Nearly a year after Papa John's founder criticized NFL protests and used the word "n****r" on a conference call, Shaquille O'Neal is gearing up to help the pizza franchise flourish again.HuffPost reports the retired NBA legend will join the company's board of directors, becoming the first Black person to serve on the board. O'Neal intends to purchase nine locations of the Papa John's pizza franchise around Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the deal.O'Neal has been a highly reputed investor for decades, owning major franchises such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, fast food joints and Shaquille's restaurants in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.The C-suite at Papa John's believes having O'Neal as an ambassador will help ignite a shift in the company's relationship with the general public and will pay the former basketball star $8.25 million for a three-year endorsement deal, reports CNN."Shaquille has an excellent entrepreneurial background, including as a restaurant franchise owner, and is a natural creative marketer," said Jeff Smith, the company's chairman of the board of directors.Since the announcement was made, Papa John's stock has already risen nearly 5 percent.The pizza franchise has suffered from slow sales and declining revenues following two scandals that rattled the entire establishment in early 2018.On January 1, founder John Schnatter stepped down from his position as CEO following comments he made about NFL protesters, blaming the nonviolent Take a Knee movement on his company's lack of customers. He also stated that the sports organization lacked leadership and insisted something should be done about the men exercising their freedom to protest, reported Blavity.Following these statements, Papa John's received an onslaught of support from white supremacists, who felt the corporation's values aligned with the white power agenda.This view gained more traction after an audio recording of Schnatter referring to Black people as "n*****s" was released this past summer, as Blavity reported. That recording ultimately led to Schnatter being forced out of his company.Since the founder's departure, the company has unsuccessfully tried to improve its financial outlook through a diversity campaign, CNN reports. O'Neal said he's proud to be a part of the chain's efforts to rebrand itself."Papa John's is building a better culture, and I want to be a part of improving the [company] from the inside," O'Neal said.Now, check these out:Papa John's Founder Resigns Amid Reports He Said ‘N****rs’ During Conference CallWeeks After Criticizing NFL Protests, Papa John's Founder Will Step Down As CEOWaka Flocka Has A Pressing Inquiry For Daniel Caesar Following His Instagram...
Update (March 22, 2019): A friend of Kelly Stough, a woman killed in Detroit in December, told a prosecutor Stough's alleged murderer was a frequent customer for transgender sex workers.Pride Source reports Kyra Butts made the revelation during an interview with special prosecutor Jaimie Powell Horowitz.Butts admitted she went on “dates” with Detroit pastor Albert Weathers but said she stopped once he began to exhibit “intimidating” and “aggressive” behavior toward her. She claimed the pastor also had a history of disputing the rates Butts charged for their encounters.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.“He was one of the guys that I hooked up with,” she said. “He would drive around a lot before he would pick someone up.”Butts claimed she saw Weathers in the area about a week before he allegedly shot and killed Stough. He reportedly killed her December 7 after a conflict over money.Eddie Neal-Price, another witness in the case, told the prosecution he saw Weathers push a woman, believed to be Stough, from a car on the day of her death. He called 911 and left. Neal-Price's testimony was presented during a February 24 preliminary hearing.The Associated Press reports Weathers was charged with open murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony on March 11.Original: Detroit pastor Albert Weathers has been charged in the murder of 36-year-old Kelly Stough. Stough, a transgender woman, was found shot to death on the morning of December 7. Officials haven’t yet released a possible motive for the slaying. A source told 7 Action News that after the shooting, the pastor fled the scene, went to work and then called the police to say he shot someone who attempted to rob him. He is currently in jail on a $1 million bond for first-degree murder.Stough was well-known in the local LGBTQ community and aspired to be a designer and fashion buyer.“She was loved,” said her mother, Jessica Williams-Stough. "She had a lot of people who loved her.”An attorney of the Fair Michigan Justice Project (FMJP), special prosecutor Jaimie Powell Horowitz, is handling the case. The FMJP, a collaboration between the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and Fair Michigan Foundation, focuses on crimes which target individuals in the LGBTQ community.“This case reflects the excessive brutality that members of Detroit’s transgender community constantly face. We thank the Detroit Police Department for their efforts to investigate the facts of this tragic crime,” said Dana Nessel, president of Fair Michigan.Stough’s death is a microcosm of the violence transgender people, particularly Black trans women, are subjected to across the country. According to a recent report by the Human Rights Coalition and Trans People of Color Coalition, of the 102 transgender people killed between 2013 and 2017, 75 were Black, and at least 88 were trans women. Additionally, the Report on the Experiences of Black Respondents study states the Black trans community experiences higher levels of unemployment (quadruple the rate of the general U.S. population), extreme discomfort with the police and high instances of poverty and homelessness.Jessica relayed a message to families and friends of trans individuals who have to endure transphobia.“Be there for them, that's the most important part. If it's OK at home, it's easier for them to cope outside of home."A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help cover funeral expenses. You can donate here.Now, check these out: Why Are We More Interested In Transphobia Than We Are In Transpeople?Diamond Stephens Is The 16th Known Transgender Person To Be Killed In 2018The Deaths Of These Three Women Have Jacksonville's Trans Women Afraid They're Being Targeted By A Serial...
A teenager has been arrested in connection with threats made against Charlottesville, Virginia's Charlottesville High School.The unidentified 17-year-old was arrested on Friday, reports NBC News. The suspect allegedly logged into 4chan on Wednesday and instructed white students to stay home because he planned to harm people of color at Charlottesville High School. Investigators refused to share the details of the threat.The threats caused officials to cancel classes on Thursday and Friday for every school in the Charlottesville City School District, according to Reuters.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.“We would like to acknowledge and condemn the fact that this threat was racially charged,” Charlottesville City Schools said in a letter on Thursday. “The entire staff and school board stand in solidarity with our students of color.”Charlottesville, Virginia, received international attention after neo-Nazis clashed with counter-protesters at the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. One woman was killed, and several others were injured when white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car through a crowd, as Blavity reported.The teen who is believed to have issued the threats could be charged with felony threats to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property and misdemeanor harassment by computer.WTVR reports another boy was arrested on Friday for threatening to commit a school shooting at Albemarle High, a school about two miles away from Charlottesville High School. He was charged with threats of death or bodily injury to a person or member of his family and threats to commit serious bodily harm to persons on school property.NBC29 reports Albemarle County Public Schools remained open on Friday, but the district boosted police presence on campus as a precaution.Investigators say the two incidents were unrelated.Now, check these out:A Defendant Was Sentenced To Six Extra Years In Prison On Top Of A 22-Year Sentence After Calling A Judge 'Racist As F**K'Atlanta Police Department Reopens 22 Child Murder Cases Ahead Of The Release Of Documentary On The KillingsACLU Sues FBI For Records On Black Activists The Bureau Says Are A Domestic Terror...
A New Jersey police department spent $89,000 in overtime expenditures to pay officers patrolling Jameek Lowery protests earlier this year.Lowrey died mysteriously in January after pleading for his life on Facebook Live while at a police station, Blavity reported. The father of two told his Facebook followers he feared police were trying to harm him; he got into an ambulance after his broadcast, and when it arrived at a local hospital, he was no longer responsive. Some believe the police are responsible for the 27-year-old's death, and friends, family and supporters took to the streets of downtown Paterson, New Jersey, to demand answers on four separate occasions in January, North Jersey News reports. Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.On January 8, the first night of the protests, authorities claim protesters used rocks and debris against officers. The city reportedly spent $22,600 for overtime pay for 37 officers that night alone. Additionally, $9,425 was spent for 26 officers on January 9; $21,300 was paid out for 46 police on January 11; $21,500 for 52 officers on January 12 and $13,125 for 24 police officers on January 15. Leaders of the protest, such as Corey Teague, are calling the overtime costs “a waste of money.” “We weren’t out there to wreak havoc,” Teague said. “But the police used this as an opportunity to cash in. This money would have been better spent investigating what happened to Jameek.”Jerry Speziale, Paterson's public safety director, disagrees. He called the costs a necessary expense to ensure no one got hurt during the protests.“The first night could have been a volatile situation,” Speziale said. “After that, when things became more peaceful, we didn’t ramp it up as much.”Some officials, like Councilman Michael Jackson, don't see Speziale's rationale as valid. They argue the protests were peaceful, and there was never any sign demonstrators planned to riot.“The family never showed any sign of being disorderly or disrespectful,” said Jackson. “Are we afraid of our own people?”City records show the Paterson Police Department regularly brought in officers for extra shifts; the documents show the department spent approximately $1.29 million in overtime from July 2018 to January 11, 2019.An investigation into Lowery's death is still ongoing. The police officers who interacted with him at the station have been placed on administrative leave until the inquiry is complete.Now, check these out:Cops Seen Refusing To Help Man Who Died Days LaterTamera Mowry Shared An Innocent Story About Crushing On Jay-Z And The BeyHive Lit Her UpWoman From Viral Maya Angelou Clip Says She 'Can See Both Sides' Now At 49 Years...
Verda Byrd was adopted by a black family, and grew up thinking she was a light-skinned black woman until 2014, when she found out her biological parents were both white, KEN 5 reports.Byrd who published a book, "Seventy Years of Blackness," in December 2017 says she never questioned her race until she began researching her biological family in 2013. "I didn't know what I was," she said. "It was never told to me that I was white."Byrd is the biological daughter of Daisy and Earl Beagle, a poor white couple with four other children at the time of her birth.Her father abandoned the family in 1943 and her mother sustained a traumatic injury after falling from a trolley when Byrd was five months old. The children were later taken by the state. Daisy regained custody of all of Byrd’s siblings, except for Byrd, who was adopted by Ray and Edwinna Wagner, a black couple, and renamed Verda Ann. She was raised as an only child.Byrd’s biological parents were dead by time she made the discovery, but she doesn’t feel like she missed out.“No, I don't regret,” she said. “Because the way I understand it now is they probably wouldn't have been able to provide the good life that I've had.”She eventually visited Daisy’s grave and had a reunion with three of her biological sisters, Sybil Panko, Debbie Romero and Kathyrn Gutierrez, but the happy reunion was short-lived when Panko used the n-word.Panko died in 2016 and Byrd was barred from the funeral; Panko made the request in writing. Byrd's remaining blood sister stopped speaking to her after the death, and left her dismayed by the rejection."What did I do? I found you," she said of the incident. "You are my...
Photographer Antonio Johnson, 30, is on a mission to capture the essence of one of America's oldest African American cultural institutes — the barbershop.Johnson launched the "You Next" project, which serves a photogenic journey of Black barbershops across the country including cities such as New York, Philly, D.C., Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta and Chicago."When we hear those magic words 'you next' from the barber, it means we are about to be transformed," Johnson said in a video for the project.From a young age, Johnson understood the pivotal role that barbershops played in the Black community. His work reflects the generational impact that barbershops can have in the lives of Black men and women."The biggest inspiration for this project would be my [late] uncle," he told Blavity. "He was a barber when I was a kid. It was a very special relationship. He was my reference point for what I thought was cool, fashionable, dope and unique."For Johnson, whose dad owns a barbershop, the place was also experienced as a safe haven."I would go with him on the weekends," he said. "It's a very special place too, because I would get this unique perspective of who my dad was outside of just being my father. There was this huge community component that the shop had — it inspired me to think a lot about what community means and what it really looks like."Johnson explained the significances of barbershops, and noted that the history of barbershops goes back to slavery."There is no place like it," he said. "It's one of the oldest cultures institutes we have in this country besides HBCUs and the church. The barbershops are a site of uplift.""It was an underground railroad stop for some people," he went on to explain. "Earning money from barbering allowed some to send their families to different cities and help family members buy freedom."This project for Johnson has been a journey in his personal life, as well. After resigning from his corporate job in New York to pursue photography full time, he successfully exceeded a $10,000 goal on Kickstarter to help fund the project. He was able to fundraise $11,699 for the "You Next" project."This project came together through the help of my own community. This project is intimate, honest and timeless," he said.Johnson's passion for this project goes beyond capturing cool haircuts. One of his goals is to showcase all of the "infinite possibilities " that barbershops have. Barbershops are not only a place for grooming, but in most communities serve as a place where men can learn about health, wellness and participate in the democratic process."Barbershops are now helping guys detect early signs of high blood pressure and hypertension. There are also places where polling centers have closed, but the barbershop remains [open], so people can go to the barbershop to vote. That's a huge significance," he told Blavity.In addition, Johnson did not shy away from critiquing barbershops and was aware of the multiple experiences that Black men can have when navigating a barbershop."While the barbershop is great for all of those things, for some people, it can be scary," he said. "It can be a difficult place to navigate, because some people are homophobic. A lot of gay men may not have an opportunity to feel like their authentic selves at a barbershop. There is a lot of respectability politics.""We really have to find ways to combat that, and I hope that with this project that people can find that possibility," he said.Through traveling to the different barber shops, Johnson has had defining experiences. Such as meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's barber in Montgomery, Alabama, to sitting down with former president Barack Obama's barber in Chicago."We chatted about the importance of Black men investing in each other. It was a special moment," Johnson said.He also stressed that the project's focal point is telling the stories of Black men in America."I talked to fathers, husbands and brothers about what it means to be a Black man in America, and about what the barber shop did for them," he said. "The reaction has been great, because they've been really interested in sharing their stories."Johnson did a lot of research before the project, and said the barbershop community on Instagram is massive. He added that he would travel and explore towns and stumble upon barbershops. Additionally, he found many barbershops by word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends.Now on view via his online gallery, the “You Next” photo project is just the beginning. He plans to have pop up shows across America at the different barbershops he initially photographed. Furthermore, he plans of extending the project into a photo book that will feature Black writers covering topics that range from fatherhood to navigating America as a Black man.However, Johnson claimed that no matter where he goes, all of these barbershops have one thing in common. "They are all full of potential,” he said. “They all have the opportunity to impact lives."Like this content? Now check these out:Black Women's Safety At The Barbershop: Why Accountability Is Pro-BlackA Black Barber Shop Was Shook When A White Man Made A Mic Drop-Worthy Point About Kanye WestBarbershop Billionaires: How Three Guys Are Shaping Up An Old...
Joining Kid Rock, Piers Morgan and a host of other celebrities, actress and talk show host Tamera Mowry is the latest person to be swarmed by Beyoncé's devoted fan base.The 40-year-old was recounting a story on her daytime programThe Real, describing the first time she met Bey's rapper husband Jay-Z when she was 23 years old. Smitten by his charm, Mowry admitted her then-attraction to the 25-time Grammy winner."I actually met Jay-Z in person," the Sister, Sister star revealed. "He wasn't with Beyoncé at the time, and I wasn't dating anybody. When I met him, you do get, like, hit with the charm."She continued: "It was his charm. I was 23, I hadn't even met Adam."
Mowry and her husband, television correspondent Adam Housley, tied the knot in 2011 while Jay and Bey morphed into the Carters in 2008. Despite that pertinent piece of information, this didn't stop the BeyHive from coming after the mother of two on her Instagram page with enough bee emojis to make an entire pot of honey."sorry @tameramowrytwo we still love you but the hive has spoken 😩🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝," one user said in her comments."Have to protect the Queen, Jay-Z name should never be taken out of context ever 🐝🐝🐝,"another fan wrote.One more person dropped a "sorry not sorry" under her recent post and claimed they're just protective of their favorite couple (who probably doesn't even know they exist)."I'm sorry sus 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️ we jus real protective over our Queen and her King 🤴🏾🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝."Other stans quickly came to her defense and insisted she said nothing wrong while recounting her decades-old story."I will say that I am a member of the beyhive but I would never ever disrespect you......love you TamTam 💕💕💕," one commenter said.Another chimed in and called the entire controversy nonsense and added the three will continue to get paid while none of them will receive any profit from their assets."Yall really at home pressing bee emojis? Wow. Meanwhile, B, J and T, cashing big checks... any of yall get residuals?"Watch Tam Tam recount the story below.
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Now, check these out:Tarana Burke Announces 'Me Too' HBCU Tour For Sexual Assault Awareness MonthBeyoncé Is Collabing With UNICEF To Bring Clean Water To This East African NationJay-Z's Iconic 'The Blueprint' Album Will Be Preserved In The Library Of...
A Cleveland judge added six more years to a man's 22-year sentence after taking offense to his outburst. Cleveland 19 WOIO reported a jury found Manson Bryant guilty of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping and abduction.The 32-year-old was initially sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison. Judge Eugene Lucci of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas changed his verdict during the March 1 hearing. The defendant initially told the judge he respected him after stating he had made a "lifetime of bad decisions." Lucci, who had presided over eight of the felon's cases in the past decade, reduced Bryant's initial sentence to 22 years. Defendant sentenced to 22 years in prison for aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery & carrying a concealed weaponThen he stood up & began screaming obscenities at the judge.....so the judge added six more years#WhenKeepingItRealGoesWrong
pic.twitter.com/04RJWpZW01— B Wood (@BeastOfWood) March 19, 2019“Twenty-two years? Man, f**k your courtroom, you racist a** b****h," Bryant shouted. "F**k your courtroom, man. You racist as f**k. Twenty-two f*****g years? Racist a** b***h. You ain’t s**t.”Lucci quickly reneged on his judgment following Bryant's words. He tacked on six more years to his sentence which totaled to 28 years. Bryant interrupted the statement by telling Lucci "f**k your courtroom" and "suck my d**k."“The court determines that maximum imprisonment is needed," Lucci continued before Bryant was forcibly removed by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies. “So that’s 28 years.”Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.“The defendant has shown me that he has no remorse whatsoever, and therefore the court determines that maximum imprisonment is needed," Lucci added. “He poses the greatest likelihood of recidivism. I apparently thought that he was more remorseful than what he was. He was just feeding me a line of bull.”A report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows Black men receive 19.1 percent longer sentences than white men in the case of federal crimes. Although both races are committing the same crimes, the gap between time served is widening. Bryant's criminal history dates back to 1999 when he was a juvenile.His attorney, Daniel Williams, plans to appeal the decision.“Mr. Bryant received a significant sentence and had an emotional and regrettable reaction to it. He was otherwise very composed throughout the course of his trial, even when the verdict was rendered. He intends to appeal the verdict and sentence, and continues to remain hopeful," Williams told the news publication.Now, check these out:This Man Went To Prison For 21 Years And Was Free For 2. Now, He’s Going Back Because Of A System Error.Remy Ma sheds light on forgotten incarcerated black womenStudy Shows When Republican-Appointed Judges Occupy The Bench, Black People Get Longer...
The woman at the center of a widely debated clip featuring Maya Angelou has broken her silence on the viral video.According to The Associated Press, Kim Watts, who was 20 years old during a 1989 interaction with the late renowned poet, says she understands why Angelou corrected her almost 30 years ago. “I wasn’t thinking about that in the moment,” Watts, now 49, said. “I like that this conversation, though, is focused on respect. Given my age now, I can see both sides of it.”The San Francisco Bay Area educator appeared on the People Are Talking talk show. The then-college student sat in the audience to view a taping of Angelou for a class trip. When she was given the opportunity to ask the 62-year-old a question, she referred to her as "Maya" instead of using an honorific title such as "Mrs. Angelou" or "Miss Angelou." “Her response threw me off. It was a little awkward for me, but at the same time it was like, oh my God this is Maya Angelou,” Watts continued. “I remember feeling like, oh my gosh I insulted one of my icons, a person I look up to.”
Since Watts does not have her own Twitter account, her friends and family told her about the debates surrounding Angelou's response."I’m not Maya, I’m 62 years old," Angelou said in the viral clip. "I’ve lived so long and tried so hard that a young woman like you, or any other, has no license to come up to me and call me by my first name. That’s first. Also, because at the same time, I’m your mother, I’m your auntie, I’m your teacher, I'm your professor. See?”Angelou is later seen apologizing for being "short" with the young woman. As Blavity previously reported, conversations around the video ranged from users calling the author's words elitist while others felt Watts was being disrespectful to the artist who was 40 years her senior. Sorry for anyone upset with Maya Angelou today, because it shows me that you were most likely missing Women who held you accountable in your own life, which tells me you prolly ain't shit. God Bless have a good weekend.— VanLathan (@VanLathan) March 15, 2019Please know that Maya Angelou is trending nationally because there are some young folks who are offended that she directed a young woman to call her Ms. Angelou instead of Maya in a 20-year-old clip.
We are doomed. pic.twitter.com/XD1odHh0cV— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 15, 2019A lot of people are saying how Maya Angelou addressed this situation was disrespectful and I don’t see it.
Out of respect for her work, her title, and the legacy she created...yes, it’s Miss Angelou to you. The power dynamics are clear, I ain’t ya colleague sis. https://t.co/MMSD4Yo13G— E (@__erinbennett) March 15, 2019Trying to cancel Maya Angelou from beyond the grave because of an old clip where she demands respect is one of the most contrived attempts at manufactured outrage I’ve ever seen. People have become so addicted to mass bullying they don’t even stop to critically think anymore. pic.twitter.com/UjvYQYyrZU— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 15, 2019I’m respectful but I would’ve have curse out Maya Angelou right here pic.twitter.com/UcadtIceT0— Norman Dale (@_CoachHill) March 15, 2019the thing that got me was the “you haven’t earned your license to call me maya”. like that’s so disheartening to hear your idol say when ur like 13. she did the most when she could’ve just said “hey I’d prefer it if you called me Miss. Angelou, out of respect” n kept it moving— sari 💋 (@sarinajpg) March 15, 2019Watts says she was adopted as a child and raised by white parents who did not enforce the use of the title tradition with elders in her life.Chile.Now, check these out:Maya Angelou Reminds Us That "Love Liberates" In This Powerful MessageMaya Angelou's Harlem Hopscotch Music Video is EVERYTHING.Exclusive clip from the Maya Angelou Sundance documentary...
A white supremacist in Escambia County, Florida, is in police custody after abducting and raping a Black woman, according to CBS affiliate WKRG News 5.Joshua Edwards faces a slew of charges, including sexual assault, two counts of theft by carjacking and armed abduction.The ambush occurred Monday night when the victim was pumping gas at the local Circle K gas station. Edwards, 38, reportedly approached the woman, held a firearm to her head and forced her "to get in the car and stay quiet," the arrest report details. Police say the victim was forced to drive the two around while Edwards was doing ecstasy in the passenger seat. The suspect also demanded the woman partake in the drug. The two eventually reached a nearby park where Edwards raped the unidentified victim several times.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.When his vehicle malfunctioned, Edwards made the victim accompany him as they looked for another car. They confronted a woman outside her home, and Edwards brandished his gun as he demanded her keys. The second victim obliged. Edwards then left both women behind as he drove off in the stolen vehicle.Several hours after the kidnapping, rape and theft, Edwards was detained behind a nearby Verizon. According to the sheriff's office, Edwards is affiliated with a white supremacist clan, the Aryan Brotherhood. The FBI notes the "violent white supremacist gang" was founded in the California prison order in the late 1960s. When News 5 inquired as to whether Edwards' actions were racially motivated, both law enforcement and prosecutors declined to confirm. However, Assistant State Attorney John Molchan said to The Pensacola News Journal that several of the charges against him carry a life sentence, making sure "this individual is not walking a free man on this earth ever again."Edwards, who is currently being on a $6 million bond, is scheduled to appear in court again on April 11.Now, check these out:NYC Awards Mohamad Bah's Family $1.9 Million For His Death At The Hands Of The NYPDSan Antonio Police Officer Fired After Taunting Man,Telling Him To Say 'N***a' The Right Way During ArrestWoman Discovers She's White After 70 Years Of Thinking She's A Light Skinned Black...
A Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is facing deportation to Liberia, a country she's never visited. According to the Los Angeles Times, 28-year-old Yatta Kiazolu is set to graduate from UCLA where she is studying to receive her doctorate in history in the fall. However, she may not earn her degree and could be forced back to Liberia due to a recent decision by President Donald Trump.Kiazolu was born in Botswana to Liberian parents, but she has lived in the United States since she was 7 years old. Under the deferred enforced departure (DED) program she has been able to study and work in the country. DED is an initiative allowing immigrants to reside within a nation for a designated period. Liberia has been designated for DED since 1991.The authorization, which exists at the discretion of the president, is set to end on March 31. Trump began moving to dismantle DED last spring, citing Liberians no longer needed the protection of the United States. The West African country was mired by nearly back-to-back civil wars from 1989 to 1991 and experienced a deadly Ebola outbreak in 2014, displacing 350,000 citizens.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.The Trump administration was sued earlier in the month by civil rights advocates who say the program's termination is racially motivated.On March 6, Kiazolu spoke to the House Judiciary Committee as one of the plaintiffs, advocating for her right to live in the country.She noted her "entire life would be disrupted" if she was forced to return to a place she does not call home. “My grandmother used to say, ‘When you do good, you don’t do it for yourself — you do it for God.’ And with that philosophy as my personal mantra, though the majority of my family are now permanent residents and U.S. citizens, I’m here for all the working-class immigrants on DED, TPS and [who] are also Dream-eligible,” she said. “I’m here for all the young people like myself who have anxiety about their futures.”Kiazolu's parents sent her to live in Decatur, Georgia, with her grandmother in 1997. Per Roll Call, she has tried to apply for citizenship twice. Her grandmother, who is a U.S. citizen, also applied on her behalf but passed away before the application was processed. With few avenues for citizenship, Kiazolu has found it difficult to "make long-term plans." Updates regarding her status are pending. Now, check these out:ACLU Sues FBI For Records On Black Activists The Bureau Says Are A Domestic Terror ThreatLiberia President To End Tuition Fees For Undergrad Students Who Attend The Country's State UniversitiesFamatta Massalay Shares Her Story After Suffering Modern Day Slavery As A 'House Girl' In NYC For Six...
Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid have reportedly agreed to terms with the NFL on their collusion lawsuits, and on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal said the league would settle the nearly 18-month dispute for less than $10 million.Blavity reported Kaepernick and Reid's legal teams announced they had reached a compromise with the NFL in February, however, both sides signed a confidentiality agreement, so the details of the settlement were not made public. While it's unclear how the $10 million will be divided between both parties, The Boston Globe writes both players will receive an equal payout after attorney fees are calculated and dispersed.
The final amount is far less than initially anticipated. Had Kaepernick taken the NFL to trial and won, the 31-year-old could have been granted nearly nine times more than it's rumored he received. Andrew Beaton of the WSJ writes:"If Mr. Kaepernick had won his grievance, the league's collective bargaining agreement with its players would have entitled him to damages worth up to three times what an arbitrator determined he lost as a result of the collusion. If Mr. Kaepernick's market value had been judged to be a total of $30 million over the two seasons he was sidelined — a ballpark price tag for a player of his caliber — he could have been awarded $90 million from the ruling."Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman believes Kaep received a lot more but cannot disclose the specific number due to the non-disclosure stipulation.While I never believed Kaepernick’s settlement was $30 or $40 or 50 mil, I also don’t believe any way in hell it’s less than ten.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) March 21, 2019Kaepernick first took a knee on September 1, 2016, during the national anthem of a preseason game when he played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Reid, who currently plays safety for the Carolina Panthers, soon followed in the footsteps of his former teammate by also kneeling in protest of police brutality and racial inequality.After going unsigned for the remainder of the 2016 season and the entirety of the 2017 campaign, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league alleging owners were punishing him for kneeling and preventing him from signing with another team. Shortly after, Reid opened his complaint against the NFL.Neither side has released a statement following The Wall Street Journal's report. Now, check these out:ACLU Sues FBI For Records On Black Activists The Bureau Says Are A Domestic Terror ThreatThis Powerful Photo Project Captures The Timeless Essence Of Black Barbershops Across AmericaPatricia Okoumou On Climbing The Statue Of Liberty, Being Sentenced And Why She Stays 'Ready To Fight' For Immigrant...
