed to avoid an April 2 runoff. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel and become the first African-American woman to lead the nation’s third-largest city. Emanuel did not seek re-election.

“What do you think of us now?” Lightfoot said Tuesday night to a crowd of her supporters. “This is what change looks like.”

Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer.

Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, also made a campaign issue out of the Laquan McDonald shooting.

[ SOURCE: MARKET WATCH]

Regina King, Mahershala Ali win best supporting actor/actress Oscars at the 2019 Academy Awards

Regina King is now an Oscar winner and Mahershala Ali is a now a two time Academy Award winner. Both won awards in the Best Supporting Actor/Actress categories.

Regina King won her first Oscar to go along with three Emmy Awards. The actress was awarded the best supporting actress statue on Sunday for her role in Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk," in which she plays Sharon Rivers, a matriarch whose spirit is as strong as her love for her family. Watch her acceptance speech below:

Mahershala Ali took home his second supporting actor Oscar in three years on Sunday night, for his role as the black pianist Don Shirley in “Green Book,”. Ali won two years ago, his supporting performance in “Moonlight' and with this win Ali joins Denzel Washington as the only other black actor to win multiple Oscars. Watch his acceptance speech below"

Michael Steele Slams Trump For Not Condemning Arrested Coast Guard Lt

In an MSNBC interview Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele slammed President Donald Trump for not condemning Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Hasson, the Maryland man charged earlier this week with planning a mass terror attack against prominent Democrats and media personalities. Watch that interview below, Steele's comments start at the 5:53 mark.

Maxine Waters speech at Wall Street Project Economic Summit

Rep. Maxine Waters save a speech at the 22nd Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit, organized by Rev. Jesse Jackson. In that speech Congresswoman Waters shared that African Americans face challenges to close the wealth gap and America have a problem providing opportunities for people of color; but she called to action to improve diversity on boards and C-Suite level and in asset management; implement a Rooney Rule to hire and engage diverse asset management firms and retire the term "emerging." "This is a new day; a black woman has the gavel. People all over the world will hear it and I intend to use it," stated Congresswoman Waters. Watch her entire speech below:

Regina King wins Best Supporting Female for IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK at the 2019 Spirit Awards!

Regina King won the Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. Watch her acceptance speech below:

The Spirit Awards were founded in 1994 to recognize the talent both in front of and behind the camera in independent films. Check out a complete list of the winners here: https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2019-film-independent-spirit-awards/

If Beale Street Could Talk wins 'Best Feature' at 34th annual Spirit Awards

Barry Jenkins film adaption of James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk won the award for Best Feature at the 34th annual Spirit Awards. Watch Jenkins award speech below:

Barry Jenkins film also took home two more honors with Regina King winning the award for Best Supporting Female and Mr. Jenkins himself winning in the Best Director category.

The Spirit Awards were founded in 1994 to recognize the talent both in front of and behind the camera in independent films.

Check out a complete list of the winners here: https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/here-are-the-winners-of-the-2019-film-independent-spirit-awards/

Queen Latifah building $14M worth of new housing in Newark NJ

Hip-hop icon Queen Latifah (Dana Owens) is returning to her hometown of Newark to invest in a cluster of multi-family town homes along Springfield Avenue and South 17th Street.

The $14 million project is expected to break ground in the summer.

Latifah, a co-president of BlueSugar Corporation, is working with GonSosa Development on the project, which is anchored outside of the city’s downtown, spanning the West and South wards.

The project includes 20 three-family town homes and a three-story mixed-used building with an additional 16 units. Plans for the building include a fitness center and 1,900 square feet of commercial space that will be rented to nonprofits. The 60 units in the townhouses will be market rate; the 16 units in the building will be affordable.

Rents for the market rate units will start around $1,800 a month and are expected to open by December 2020. The affordable housing building is expected to be finished in December 2021; units there will be priced according to a person’s income.

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

NASA Renames Facility in Honor of 'Hidden Figure' Katherine Johnson

NASA has redesignated its Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, as the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility, in honor of the West Virginia native and NASA "hidden figure."

"I am thrilled we are honoring Katherine Johnson in this way as she is a true American icon who overcame incredible obstacles and inspired so many," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "It's a fitting tribute to name the facility that carries on her legacy of mission-critical computations in her honor."

President Donald Trump signed into law in December an act of Congress calling for the redesignation. The facility's program contributes to the safety and success of NASA's highest-profile missions by assuring that mission software performs correctly. IV&V now is in the process of planning a rededication ceremony.

"It's an honor the NASA IV&V Program's primary facility now carries Katherine Johnson's name," said NASA IV&V Program Director Gregory Blaney. "It's a way for us to recognize Katherine's career and contributions not just during Black History Month, but every day, every year."

Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 1918, Johnson's intense curiosity and brilliance with numbers led her to a distinguished career — spanning more than three decades — with NASA and its predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Among her professional accomplishments, Johnson calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 mission in 1961. The following year, Johnson performed the work for which she would become best known when she was asked to verify the results made by electronic computers to calculate the orbit for John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission. She went on to provide calculations for NASA throughout her career, including for several Apollo missions.

At a time when racial segregation was prevalent throughout the southern United States, Johnson and fellow African American mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson -- who was later promoted to engineer -- broke through racial barriers to achieve success in their careers at NASA and helped pave the way for the diversity that currently extends across all levels of agency's workforce and leadership. Their story became the basis of the 2017 film "Hidden Figures," based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly.  

Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and, in 2017, NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, dedicated the new Katherine Jonson Computational Research Facility in her honor. Johnson celebrated her 100th birthday on Aug. 26.

Since its inception more than 25 years ago, NASA's IV&V Program has performed work on approximately 100 missions and projects, including: the Space Shuttle Program, Hubble Space Telescope, Cassini, Mars Science Laboratory, Magnetosphere MultiScale, Global Precipitation Measurement and, most recently, the InSight Mars Lander. The IV&V Program currently is providing services to 12 upcoming NASA missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope, Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the Space Launch System. It also provides general software safety and mission assurance services, including support for NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

For information about the Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/ivv

Barack Obama and Stephen Curry tell minority boys 'you matter'

On the fifth anniversary of his My Brother's Keeper Initiative President Obama joined a town hall with Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and young men of color. The young men took the opportunity to ask questions about his upbringing, his advice and what he sees as necessary for young people to thrive in America. Obama and Stephen Curry told the roomful of minority boys on Tuesday that they matter and urged them to make the world a better place.

Watch Obama and Curry speak to the young boys below:

2019 American Black Film Festival to be held in Miami Beach June 12–16

The 23rd annual American Black Film Festival will be held in Miami Beach June 12–16, 2019. Learn more, get passes and tickets here: http://www.abff.com/ 

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) is an annual event dedicated to empowering black artists and showcasing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. Committed to the belief that diverse artists deserve the same opportunities as their mainstream counterparts, ABFF founder Jeff Friday conceived the festival in 1997 as a vehicle to strengthen the black filmmaking community by encouraging resource sharing, education and artistic collaboration. He ultimately envisioned it as a cornerstone of diversity in Hollywood.

For more than two decades the festival has been a platform for emerging black artists — premiering the early work and showcasing the talent of many of today’s most successful actors, producers, writers, directors and stand-up comedians — including Halle Berry (Monsters Ball), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Will Packer (Girls Trip), Issa Rae (Insecure), Kevin Hart (Night School), Kerry Washington (Scandal), Omari Hardwick (Power) and Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II). ABFF is the pre-eminent pipeline for black artists in front of and behind the camera, and has significantly expanded the range of talent working in entertainment.

As “the nation’s largest gathering of black film and television enthusiasts” the festival attracts a broad audience of A-list talent, emerging artists, upscale consumers and industry stakeholders. Approximately 7,000 to 10,000 people travel to Miami Beach each year for the event. The five-day festival opens with the premiere of an upcoming Hollywood release followed by independent film screenings, master classes, panels, celebrity talks, live entertainment, and a variety of networking and hospitality events.

The ABFF’s dynamic programming continues to evolve. In recent years, it has extended beyond the inclusion of television-related content to launch the Business of Entertainment seminar series co-programmed with leading media and technology companies.

In 2017, the ABFF launched its Greenlighters Academy, a pipeline program for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities with an interest in pursuing corporate careers in film, television and entertainment media. The 2019 festival will introduce About Women, a global initiative focused on empowering and inspiring women of color in the film and television industry. ABFF will also unveil a new section showcasing films based on cause-related topics impacting communities of color.

The American Black Film Festival is a property of ABFF Ventures LLC (ABFFV), a multifaceted entertainment company specializing in the production of live events, television and film focused on African American culture. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company is a joint venture of Film Life Inc. and Black Enterprise, two prominent media and event companies, each with legacies of showcasing the best of African American culture and achievement.

Kamala Harris frustrated and disappointed by Jussie Smollet's staged attack

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) originally condemned the attack on Jussie Smollet when it was first reported, going as far as calling it a "modern day lynching." Harris said Thursday that she is "sad, frustrated, and disappointed" over the allegation that "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett staged an attack he reported as a hate crime. Read her full statement below:

Like most of you, I've seen the reports about Jussie Smollett, and I'm sad, frustrated, and disappointed. pic.twitter.com/91OHOymShi

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 21, 2019

Elijah Cummings announces the rescheduling of Michael Cohen’s public testimony for next week

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced that the Committee has rescheduled its public hearing with President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building:

“I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing. Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the Executive Branch, and this hearing is one step in that process.”