Habari Gani

Habari Gani Sept. 5, 2019

September 5, 2019 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

Benjamin Crump, ESQ., (Photo by Cheriss May/Sipa USA)

Noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said recently it’s “open season” on Black people’s civil rights. The former lawyer for Trayvon Martin’s family said the $20 billion lawsuit filed by Black media mogul Byron Allen on behalf of his company, Entertainment Studios, against TV network giants Comcast and Charter Communications for racial discrimination could have huge implications for the Black community. Crump said if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Allen’s suit, it will effectively do away with the Civil Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in business contracts. It would eliminate safeguards ensuring Americans’ rights to equal protection under the law.

The Trump’s Department of Justice recently filed an amicus brief, declaring the law should be read differently than Allen’s lawyers interpreted it, wanting Allen’s company to prove racial discrimination is the only reason they’re denied business opportunities. Comcast denies racial discrimination, pointing to its Black themed programing as an example of its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Singer and fashion mogul Rihanna has joined other celebrities to offer support to the Bahamas after the country was rocked by “catastrophic damage” from Hurricane Dorian. Her Charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation, is currently trying to figure out how best to help the Caribbean nation that was pummeled by a Category 5 hurricane. According to the Red Cross, more than 13,000 houses, or 45% of the homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco, are believed to be severely damaged or destroyed. Bahamian officials reportedly received a “tremendous” number of calls from people in flooded homes. One radio station said it received more than 2,000 distress messages. On Instagram, Rihanna, who is from Barbados, said “it truly breaks my heart to see the complete devastation that #HurricaneDorian is having on the Bahamas!”

Federal prosecutors in the R. Kelly case are arguing his marriage to a then 15-year-old Aaliyah is proof the singer can’t be trusted around kids and must remain behind bars. Kelly reportedly married the late R&B singer when he was 27. The government produced in discovery to the defendant the official marriage application, marriage certificate, and annulment records for the marriage. They note in the discovery brief, it was far from a one-time mistake, charging Kelly’s sexual abuse of minors was intentional and prolific. The singer is currently confined to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago pending trail. He faces 18 counts in federal indictments on various sex crimes in Chicago and Brooklyn. Kelly faces 195 years for the Chicago case alone. His two girlfriends, Joycelyn Savage, 23, and Azriel Clary, 21, are reportedly trying to raise funds to hire Tom Mesereau, the attorney who got Michael Jackson acquitted in his 2005 child molestation trial.

Habari Gani for August 21, 2019

August 23, 2019 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill fired officer Daniel Pantaleo earlier this week in the incident that caused the death of Eric Garner. The decision comes more than five years after Garner was arrested for allegedly selling loose cigarettes, a crime he paid for with his life. O’Neill said he agreed with a recommendation by a judge that Pantaleo be fired for giving several dishonest statements about how he handled the 2014 arrest of Garner and the questionable way he implemented a deadly—and illegal—chokehold

More than 200 NAACP members and supporters from all over the United States recently came together to pay tribute to the first Africans who arrived to America in 1619 through the Transatlantic Slave Trade at the James Point Comfort in Fort Monroe, Va. The event recognized the 400thyears since chattel slavery began in America. The observance kicked-off the organization’s “Year of Return” trip to Ghana, which will have one of the largest U.S. delegations to visit that country. NAACP President Leon W. Russell said that as crucial as it is to look back on our history, the African American community must forge a path ahead.

Black media mogul Byron Allen has charged Donald Trump’s Department of Justice and Comcast are working together to destroy a civil rights law in the U.S. Supreme Court. In an article he wrote for thegrio.com, Allen, the founder/chairman/CEO of Entertainment Studios, said media conglomerate Comcast/NBCUniversal has brought the Trump administration along to take their side in the highest court after losing twice in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Allen said the involvement of the DOJ puts at risk all Americans civil rights for Comcast’s own financial gain. The key provision in the law protects minority businesses which, Allen said, is critically important at a time when people of color are under heightened attack.

Habari Gant July 18, 2019

July 18, 2019 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), the creators of Ebony and Jet magazines, is preparing to auction off Ebony’s 4 million photo archive valued at $46 million. Sale of the photos will help JPC settle its creditors, who include noted filmmaker George Lucas and his wife, finance expert Mellody Hobson; Hudson-Bay, Macy’s and former JPC CEO Desiree Rogers.

This past April, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. JPC reportedly sold Ebony and Jet magazines to Clear View Group (CVG). Last month, CVG laid-off the editorial staff of Ebony after failing to meet its May payroll.

“While the process is now in the hands of a Chapter 7 Trustee, Johnson Publishing Company is grateful for its 77 years of existence, and the unwavering loyalty, dedication and commitment of its employees, vendors and customers,” the company said in a news release. “The incredible legacy and impact of Johnson Publishing Company will always be honored and hold a proud place in the African American experience.”

Johnson Publishing was created in 1942, with Ebony’s first issue arriving in 1945. Jet would follow in 1951. Extended business ventures included Fashion Fair cosmetics in 1973, which sparked a traveling runway show and more. The founder, John H. Johnson, passed away in 2005 due to heart failure.

Black Enterprise magazine reports that median Black wealth will plummet to zero by 2053, and it will not matter if you have a college education, a fat six-figure salary, or have a C-level suite with matching title from a major corporation.

The magazine report noted Black Americans are often still negatively impacted by a lower net worth than other communities. “If the economy is growing at 3%, you have to earn 6% to build wealth. Your income has to grow faster than the economy,” Jeff Wilson II, author of The Lies our Parents Were Sold and Told Us and principal at The W2 Group accounting firm, told Black Enterprise.

“Unfortunately, if you have massive amounts of student loan debt, your earnings will not grow faster than the debt burden that just kicked in.” The dismal statistics hit Black women even harder. According to Black Enterprise, single Black women ages 20-39 who hold a Bachelor’s degree, have a median net worth of -11,000 to $0 compared to White women in the same bracket whose net worth ranges from $3,400-$7,500.

Married Black women ages 20-39 with Bachelor’s degrees have a median net worth of -20,500 to $7,700 while married White women have a net worth range of $18,700 to $97,000. A wealth coach told the magazine Black Americans have to rethink how they accumulate wealth.

The expert said Black Americans must equip themselves with the knowledge to transform the income they make into wealth they can keep; that money has to start working for them if they want to build wealth.

Scherie Murray, a 38-year-old New York entrepreneur will try to unseat progressive Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the 2020 elections. Murray is one of several Republicans to declare their candidacy to take down the freshman legislator who has garnered many headlines since she’s been in office.

Murray announced her candidacy on Twitter, accusing the Ocasio-Cortez of seeking “celebrity and publicity” more than she helps her own constituents. “There’s a crisis in Queens and it’s called AOC,” Murray wrote in her tweet. She isn’t worried about us—she’s worried about being famous. That’s why I’m running for Congress.”

Murray, who immigrated from Jamaica as a child, will be making her third bid for public office. She ran unsuccessfully for the New York Assembly in 2015, and New York City Council in 2013 by 80-plus percent margins.

Ocasio-Cortez is seen as the new face of a more left-leaning shift in the Democratic party. She’s butted heads with many veteran party leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Habari Gani? (What’s The News?) May 29,2019

May 30, 2019 By MKE Community Journal Leave a Comment

New data shows White women made up 40% of slaveowners

Data uncovered by a Black female University of California-Berkeley professor reveals southern White women played a heavier role in slavery than previously thought. Using census data from1850 and 1860, UC-Berkeley associate professor, Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers, found White women made up around 40% of slaveowners.

The findings are part of a book by Jones-Rogers titled: “They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South.” In the book, Jones- Rogers notes owning enslaved Africans served as White women’s primary source of wealth, and made the women better marriage material. The women also kept sole ownership after marriage.

—AtlantaBlackStar

Study: Southern Whites still have racial bias against Blacks

A new study reveals southern Whites are more likely to harbor unconscious racial bias against Blacks that stem from times of the region’s dependence on slavery well over a century ago.

The environment of someone could foster their racism and prejudice, the study purports, according to Pacific Standard magazine. Based on the report, White people do hold a higher rate of bias against Blacks; counties and states that had the highest number of slaves before the Civil War display greater pro-White implicit bias today, according to a research team led by University of North Carolina psychologist B. Keith Payne wrote in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”—

Source: thegrio.com

Angry White woman points gun at Black couple enjoying Mississippi lake

An unidentified White female campground manager in Mississippi (pictured below) has been fired for pulling a pistol on a Black couple who were eating and relaxing by a lake.

The incident took place recently at the Kampgrounds of America in Starkville, north-east of Jacksonville, according to the Daily Mail. One of the couple, Jessica Richardson, pulled out her cell phone to record the woman approaching her and her husband with a gun in hand and chastising them for having a picnic in the park. The woman demanded the couple leave the premises because they didn’t have a reservation—something Richarson said she didn’t know she needed. Richardson reportedly took to Facebook to post about the ordeal saying “racism is alive and well.”

—Source: thegrio.com