Black Panther party, where y'all at?Oh wait, ya'll never left. Marvel is keeping the Black Panther train rolling with the release of a new digital EP Black Panther: Wakanda Remixed, featuring 5 remixed tracks, including "Waterfalls," "Black Panther," "Wakanda (DJ Dahi Remix)," "Ancestral Plane" and "Killmonger."The original motion picture soundtrack was composed by Grammy-nominated Childish Gambino collaborator Ludwig Göransson, who has returned with a bang to produce the remixed joints. Announcing the "Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Remixed EP," available today from @MarvelMusicInc and @HollywoodRecs! Listen here: https://t.co/9KbgzNHzGw— Black Panther (@theblackpanther) August 17, 2018Göransson certainly has great creative chemistry with the film's director Ryan Coogler as the composer/songwriter worked with Coogler to create great soundtracks for the films Creed and Fruitvale Station. Producers featured on the new EP includes, DJ Dahi, WondaGurl, Michael Uzowuru and Jeff Kleinman.Black Panther: Wakanda Remixed is now available for download and via your favorite streaming service! Liking this content? Check these out: Kendrick Lamar And SZA Dropped An Amazing 'All The Stars" Music Video, And Black Twitter Is So Here For It'Black Panther: The Album' Tops Billboard 200 Chart For Third WeekKendrick Lamar And SZA Call BS On Lawsuit Accusing Them Of Stealing Artist's...

Eunique Jones Gibson has been impacting the culture in a positive way since 2013 with her award-winning platform and campaign ‘Because of Them We Can’. The content producer, photographer, author and activist created ‘Because of Them We Can’ to shed light on the black community’s rich history and the promising future we are headed toward.Gibson is also the founder of Dream Village located in Hyattsville, Maryland. The coworking community provides individuals the opportunity to work towards their dreams and build their village. Gibson spoke with Blavity to share her thoughts on the importance of impact and community activism in the black community, brought to you by AARP-Disrupt Aging.How do you define impact?I think impact is the ability to move people. I think impact is the ability to effectuate change. I think impact is the ability to really extract what’s on the inside as far as your gifts, your talents, your thoughts and your ideas, and being able to apply them in a way that touches people in the same way that it moved or touched you.I definitely think it’s the ability to shift. It's the ability to awaken. The ability to disrupt. The ability to touch people and, hopefully, in a positive way. You can have a positive impact and you can also have a negative impact, and I think whatever we aspire or strive to be, you should always aim at the positive side.Do you have a legacy of activism in your family?I think activism, resilience and really knowing that it's bigger than me is embedded in my DNA. My grandfather was a preacher, and that in itself is a form of activism when you’re constantly, trying to impact the community and help your members overcome obstacles so they can be their best selves. So, I think that he was a great example of an activist.My father, he was a police officer for 35 years, but not in today’s sense, like the sense where my dad really believed in being a part of the community that you are responsible for protecting and really serving.I believe that my grandparents and the stories of my great-grandparents and the ways in which they just did not accept mediocrity or just any kind of treatment whether it was on their jobs, whether it was in the community, whether it was in the streets, they demanded excellence and fair treatment, not only amongst another, but from other people as well. So I’ve been bombarded with stories like that all throughout my life. I think that it definitely influenced what I’m doing now.How do you reach back and pass it on when it comes to your activism?I think my activism is more so breadcrumbs and to leave content and to leave tools that people of all ages can consume. In a sense, I can pique their curiosity and really start a conversation. I think that my goal and my agenda is to do it in a way that crosses colors and crosses the boundaries of age. Whether you’re a young person or you’re an adult or you’re an elder, I work to make sure that my content is consumable for all types. I think that’s the type of content that doesn’t expire. When we think about just black history, it’s something that we’ll always talk about, but in a way that is refreshing, new and unique is important and that’s what I strive to do. I think that the legacy becomes the people that remember your story or the people that are touched by the way that you transfer that information to them in a way that stuck.What is one piece of advice you would give a young activist who is looking to create a platform similar to yours?I think you just start! The goal should always be impact. I think if the goal is to impact, then it doesn’t matter if you’re impacting the local community; if you’re impacting your neighborhood; or if your impact grows into a national movement. If the goal is always to impact, then it’ll keep you focused on what’s important and it will remove the temptation to incorporate vanity into what you’re doing. I think that is a big temptation in this social media driven world that we live in. I think that you start and build where you are, and you know, eventually, the more people that know about your work and the stickier it is, the more people will share it and the more it’ll grow. But, it’s not an overnight process. So, I think you have to know why you’re doing it in order to be able to continue and sustain it whether people pay attention or not. The goal should always be impact and it’ll grow as it is supposed to.What does long-term success in black communities look like to you?It’s the rebuilding of the village. Long-term success in the black community means really being able to rebuild our village. To rebuild our community in a way that allows us to reconnect and be self-sufficient. To also bring back the banking and the entrepreneurial efforts and the corner stores and the community vibe that allowed us to look out for one another and to really make sure that we supported each other’s endeavors, but we also took an active interest in one another’s success and failures in a sense that your problem is actually my problem.I think that long-term success in our community, you know we’re doing well as it relates to small businesses and being innovative and just really getting it. But I think that in the long term when we take the steps to make sure that that bleeds into our community in a positive way so that we can rebuild our village, I think that’s what long-term success looks like because then we become a sustainable people. Like that Black wall street where it’s like we’re good whether or not the people like it, whether or not the people help. We are good because we rebuild our infrastructure and we’re fortified amongst ourselves. That’s what long-term success is going to look like for us.How do you inspire more young folks to get involved, especially around the midterm elections?That’s interesting because I guess given the current climate that we live in like if you don’t get it, I don’t understand what will get you there. For millennials, it is probably the most toxic that we’ve ever witnessed right in our age group, but I think it's really about understanding the opportunity that we have to cause another shift and understanding that you know, when you see these underdogs now taking these longtime seats--these highly coveted seats, the seats that have been owned by certain parties forever. When you see newcomers rising up...that’s inspiring, that’s invigorating and that’s motivating.I think as far as millennials are concerned, we really do have the power to cause a shift and to get the country back on the page that we all know we need to be on. I think that we can all turn on the news or turn on the television or walk past the newsstand and see why that’s so important and so imperative. People get inspired by the opportunity that we have to cause a shift. That alone should motivate us to go out and to use our voice. I think that a lot of times. I’m one of them. Yes, our ancestors died for our right to vote, and while that is a fact and message I consistently raise, I do believe that, for whatever reason, it sometimes falls on deaf ears. Now we have to just look at the opportunity at hand. We have a chance to do something amazing by raising our voice at the polls. And that’s something we will see the effects of for years to come. I think that the opportunity in itself should inspire us to act.Do you feel like there has been a resurgence when it comes to civil rights activism?I don’t know if there’s been a resurgence or there’s just more coverage and more of us being able to share our own stories real time given the tools that we have at our disposal now. I think that there is definitely a new wave of interest in people who normally would’ve sat on the sidelines actually realizing that they have to get involved because of what’s at stake. From a civil rights perspective, I think that’s real, but I also think that our ability to amplify and to share our individual and collective effort has also changed, just given the way the world is moving from an online perspective.You know we’re our own publishers. We could pitch to a major news outlet or try to get an interview on television, but we can also go and grab our own cell phones to share a message. We can go and capture what’s going on and what’s wrong in America, then we can upload it to social media and it can go viral to catch the attention of people who otherwise wouldn’t know about it. Those advancements and how it could go so quickly to market in that way has really opened up the eyes of so many other individuals. If you take away the Internet, take away the ability to utilize our mobile phones as a way to capture and share these things going on in the public then you wouldn’t hear about it as much, but now we have ownership over what’s getting shared, what stories are being told and we have the ability to amplify them with or without the support of major media outlets.How can social issues impact our aging process?It's causing us to grow up a lot quicker. I think when we were younger we were shielded. I know as a parent of three small children, I try, to the extent that I can, to shield my children from some of the real ugliness that we deal with on a day-to-day basis, but because it's so rampant and everywhere, I can’t really do that in the same way that my parents were able to shield me from things that were going on. I think Desert Storm was happening when I was in elementary school. There were so many different things going on that I wasn’t really incognizant of and I think that you know, we just don’t have the opportunity with this news cycle and I think that it’s causing us to grow up a lot quicker. It’s causing us to actually activate our voice and realize what’s at stake.But it's also a good thing because it helps us understand our responsibility...life is an opportunity to discover our purpose, to explore our potential and to make an impact. That’s what life is, and some people don’t tap into that until their 40s or their 50s. I think that it's making us awaken to our purpose, to our potential and to our opportunity to effectuate change a lot sooner than previous generations. That’s a blessing and a gift even though the reason is tough to digest.How can they accelerate the aging process and affect our mental health if our social/political needs aren’t prioritized?I definitely think that the weight of is it very stressful and it can accelerate our aging and our ability to cope if we’re not tapping into healthy coping mechanisms. I read something the other day that talked about the growth as it pertains to black people in therapy and counseling. I think that’s real, right? Because it gives us the opportunity to manage the stress, to manage the information overload in a way that won't accelerate that aging process, even if it's something that’s like emotional or mental or physical. We don't have to wear how we feel because we find positive outlets. We can see just the resurgence of yoga, traveling, or things like that giving us healthy outlets and ways to process or to release or to expend that negative energy and to find ways as to tap into something positive. I think that the more that we can do things like that, the healthier we’ll be and the healthier we are mentally, physically and emotionally of course, the more our longevity will increase in impacting.Why do you think it's important to have platforms like ‘Because of Them We Can’ to promote positivity and a brighter future for our community?It’s extremely important because we need outlets that remind us of our greatness. We are overwhelmed with false narratives or an emphasis on what’s wrong in our community and yet there is still so much right with it. We need to be reminded of our genius and we need to be reminded that there are still positive things happening in the world amidst all the negative or the challenging or the frustrating. There are still people out there that bring us joy and pride through their mere being or through the remarkable things they’ve been able to accomplish. That’s a glimpse of hope and inspiration that we need now and forever. There are still so many people who are navigating this space, who are navigating these borders and are navigating time in a way that is still uplifting and encouraging and inspiring and we need to be reminded of that just as many times as we’re reminded of the reality of some of the challenges that we face.For every negative news story, we need seven positive stories to counter that. That's why with ‘Because of Them We Can’ outlets our focus is centered around doing. It's countering the negativity. For every one negative post, we’re trying to work on five to seven positive posts to counter one negative one. That’s what we want. We want that space and that platform to be the positive outlet and it’s because of so much of the news going on, but often times it’s easy to drill into what else is happening around the world, but we want to provide an outlet and spaces for people who are looking for something that's uplifting and that’s still very real and still representative of our community as a whole.Connect with Gibson and her platforms online at http://euniquejones.com, https://www.becauseofthemwecan.com and https://www.dreamvillage.com/en.Brought to you by AARP-Disrupt Aging #ReachBackPassItOn...

Meet Dele Alli.Alli is a professional football (soccer) player for Tottenham Hotspur.As BuzzFeed reports, the midfielder recently became an internet sensation for a hand gesture he made on the field during a game.  👌 👁️ Okay, who's still trying this? pic.twitter.com/b5C9ZnYPEt— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 15, 2018The gesture has become a part of Alli's brand, and now everyone wants to replicate it. And thus, began the start of a new internet challenge. The thing is, not everyone can do it correctly. It's harder than it looks, folks.#DeleAllichallenge at me?? pic.twitter.com/u9ruumV7Wv— jtatt (@jacobtatt) August 16, 2018Smh I been doin this #DeleAllichallenge the whole day 🤦🏾‍♂️ I got it now tho😏 pic.twitter.com/CqDmbXoe06— Rell🚫🧢 (@rellglonl95) August 16, 2018Wow, homie was STRESSED. The challenge is spanning generations, and folks' dads are doing it, too:My dads attempt #DeleAllichallenge pic.twitter.com/Eucq9h70xQ— louis freer (@louisfreer1) August 16, 2018Not everyone is struggling with it, though. Some are more talented at the #DeleAlliChallenge than others, making it look effortlessly simple. My mother thought I was going psycho but learnt the #DeleAllichallenge 😎😂 pic.twitter.com/3LPYeKUlQl— Lipa Nessa ⚽️ (@Lipsy_28) August 15, 2018Others practiced and practiced until they finally got it.After like a million tries I finally did it!!!! 😂😂👌🏾 it’s not that hard tbh #DeleAllichallenge pic.twitter.com/cebkG1zxWw— brad (@BOrisakwe) August 16, 2018Because the internet is the internet, someone posted a helpful tutorial:you’re welcome pic.twitter.com/zY3tD6o4F7— j ø j ø ⚡️ (@cloutboyjojoo) August 17, 2018Of course, Alli himself has been thoroughly entertained by all of this: I don’t know what they’re saying but this is funny to watch 😂 https://t.co/AwPWCST336— Dele (@dele_official) August 16, 2018Liking this content? Check these out:Beyond Pigskin: Why Black Americans Should Consider Soccer Over FootballHere's Why People Are Loving The World Cup's Only Black Coach Who Just Led Senegal To Victory On This Here JuneteenthCut Me My Check: Monetizing Viral Success As A Black...

A California man has been awarded almost $300 million in damages in a lawsuit against chemical company Monsanto.A jury awarded Dewayne Johnson $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages, ruling Monsanto failed to warn consumers about carcinogenic chemicals in its Roundup brand weed killer, reports BuzzFeed News.“I just want to thank the men and women and everybody on the jury ... for the hard work that they’ve done and for the days that they’ve spent in that courtroom,” Johnson said after the decision was announced. “I’m glad to be here to help, but the cause is way bigger than me, so hopefully this thing will start to get the attention that it needs.”Johnson used to work for a San Francisco Bay school district as a groundskeeper and regularly used the product. According to CNN, he used Roundup 20 to 30 times per year and had two accidents that resulted in him being covered with the product. The last one occurred in 2012. In 2014, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after he noticed lesions on his body.Johnson only has a few months to live, but his attorney, Timothy Litzenburg, believes the rest of his time will be spent “in extreme comfort,” and his two sons will be able to live comfortably when he passes.#Monsantotrial verdict has been reached in Dewayne “Lee” Johnson vs Monsanto Roundup cancer trial. Stay tuned as we await the reading of the verdict pic.twitter.com/xmxyLpzTgZ— Baum Hedlund Law (@baumhedlund) August 10, 2018 Monsanto plans to appeal the decision, according to a statement from vice president Scott Partridge."We will appeal this decision and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use and continues to be a vital, effective and safe tool for farmers and others," Partridge said.About 800 similar lawsuits are pending against Monsanto.Now, check these out:This Dad Celebrated His Baby's Progress Against Cancer With An Adorable Father-Son #LevelUpChallengeKanye West's Father Diagnosed With Prostate CancerHouston Fails To Give Family Of Deceased Firefighter Their Benefits, Claiming Her Fatal Cancer Was Partly Caused By Her...

White people, if you’re reading this, Tiffany Haddish wants you to be proud of a particular body part.The Girls Trip star played "Three Ridiculous Questions" with Jimmy Kimmel, and one of those questions was about white folks, reports Vulture."What's the best thing about white people?” Kimmel asked.Haddish pondered the question. "I mean, it depends on the person," she replied.Then, she gave the most Tiffany answer ever."Some white guys, they take they shirt off, and I'm like, 'Dang, you got translucent nipples. That's crazy!'" said Haddish.The pair talked about other topics like robots and Jimmy’s real first name for a while until Haddish thought of another great white quality.“Oh! You know what else is really good about white people? Inheritances! A lot of them got inheritances,” Haddish said.Check out the full interview below: Liking this content? Check these out:Tiffany Haddish Reveals She Was Raped By A Police Cadet At 17 Years OldTiffany Haddish Just Explained Her Idea Of Perfect Happiness, And It's So Raunchily Relatable, You'll Love Her Even MoreTracy Morgan Shut Down Questions About Tiffany Haddish In An Interview, And Lil Rel Howery Is Not Having...

Michigan state Rep. Bettie Cook Scott has issued an apology after news of her using racial slurs against her Asian opponent, Rep. Stephanie Chang, surfaced. According to the Detroit Metro Times, more than a dozen community groups demanded the apology after Scott allegedly referenced Chang as "ching-chang" and "the ching-chong" during the election. Both Chang and Scott were on the ballot for state senator in the Democratic primary. Chang came out victorious with 49 percent of the vote while Scott came in third with 11 percent of the vote."These comments are offensive to all Asian-Americans," Chang told the Metro Times. "It isn't about me. It's about an elected official disrespecting entire populations, whether they be Asian-American, immigrant or residents of Sen. District 1 or [Cook's] own current house district."In addition to the racial slurs, Scott is also accused of having called one of Chang's campaign volunteers an “immigrant,” saying “you don’t belong here” and “I want you out of my country.” Chang's husband, Sean Gray, who happens to be a black man, heard the remarks by Scott and asked that she not speak about his wife in such a way, to which Scott showed less remorse and more wrath, calling him a "fool" for marrying her. When Kalaya Long, a volunteer with Voices of Women to Win, heard Scott tell a voter they "don't need to vote for that ching-chang," she said she was taken aback. "As an African American woman, I've been called the N-word before in my life, and you never forget it," Long told the Metro Times. "Each time, it's shocking and appalling and disgusting, so when you hear someone that's a minority and a woman using slurs against another minority that's a woman, it's just mind-boggling, and it just felt dirty." Groups who called for an apology include Michigan's Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote, The Association of Chinese-Americans, the African Bureau of Immigration & Social Affairs, American Citizens for Justice, the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation and Equality Michigan. Since then, Scott has issued a statement saying that she "deeply regrets" her remarks. "I deeply regret the comments I made that have proven hurtful to so many," Scott said in a statement through her representative, Bill Noakes. "Those are words I never should have said. I humbly apologize to Representative Chang; her husband, Mr. Gray; and to the broader Asian American community for those disparaging remarks. In the divisive age we find ourselves in, I should not contribute further to that divisiveness.""I have reached out to Representative Chang to meet with her so that I may apologize to her in person. I pray she and the Asian American community can find it in their hearts to forgive me," her statement concluded. Whether Chang will publicly accept Scott's apology is unknown; however, her victory in the primary feels like karma. Now, check these out:Angela Rye Rocks Cornrows While Reminding CNN Co-Panelist Trump Ain't Her President: 'I Will Never Claim A Bigot'Obama Encourages More Women In Politics Because 'Men Have Been Getting On My Nerves Lately'Jahana Hayes, Once Deemed Teacher Of The Year By Obama, May Become New England's First Black Democratic...

Princess Nokia's rarity doesn't solely lie in that she was able to create a smash hit about being an unabashed tomboy who can still take your man. The New York City rapper and activist, whose real name is Destiny Nicole Frasqueri, is a spiritual maven who likes to represent for the queer kids and other underdogs in her free time.Nokia has made headlines for her rebellious persona, most notably when she threw a cup of hot soup at a racist yelling at a group of children on a New York City subway and punched a white boy for shouting "show me your tits" during one of her concert performances. That's "what you do when a white boy disrespects you."So what better dynamic persona who happens to serve looks to tap for a dope project with Foot Locker than the 26-year-old stunner? Nokia, along with YFN Lucci star in sneaker company Asos' new five-part anime series Welcome to the Dojo: Sneaker Samurai. Blavity sat down with Nokia to discuss her blinding confidence and why she's been a soldier long before the new video campaign. Blavity: Do you use fashion as activism?Princess Nokia: I do. I think that when I was a kid, I always used forms of eccentric ways of dressing to be resistant to the opposition of judgment around me. And I was always really comfortable with being androgynous. I loved androgyny, and I was a self-identified queer child growing up. So by the age of 12, 13, I loved Annie Lennox, and Boy George, and David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and I loved to wear ties very much. And I liked to wear ugly boxy trenchcoats. I didn't realize that I was dressing like a stud. I loved Annie Hall. I loved Miss Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. Those were just a lot of things that I've really liked, and I realized that that was not typical for where I come from. I was never intimidated. I was doing it for me and being a cocky kid and making people roll their eyes because they're going to roll their eyes anyway. You're a low-key philosopher. How did you become so confident?I grew up with a person, and I say this very lightly, who wasn't nurturing to me at all. Statistically, I'm supposed to be very different; I'm not supposed to have this type of confidence. I'm supposed to be very broken from the abuse that I've endured. But I did not believe that. I did not believe those things that person told me; I just thought I was a fun kid. I thought I was a great kid, and I think my dad gave me that confidence. He was always a sweet guy; he always encouraged my funky way of dressing; he encouraged the bisexuality; he encouraged the skating. He told me, "There's nothing wrong with you. You're perfect the way God made you; you're special; you're unique." And I think that I had an example of a man who is a feminist and a supporter of the arts tell me it's OK. And I was like, "if my dad says it's okay, I'm okay."Do you still identify as bisexual today?I think I identify more sexually fluid because I think bisexuality may perhaps be limiting in terms of the logistics of how we use things now. I don't put a particular label on it. What is your goal with your music? To constantly challenge me to be a better artist while simultaneously speaking my truth and my narrative. I can only talk about things I know. I don't know about no gangs s**t. I'm a bit of a nerd. So I write about things that I know, and I want it to be for awkward girls all around the world who have the delusional confidence of Barbra Streisand.How are you a samurai?I'm a woman of honor. That's what a samurai is. They are honorable soldiers, and I have been raised with those types of old-world values of honor, and trust, and value and nobility. So I carry myself with a lot of honor the way a samurai would, and I would kill myself the way a samurai would if I could no longer give myself to battle. It's a metaphor that you know when your time is up. It's a gracefulness; it's a poise. That's what a samurai is. Watch the trailer for Welcome to Dojo: Sneaker Samurai...

A former friend and business associate of actor Terry Crews has filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming the 50-year-old "cyberstalked" and harassed him. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Crews unloaded a series of tweets last year alerting fans to a former friend squatting on an old and defunct website of the actor's from 1999. The site and the PecPop Player app were designed in part by Darwin Hall, the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit against the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star. Crews alleges his former friend was using his domain name to build porn sites. The former friend squatting on my domain name https://t.co/7GGWGKPEMP has decided-because of r/CrewsCrew pressure-to offer a settlement of 30% of the original 1 million dollars he wanted. So $300,000 will get my domain back. Merry Christmas— terrycrews (@terrycrews) December 25, 2017Hall's Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company Symbolic Web Media, LLC was contracted early in Crews' career when he was a football player and just beginning to get into acting. Crews' thread from December 2017 alleges Hall -- who isn't mentioned by name -- tried to strongarm Crews into $1 million for unpaid wages. “This Complaint is brought by Plaintiff Darwin Hall seeking payment for services rendered and costs incurred by Plaintiff in connection with his services to Defendants, and for Defendants’ tortious acts in response,” the lawsuit states. “As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ breach of the agreements, Plaintiffs have suffered damages in an amount to be proven at trial, and exceeding $1,000,000.”The Deadpool 2 actor agreed to pay Hall $55 per hour, but Hall claims he was only paid $28,479.06 over the duration of their working relationship from 1999 to 2017. That amount is for only 296 hours of work of the estimated 6,000 hours performed, reports Deadline. Hall said he helped bolster Crews' social media presence in that time, as well.Their relationship began to sour in 2013 when Hall alleged Crews did not want to work with an LGBT-identifying client on a “dating app that the client had created for professional women,” Hall said. However, Crews refuted such claims in the 2017 tweetstorm claiming the app was porn. When I found out he was building porn sites, I told him I couldn’t work with him anymore, I saw how it all would backfire on me. He agreed to no longer build them... Then promptly asked ME to pay him to replace all the money the porn sites would have given him. I refused.— terrycrews (@terrycrews) December 25, 2017Both men have yet to agree to reconcile the unpaid wages. In addition to the million dollars, Hall is also demanding all posts related to the dispute be deleted from social media.“Further, in response, to the demand for payment, Defendants engaged in a horrific campaign of harassment and cyberbullying that has caused Plaintiff to fear for his life and suffer substantial emotional distress, all because he dared to ask Defendants to honor their end of the bargain,” the complaint read. Now, check these out: Terry Crews Bravely Confronts Victim Blaming In Wake Of His Sexual Assault Case In Universally Powerful TweetTerry Crews' Response To Why He Didn't Defend Himself From His Sexual Assaulter Will Leave You In Tears R. Kelly's Brother Reminds The World He Doesn't Bang With His Singing Sibling In Messy Track 'I Confess'...

Donald Trump has a long and muddy history with minorities and foreigners; a history that is documented even before he was elected president. Heck, on the same day he rode the escalator to announce his candidacy,  he made reference to Mexicans as rapists. We can dig deeper and recall the discriminatory practices that occurred when Trump was a real estate developer. What should hit closer to home for most African Americans was the Central Park Five and how Donald Trump pushed for the conviction of those teenagers even before adequate DNA evidence was presented- even before they were given a fair trial. Trump is no stranger to racial insensitivity and flat-out racism, and he has mastered how he masks it. Some racists will just call you the N-word and let their position be known, while others like Trump will call you a dog and leave just enough ambiguity for the world to try to decipher his bigger picture. There is a black following that Donald Trump has gained and individuals in the black community who agree with his practices and buy into his message that he is making America great again. We see these brothers and sisters at rallies, there are some that go out there and open up for him at those rallies and there are some that go out of their way to defend him on television (most notably being Paris Dennard, Candace Owens, Diamond, and Silk). Donald Trump loves his African Americans until he doesn’t. Recently, we witnessed the disparagement of Omarosa. During the campaign, Omarosa would be dispatched to quell the noise regarding his track record on race, she was his token black friend in a sense. “I'm not racist or sexist, Omarosa works for me”.  She took pride in the position and she spoke passionately and advocated for Donald Trump. She was fired from the White House earlier this year, which was something she did not take lightly to. Omarosa has recently written a book about the dysfunction in the White House and most importantly slammed the president in the book. Similar to any other time he reads something he doesn’t like, Trump logged on to Twitter and made sure that she and the rest of the world knew how he felt, going as far as to call her a “dog” and “crazed, crying lowlife”. The media quickly gravitated towards those keywords and punchlines, but what is more newsworthy than the hateful words is the notion that he “gave her a job”.  This is a narrative that is all too familiar in this country.  When people of color are hired to executive positions, suddenly we were "given” something, it is never something that we have earned.                                                                                      Photo: Twitter The president alludes to Omarosa being someone he gave a break to, clearly forgetting all of the countless hours she put on the campaign trail, all the media runs she made, all the heat she took from the media and from the black community. Yet she was given "a break". The mere implication that her job was not earned is already an insult, and to add salt to the wound she is called out of her name. All coming from someone who claims to care about black people.Riddle me this: If Donald Trump cared so much for black Americans like he says he does, then why talk so lowly about someone he at one point considered a friend and colleague? If all this can be said about her, then how much less his African Americans that attend his rallies. I’m not here to tell black people where their political allegiance should reside, but I’m here to remind them that their political allegiance should reside somewhere in which their support is appreciated and...

Aretha Franklin was a lot of things: genius, activist, diva, beauty, legend, and the list goes on. She was also a master of the art of shade.The best kind of shade is effortless shade, and Franklin presented it in abundance. There's a reason why there are entire montages of her shade on YouTube. However, there was one instance that stands above the rest: a sit down with The Wall Street Journal during the press tour for her album Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics.Host and WSJ senior editor Christopher John Farley asked the queen to participate in a word association game, asking her to say the first thing that came to mind as he named some contemporary artists. Warm up your tea, folks. Franklin added curt commentary on everyone from Adele to Alicia Keys.She had glowing things to say about Whitney Houston, of course. But, the most epic moment was her comment on Taylor Swift.When Farley rattled off the Reputation singer's name, Franklin's response was just, “Great gowns, beautiful gowns.”Y'ALL. She won. She wins. Forever. And, by the way, though her Swift comment stole the entire show, we also have to give honorable mention to what the queen said about Nicki Minaj: "Hmmm, I'm going to pass on that one."Silent shade. An effortless wig snatch. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, indeed.Liking this content? Check these out: Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin Dies After Battle With Pancreatic CancerAretha Franklin’s Melodic Voice Once Moved Barack Obama To TearsFox Failed Aretha Franklin By Posting A Pic Of Another Soul Singer, So Twitter Told Them To Put Some R-E-S-P-E-C-T On Her...

The Caribbean is a victim of undivulged history. During colonialism, black Africans who were forced into slavery in the Americas experienced a rupture in their historical trajectory. They had no choice but to subject themselves to Eurocentric histories, or what Edouard Glissant calls “History with a capital H”.In the 1950s, the British government’s scheme, which was later named “Operation Legacy”, required representatives in decolonizing regions to hide documents that would either incriminate British officers, embarrass the monarchy, reveal racist motives…or all the above. Not only were the African slaves’ histories obstructed, but details of colonial occurrences were also compromised.Still, Africans’ spirits, cultures, and languages remained enigmatic to the colonizers. The use of language was particularly pivotal to much of the cultural and historical productions in Jamaica. On one hand, British planters forced slaves to speak English and enroll in European-informed education systems. On the other hand, they transformed the language into Patois: a language that at first listen sounded like English, but was a linguistic diversion influenced by imported vernaculars and submerged idioms of the slaves.Eurocentrism and white supremacist tactics afforded colonial and imperial authorities the power to construct history. However, by examining three types of cultural productions—literature, oral storytelling, and music—one can see the ways in which Jamaicans used both English and Patois to communicate their identity and experiences, and thus challenge Western historical records in the 20th century.During colonialism, Caribbean narratives were told through the lens of the white minority, and following emancipation, imitative literature reached its peak as Caribbean people denied their African heritage and align themselves with British culture. The mid-1900s and beyond saw a shift in this mentality. Western-educated black Caribbean writers used their knowledge to produce poems, novels, and academic texts that responded to, challenged, or appropriated Western literary frameworks. For example, in his 1955 autobiographical novel, In the Castle of my Skin, George Lamming discusses themes of race, power, social hierarchy, and migration, while grappling with the legacy of colonialism and slavery in the 20th century Barbadian village. As well, in 1969, Aimé Césaire wrote Une Tempête, a postcolonial response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which addresses race, power, and decolonization.Postcolonial scholars have debated the revolutionary power of English among non-Europeans for years. However, using the master’s tools by speaking English and getting educated abroad proved a useful strategy because literature was and still is vital to shaping people’s imaginaries. By adopting dominant practices, Caribbean writers could critique Eurocentric historical accounts, while also presenting (potentially oppositional) intellectual ideas and thoughts that would be taken seriously by the hegemonic group.  Oral storytelling has long been used in lieu of historical data, or when narratives have silenced the colonized and oppressed. Like Patois, oral storytelling is characterized by its blasts of sound and total expression, and its intimate relationship and involvement with society provide a basis for which storytellers can comment. This approach connects the community with African oral tradition and provides authenticity to the story’s original meaning and expression.Anansi/Anancy stories originated from the Ashanti tribe in West Africa and are an example of oral stories that were transported to the Caribbean during the slave trade. In this new context, stories of the human-like spider character were told in Patois and stood for resistance, blackness, and power. In the stories, his cunning is often directed towards predators that are perceived as more powerful or well-respected (e.g. tigers, snakes, and lions), and he uses speech and intelligence to outsmart them.Anancy demonstrated the power of subversion and even inspired strategies of resistance. These oral and now published tales revealed the ways in which seemingly inferior groups can use wit (as opposed to physical force) to defeat their oppressors. Anancy gave hope to those who also faced tyranny and inequality, while also challenging colonial texts that were ignorant of Afro-Caribbean folk culture.Adorno once said music is representative of a nation and its principles. This is evidenced in Jamaica by the advent and popularity of reggae music in the late 1960s. Inspired by ska, certain sounds symbolized the rejection of white-man culture, while others symbolized ghetto life and reggae’s working-class roots. Rastafarians used reggae to protest the unjust social conditions faced by Jamaicans and other people of color. For example, Rastafarian musician, Mutabaruka’s 1986 song, “The Eyes of Liberty”, calls out American imperialism, US bombings, and the oppression of indigenous and black groups. Musicians such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Junior Reid, and Carl Dawkins also discussed issues concerning poverty, injustice, racism, and bondage. Reggae also entered the political realm in the early 1970s, when the Jamaican People’s National Party (PNP) led by Michael Norman Manley celebrated the taboo Rastafarian culture and used the genre to demonstrate shared concerns. The familiarity and ease with which he appropriated Rastafari culture and music appealed to progressives and underprivileged communities and assisted in his victory against the conservative Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) in 1972. Although Manley’s strategy was not entirely sincere, reggae was evidently more than a genre of music that commented on problems; it was also a means through which people could communicate to powerful figures the concerns of disadvantaged communities, and actually have these issues addressed.Jamaican culture has been hybridized from the beginning, and as such, its dominant African and European influences contributed to the people’s strategies of resistance and cultural visibility. While some Caribbean writers wrote scholarly and Western-inspired texts to contest Eurocentric texts and histories, others used Patois to connect with and provide a voice for less privileged Jamaicans.Operation Legacy and its proprietors did their damage, but the potpourri of literature, storytelling, and music has cemented some poignant events and shaped the Caribbean people’s history, culture, and collective identity. Indeed, although they will never gain the full story, Caribbean citizens have made sense of their histories through various strategies and modes of cultural production. And in the process, they have reclaimed the power to tell their own narratives. ...

Health care advocates and organization officials from Planned Parenthood are concerned about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh and his view and record of limiting access to abortion and birth control.Black community influencers, Maura Chanz, Andrea Lewis, Darnell Moore and Ashley Blaine Featherson sat down with Alencia Johnson, Director of Public Engagement at Planned Parenthood, to discuss what’s at risk for the future of reproductive rights for women of color, the LGBTQ community and immigrants.More than 70 percent of Americans support Roe v. Wade - a landmark decision affirming the constitutional right to abortion.If the Senate confirms the president’s nomination, the Supreme Court will become more conservative, which influences the constitutional right and access to safe, legal abortion to be at risk.Influencers shared their thoughts on how to continue to inspire people to stay committed to this fight.Lewis believes sparking dialogue and having online conversations are important to spread awareness of the issue.“Most of our conversation has been about groups that are not us,” Lewis said. “We are talking about the underprivileged. We are talking about people. How can we help these people who don't have the access that we have and don't have the education that we have?”“I do think using influencers in the most positive way as cliche’ as that may sound,” Lewis said. “I do think that work is happening little by little. I think you do have this conversation happening as much as possible to kind of get us to this place.”“The simple thing is to contact your elected officials and really encourage them to join the collective fight to either delay the nomination and do whatever else can be done to ensure this doesn’t go through,” Moore added.Watch the video above to see the discussion in action and share your thoughts with us in the comments...