Herman Cain recently scoffed at the allegations accusing President Donald Trump of being racist.
“I don’t think Donald Trump has a racist bone in his body. And you can quote me on that,” Cain said in an interview with Yahoo News. “I have known him for many years. I have talked to people who work directly for him. The man is a businessman. How could he be a racist? His daughter married a person whose religious belief is Jewish. Good! He doesn’t go around making statements that are racist in nature. No, he says things where some people out there — especially people who don’t like him — try to spin it as being racist.”
On several occasions, Trump has referred to himself as "the least racist person." However, his statements on Charlottesville, Virginia, his history of running racially-charged attack ads and his recent "sh*thole countries" controversy have his critics unsure whether Trump is as tolerant as Cain claims.
According to Cain, critics need to put aside Trump’s language and personality. He instead urges them to focus on the results of Trump's policies in order to truly measure the success of his first-year in office.
Cain said he would give year one an "A" because Trump rolled back regulations and signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he called “one of the biggest legislative achievements in 30 years.”
When it comes to Trump's campaign rhetoric (including when Trump said the following about Mexican immigrants: "They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."), Cain said that he never observed anything at Trump’s campaign events that would indicate he harbors any animus toward minorities.
Herman Cain recently scoffed at the allegations accusing President Donald Trump of being racist.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t think Donald Trump has a racist bone in his body. And you can quote me on that,” Cain said in an interview with \u003Ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/herman-cain-says-trump-doesnt-racist-bone-body-180726069.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Yahoo News\u003C/a>. “I have known him for many years. I have talked to people who work directly for him. The man is a businessman. How could he be a racist? His daughter married a person whose religious belief is Jewish. Good! He doesn’t go around making statements that are racist in nature. No, he says things where some people out there — especially people who don’t like him — try to spin it as being racist.”\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>On several occasions, Trump has referred to himself as "the least racist person." However, his statements on \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/donald-trump-charlottesville-winery-both-sides-blame-violence\">Charlottesville\u003C/a>, Virginia, his history of running \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/ava-duvernay-calls-out-trump-for-his-hypocrisy-role-in-the-central-park-five-conviction\">racially-charged attack ads\u003C/a> and his recent \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/trump-reportedly-fussed-about-shthole-countries-like-haiti-and-other-african-nations-for-flocking-to-the-us\">"sh*thole countries" controversy\u003C/a> have his critics unsure whether Trump is as tolerant as Cain claims.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>According to Cain, critics need to put aside Trump’s language and personality. He instead urges them to focus on the results of Trump's policies in order to truly measure the success of his first-year in office.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Cain said he would give year one an "A" because Trump rolled back regulations and signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he called “one of the biggest legislative achievements in 30 years.”\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>When it comes to Trump's campaign rhetoric (including when Trump said the following about \u003Ca href=\"http://time.com/4473972/donald-trump-mexico-meeting-insult/\">Mexican immigrants\u003C/a>: "They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."), Cain said that he never observed anything at Trump’s campaign events that would indicate he harbors any animus toward minorities.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp content='“When he was campaigning, I spoke at three of his rallies. There were plenty of black people and Hispanic people there trying to help him get elected. I never saw him try to put anybody down. The people who don’t like him are trying to stick him with a racist label, which is not true,” Cain said. At a campaign rally in Atlanta, he vouched for Trump as a \u003Ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/us/politics/behind-herman-cains-humor-a-question-of-seriousness.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">“shucky ducky” kind of candidate.\u003C/a> Trump received \u003Ca href=\"http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/behind-trumps-victory-divisions-by-race-gender-education/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">8 percent\u003C/a> of votes by black people in 2016.’ data-reactid=”26″ type=”text”>“When he was campaigning, I spoke at three of his rallies. There were plenty of black people and Hispanic people there trying to help him get elected," Cain said. "I never saw him try to put anybody down. The people who don’t like him are trying to stick him with a racist label, which is not true."\u003C/p>\n",[23,27],{"name":24,"slug":25,"id":26},"News","news",83,{"name":28,"slug":29,"id":30},"Politics","politics",120,[32,36],{"id":33,"name":34,"slug":35,"description":10,"image":10},37278,"Donald trump","donald-trump",{"id":37,"name":38,"slug":39,"description":10,"image":10},31431,"Herman Cain","herman-cain",{"url":41,"thumbnail":41,"credit":42,"title":10,"alt":10,"type":43},"https://res.cloudinary.com/blavity/image/upload/v1518555094/hlftrwf7fqctilz89h1b","Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons","image","2018-02-13T16:18:42-05:00","default",[],false,{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":49,"headScript":50},true,null,"https://storage.googleapis.com/blavitynews/images/fallback.jpg","article","2026-01-11T17:46:04.308Z",{"list":55,"total":199},[56,88,143],{"id":57,"author":58,"authors":65,"title":67,"subTitle":68,"excerpt":10,"slug":69,"body":70,"categories":71,"tags":73,"featuredMedia":78,"publishedAt":84,"updatedAt":85,"type":45,"listicle":86,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":87},72892111,{"id":59,"avatar":60,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":61,"email":62,"username":61,"normalizedUsername":63,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":64},95243,"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16fdff8cddc7bd4702273ce7e1677d1d0021c4b55e83ca690c8b22edc3cbfdf4?s=1024&r=g","Christopher Rhodes","[email protected]","christopher-rhodes","2020-09-14T00:00:00+00:00",[66],{"id":59,"avatar":60,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":61,"email":62,"username":61,"normalizedUsername":63,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":64},"Senate Democrats Push To Block Reparations For Jan. 6 Rioters","The moves seeks to counter GOP support for those who ransacked the Capitol in 2021.","senate-democrates-push-to-block-reparations-for-jan-6-rioters","\n\u003Cp>Five years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/trump-walker-photo-is-it-real\">President Donald Trump\u003C/a> and the Republican Party have helped those who participated in the attack avoid responsibility. Now, a group of Democratic lawmakers is trying to ensure that the U.S. government does not financially compensate those who conducted the attack.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-after-the-babbitt-settlement-bills-to-prevent-further-jan-6-compensation\">After the Babbitt settlement, bills to prevent further Jan. 6 compensation\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jan-6-senate-democrats-seek-to-ban-payouts-to-capitol-rioters/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CBS News\u003C/a> reported that Democratic senators have worked to pass legislation to prevent compensating Jan. 6 rioters. Two pieces of legislation have been proposed. One bill, sponsored by California Sen. Alex Padilla and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, seeks to ban the government from reaching financial settlements with individuals who assaulted police officers. A second bill would prevent the creation of a compensation fund for Jan. 6 participants.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The two bills come in response to actions taken to provide compensation for Jan. 6 rioters. In May, the Justice Department agreed to a \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/ashli-babbitt-rioter-settlement-trump-admin\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$5 million settlement\u003C/a> for the family of Ashli Babbitt, the Jan. 6 rioter who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she climbed through a smashed glass panel as part of an angry mob attempting to access a protected area of the Capitol. Despite Officer Michael Byrd being cleared of any wrongdoing by the Justice Department, Trump accused Byrd of “getting away with murder” and supported right-wing reframing of Babbitt as a martyr.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-blocking-a-reparations-fund-for-jan-6-rioters\">Blocking a reparations fund for Jan. 6 rioters\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The settlement with Babbitt’s family establishes a precedent to compensate others who participated in the attack. Attorney Mark McCloskey is among the individuals who’ve promoted financial compensation for those previously tried for Jan. 6 offenses, posting on X, formerly Twitter, “I’m doing everything I can to epidite the establishment of a claims resolution procedure so we can get you back on your feet and get you some real justice.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To all the J6 political prisoners out there- I'm doing everything I can to epidite the establishment of a claims resolution procedure so we can get you back on your feet and get you some real justice. I won't stop fighting and I will never back down.\u003C/p>— Mark McCloskey (@mccloskeyusa) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mccloskeyusa/status/1952487470219640853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 4, 2025\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Trump and others have even suggested creating a \u003Ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2025/03/26/trump-jan-6-rioters-compensation-fund-discussions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">compensation fund\u003C/a> as a form of reparations for former Jan. 6 defendants to pay for their legal bills. When Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi last year about a Jan. 6 compensation fund, Bondi said she had no involvement in setting one up but would not explicitly rule out supporting the creation of such a fund.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In response to questions from Sen. \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/maziehirono?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@maziehirono\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AGPamBondi\u003C/a> says she has not participated in discussions about setting up a “compensation fund” for former Jan. 6 defendants. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Bondi declined to answer whether she would approve such a fund. \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/upkj0IMM0m\">pic.twitter.com/upkj0IMM0m\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TomDreisbach/status/1975618560497246246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 7, 2025\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>These moves to compensate Jan. 6 rioters are part of a larger strategy by Trump and his allies to downplay the Jan. 6 attacks and distort the \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/five-years-jan-6-trump-rewriting-narrative-capitol-siege-rcna240115\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reality\u003C/a> of what happened, framing the rioters as victims of an overzealous and weaponized justice system. Upon returning to the White House last year, Trump immediately pardoned or commuted the \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sentences\u003C/a> of nearly all of the people who had been convicted of crimes relating to their participation in the Jan. 6 attacks. Trump has also seemingly retaliated against \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/fbi-fires-agents-who-kneeled-during-george-floyd-protests-in-2020\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FBI agents\u003C/a> who investigated Jan. 6 rioters, part of his larger set of reprisals against the agency.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Trump has already ensured that his supporters no longer have to face the legal consequences of their attack on the U.S. Capitol five years ago. Now, he is among the right-wing voices seeking to use the federal government to pay the rioters. As the shadow of Jan. 6 continues to cast over U.S. politics, Democrats are working to prevent those responsible for the riot from being compensated or even profiting at the expense of American taxpayers.\u003C/p>\n",[72],{"name":28,"slug":29,"id":30},[74],{"id":75,"name":76,"slug":77,"description":10,"image":10},44529,"top stories","top-stories",{"url":79,"thumbnail":80,"credit":81,"title":82,"alt":83,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-1230454707.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-1230454707-150x100.jpg","Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images","Trump Supporters Hold “Stop The Steal” Rally In DC Amid Ratification Of Presidential Election","WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election.","2026-01-06T13:09:46-05:00","2026-01-07T11:51:14-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":89,"author":90,"authors":101,"title":103,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":104,"body":105,"categories":106,"tags":115,"featuredMedia":133,"publishedAt":139,"updatedAt":140,"type":45,"listicle":141,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":142},72891838,{"id":91,"avatar":92,"firstName":93,"lastName":94,"displayName":95,"email":96,"username":97,"normalizedUsername":97,"description":10,"twitter":98,"facebook":10,"instagram":99,"registeredAt":100},98966,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-02-07-at-19.31.50-2-compress.jpeg","Kui","Mwai","Kui Mwai","[email protected]","kuimwai","https://twitter.com/kuiwrites_","https://www.instagram.com/kuiwrites_/","2019-11-07T00:00:00+00:00",[102],{"id":91,"avatar":92,"firstName":93,"lastName":94,"displayName":95,"email":96,"username":97,"normalizedUsername":97,"description":10,"twitter":98,"facebook":10,"instagram":99,"registeredAt":100},"Laila Edwards To Make History As First Black Women To Play Ice Hockey For Team USA At Winter Olympics","laila-edwards-first-black-women-ice-hockey-team-usa-winter-olympics","\n\u003Cp>Laila Edwards will make history at the upcoming \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/leslie-jones-defended-simone-biles-during-olympics-people-that-complained-were-sitting-on-their-fat-asses\">Winter Olympics\u003C/a> as the first Black woman to play ice hockey for Team USA.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>On Jan. 2 the 21-year-old college student — who was also the first Black woman to join the U.S. women’s national hockey team, as \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/laila-edwards-makes-history-first-black-woman-play-us-hockey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blavity\u003C/a> previously reported — was announced as part of Team USA’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team roster for Milano Cortina 2026, which will be held in Italy Feb. 6 to Feb. 22.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“It still hasn’t really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true,” Edwards said, per \u003Ca href=\"https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/hilary-knight-set-make-5th-olympics-appearance-us-128845935\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ABC News\u003C/a>. “Always had dreams of playing in the pros, but the biggest dream was to go the Olympics for sure.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Here’s more on Team USA’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team and Edwards’ career.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-gofundme-has-been-started-to-help-edwards-family-travel-to-italy-for-the-olympics\">A GoFundMe has been started to help Edwards’ family travel to Italy for the Olympics \u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Team USA Hockey announced its Winter Olympic rosters on Instagram Jan. 2, including its \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTAp3R8joUD/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paralympic Sled Hockey\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTApwqjjiEX/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Men’s Ice Hockey\u003C/a> teams, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.blackenterprise.com/laila-edwards-winter-olympic-ice-hockey-team-usa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Black Enterprise\u003C/a> reported.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Edwards was named a part of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team along with Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter, Britta Curl-Salemme, Joy Dunne, Aerin Frankel, Rory Guilday, Caroline Harvey, Taylor Heise, Tessa Janecke, Megan Keller, Ava McNaughton, Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Gwyneth Philips, Hayley Scamurra, Kirsten Simms, Lee Stecklein, Haley Winn and Grace Zumwinkle.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTAp1jBDljH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\u003Cdiv> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/a>\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DTAp1jBDljH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by USA Hockey (@usahockey)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>A \u003Ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/9mya8-help-lailas-family-cheer-her-at-the-olympics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GoFundMe campaign\u003C/a> has been launched to help Edwards’ family travel to Italy to support the ice hockey star at the Olympics.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“We want nothing more than to travel to Italy to support her in her Olympic dream, but this isn’t something we can afford on our own,” the GoFundMe page reads. “So many communities have supported Laila throughout her years of hockey, and we are asking for that support once again so we can be there to cheer her on and surround her with the love of family.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>At the time of publication, over $15,000 of the $50,000 goal had been raised.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-edwards-has-made-history-throughout-her-career\">Edwards has made history throughout her career \u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In addition to becoming the first Black woman to join the U.S. women’s national hockey team, Edwards — who first hit the ice when she was just a toddler, \u003Ca href=\"https://thegrio.com/2026/01/04/meet-laila-edwards-the-first-black-woman-to-play-for-team-usas-winter-olympic-ice-hockey-team/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Grio\u003C/a> reported— has made history on several occasions throughout her career. According to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/laila-edwards-first-black-woman-to-play-winter-olympic-ice-hockey-for-team-usa\">Olympics.com\u003C/a>, at 20 years old, she became the youngest American to win the Most Valuable Player at the World Championships in spring 2024. She made history in 2025 when she became the first Black woman to win the IIHF Women’s World Championship.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Edwards is a senior at the University of Wisconsin and balances playing for the school and national women’s hockey teams, The Grio reported.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“At first it was a little bit overwhelming making that history and all the media and things like that,” Edwards told \u003Ca href=\"https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sports/laila-edwards-transforming-hockey-for-black-women/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Essence\u003C/a> about making Team USA’s Women’s Hockey Team. “But then I was like, ‘This is such a privilege.’ I’m becoming a role model for so many people, and I’m being that someone that I didn’t necessarily have when I was their age.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The 21-year-old also won the 2024 Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year award and was recognized as a 2025 North America Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in sports.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Edwards hopes this is just the beginning of her hockey career. She said she’d like to be an inspiration to young Black girls interested in hockey and show them that a career in the sport is possible.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I want to leave a legacy that I was a great player, but an even better person and an inspiration,” she said. “I want [young Black girls] to see that I was at that level, but also that I succeeded at that level and I was one of the top people at that level because getting there is wonderful. It’s hard to get there, but to be a star there is even greater and even more inspiring.”\u003C/p>\n",[107,111],{"name":108,"slug":109,"id":110},"Culture","culture",118,{"name":112,"slug":113,"id":114},"Sports","sports",93,[116,120,124,128,129],{"id":117,"name":118,"slug":119,"description":10,"image":10},70604,"ice hockey","ice-hockey",{"id":121,"name":122,"slug":123,"description":10,"image":10},69391,"Laila Edwards","laila-edwards",{"id":125,"name":126,"slug":127,"description":10,"image":10},36590,"Team USA","team-usa-2",{"id":75,"name":76,"slug":77,"description":10,"image":10},{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132,"description":10,"image":10},28208,"Winter Olympics","winter-olympics",{"url":134,"thumbnail":135,"credit":136,"title":137,"alt":138,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/design-2026-01-05T142925.089.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/design-2026-01-05T142925.089-150x84.jpg","Photo: Getty Images","design – 2026-01-05T142925.089","Laila Edwards for Team USA","2026-01-05T14:33:28-05:00","2026-01-06T21:27:04-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":144,"author":145,"authors":156,"title":158,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":159,"body":160,"categories":161,"tags":171,"featuredMedia":189,"publishedAt":195,"updatedAt":196,"type":45,"listicle":197,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":190,"additional":198},72891813,{"id":146,"avatar":147,"firstName":148,"lastName":149,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":152,"normalizedUsername":153,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":154,"registeredAt":155},99834,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/KyraAlessandrini-compress.jpeg","Kyra","Alessandrini","Kyra Alessandrini","[email protected]","KyraAlessandrini","kyraalessandrini","https://www.instagram.com/kyraless/","2023-04-03T03:46:17+00:00",[157],{"id":146,"avatar":147,"firstName":148,"lastName":149,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":152,"normalizedUsername":153,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":154,"registeredAt":155},"Jordan Chiles Debuts Her 2026 Floor Routine As She Sweeps Each Event During UCLA's Season Opener","jordan-chiles-new-floor-routine-ucla-season-opener","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/jordan-chiles-racism-told-she-wasnt-black\">Jordan Chiles\u003C/a> helped \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/ucla-chae-campbell-delivers-wakanda-inspired-floor-routine\">UCLA\u003C/a> secure its first win of the season with near-perfect scores during the season opener on Saturday. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The event marked Chiles’ first performance of her senior year at the university, and she debuted her new floor routine. The Olympian is fresh \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/normani-dancing-with-the-stars-jordan-chiles-finale-freestyle\">off the most recent season of \u003Cem>Dancing with the Stars\u003C/em>\u003C/a>, where she made it to the finale. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-jordan-chiles-recorded-near-perfect-scores-on-all-four-events\">Jordan Chiles recorded near-perfect scores on all four events\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Chiles had a clean sweep, coming in first in the four events making up the Best of the West Quad at Alaska Airlines Arena on the University of Washington campus. She recorded an all-around score of 39.725, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://uclabruins.com/news/2026/1/4/ucla-wins-season-opener-with-196-975\">UCLA’s official athletics website\u003C/a>. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jordan Chiles' new floor routine for 2026 will absolutely remind you that she is still 100% THAT GIRL – Olympic gold medalist, NCAA champion and Dancing with the Stars finalist!\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ChilesJordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ChilesJordan\u003C/a> | \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/officialdwts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@officialdwts\u003C/a> \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/IcuR6M19Jn\">pic.twitter.com/IcuR6M19Jn\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/uclagymnastics/status/2007877061051097165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 4, 2026\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The gold medalist opened the season with her new floor routine, where she led the team with a score of 9.925. Chiles competed with a musical mashup of songs by Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and more, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolineprice/2026/01/04/jordan-chiles-sweeps-every-event-wins-all-around-in-ncaa-gymnastics-season-opener/\">Forbes\u003C/a>. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>She then went on to the vault, where she performed a double Yurchenko vault and earned another 9.9+ score.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>For her third event of the competition, Chiles moved to the bars and tied with Tonya Paulsson of the California Golden Bears. On the beams, Chiles then earned a score of 9.975.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-ucla-bruins-recorded-their-first-win-of-the-season\">The UCLA Bruins recorded their first win of the season\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>UCLA posted the opener’s highest team scores on three events. The Bruins recorded 49.150 on the vault, 49.525 on the balance beam and 49.075 on the floor exercise. They came in first with a total score of 196.975. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>California came in second place with a score of 196.000, Washington came in third with a score of 195.625 and Oregon State finished in fourth with a score of 196.550.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Next up, UCLA will compete against Oklahoma, Louisiana State University and Utah on Jan. 10 at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in West Valley City, Utah. The competition will be available to watch live on ABC at 1 p.m. PT.\u003C/p>\n",[162,166,170],{"name":163,"slug":164,"id":165},"Blavity-U","blavity-u",70685,{"name":167,"slug":168,"id":169},"College Sports","college-sports",70686,{"name":112,"slug":113,"id":114},[172,176,180,184,185],{"id":173,"name":174,"slug":175,"description":10,"image":10},74288,"Blavity U Top Stories","blavity-u-top-stories",{"id":177,"name":178,"slug":179,"description":10,"image":10},55063,"Jordan chiles","jordan-chiles-2",{"id":181,"name":182,"slug":183,"description":10,"image":10},37770,"NCAA","ncaa",{"id":75,"name":76,"slug":77,"description":10,"image":10},{"id":186,"name":187,"slug":188,"description":10,"image":10},35898,"UCLA","ucla",{"url":190,"thumbnail":191,"credit":192,"title":193,"alt":194,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Untitled-design-6-2.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Untitled-design-6-2-150x84.jpg","Photo: Katharine Lotze/Getty Images","Jordan Chiles","Jordan Chiles competes on balance beam during \"Meet The Bruins\" 2026","2026-01-05T14:16:32-05:00","2026-01-06T21:26:50-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},249,{"list":201,"total":378},[202,236,268,297,321],{"id":203,"author":204,"authors":205,"title":207,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":208,"body":209,"categories":210,"tags":216,"featuredMedia":227,"publishedAt":232,"updatedAt":233,"type":45,"listicle":234,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":228,"additional":235},72892154,{"id":146,"avatar":147,"firstName":148,"lastName":149,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":152,"normalizedUsername":153,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":154,"registeredAt":155},[206],{"id":146,"avatar":147,"firstName":148,"lastName":149,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":152,"normalizedUsername":153,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":154,"registeredAt":155},"United Negro College Fund Study Reveals High Schoolers Have Little Familiarity With HBCUs","study-reveals-high-schoolers-have-little-familiarity-with-hbcus","\n\u003Cp>Most high school students have little to no familiarity with HBCUs, a new \u003Ca href=\"https://uncf.org/news/uncf-announces-new-study-examining-teacher-and-school-counselor-strategies-for-college-readiness-and-hbcu-exposure-for-students-2\">study\u003C/a> conducted by the \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/united-negro-college-fund-100m-donation-lilly-endowment\">United Negro College Fund\u003C/a> and published on Friday revealed.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The UNCF surveyed nearly 150 students, teachers and school counselors across seven high schools in the Northeast, Midwest and West. It found a disconnect between what educators know about \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/hbcu-mental-health-hbcu-study\">HBCUs\u003C/a> and what students are learning about them.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-high-school-students-have-little-knowledge-of-hbcus-according-to-a-uncf-study\">High school students have little knowledge of HBCUs, according to a UNCF study\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>According to the UNCF, 67% of teachers and 60% of school counselors said they were knowledgeable about HBCUs. Yet, 60% of students said they were either not at all familiar or only slightly familiar with these institutions.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>A lack of familiarity regarding HBCUs was most noticeable in non-Black students, including 83% of Hispanic students and 80% of white students who reported little or no familiarity with HBCUs. About half of Black and multiracial students said they had low familiarity.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The pivotal role of K-12 schools in shaping students’ college aspirations and preparedness cannot be overstated,” Meredith B.L. Anderson, a co-author of the study and the UNCF’s Director of K-12 Research and Advocacy, said. “Teachers and school counselors carry considerable influence in guiding students through the college application process.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>According to the study, 53% of students said school counselors never or rarely suggested attending an HBCU, while 54% said counselors never or rarely provided resources about HBCU attendance. As a result, only 14% of students said they are planning to attend an HBCU after being encouraged by a teacher or counselor to do so.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-uncf-gave-recommendations-to-raise-awareness-about-hbcus-among-high-school-students\">The UNCF gave recommendations to raise awareness about HBCUs among high school students\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The UNCF gave a list of recommendations to both high schools and HBCUs to help close the gap between educators’ familiarity with HBCUs and high school students’ lack thereof.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“We believe the findings of this study will contribute to dismantling barriers surrounding higher education and perceptions of HBCUs,” Dr. Tia Dolet, co-author of the study and the founder of Thirdspace Collective Consulting. “It will help build bridges between schools, communities, and HBCUs to enhance college access for all students.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>For high schools and districts, the organization recommended increasing exposure to HBCU scholarships and financial aid opportunities, training teachers to review student data to identify achievement gaps and providing anti-bias training for teachers and counselors.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The UNCF also gave HBCUs recommendations that include distributing financial aid and scholarship information directly to high schools, sharing academic and student support resources with local communities and partnering with K-12 schools to support anti-bias training initiatives.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",[211,212],{"name":163,"slug":164,"id":165},{"name":213,"slug":214,"id":215},"HBCU","hbcu",70684,[217,220,223],{"id":218,"name":213,"slug":219,"description":10,"image":10},38270,"hbcu-2",{"id":221,"name":222,"slug":222,"description":10,"image":10},21202,"study",{"id":224,"name":225,"slug":226,"description":10,"image":10},22017,"United Negro College Fund","united-negro-college-fund",{"url":228,"thumbnail":229,"credit":230,"title":231,"alt":231,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2220496106.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2220496106-150x100.jpg","Photo: Alberto Menendez Cervero via Getty Images","University students","2026-01-11T04:04:00-05:00","2026-01-10T21:13:37-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":237,"author":238,"authors":245,"title":247,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":248,"body":249,"categories":250,"tags":253,"featuredMedia":258,"publishedAt":264,"updatedAt":265,"type":45,"listicle":266,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":267},72893122,{"id":239,"avatar":240,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":241,"email":242,"username":241,"normalizedUsername":243,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":244},96045,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DSC09602-2-compress.jpg","Tomas Kassahun","[email protected]","tomas-kassahun","2019-09-06T00:00:00+00:00",[246],{"id":239,"avatar":240,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":241,"email":242,"username":241,"normalizedUsername":243,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":244},"Tichina Arnold Apologizes For 'Reverse Colorism' Remarks After Ari Lennox's Critique Of 'Martin': 'I Spoke Too Soon'","tichina-arnold-apologizes-for-reverse-colorism-remarks-martin-critique","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/tichina-arnold-on-ari-lennox-martin-criticism-colorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tichina Arnold\u003C/a> is apologizing for the comments she made about the idea of reverse \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/what-is-featurism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">colorism\u003C/a> when she appeared on Deon Cole’s “Funny Knowing You” show. Arnold brought up the idea of reverse colorism after singer Ari Lennox said earlier this year that she noticed colorism happening on \u003Cem>Martin\u003C/em> in the 1990s.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Arnold says she reflected on her comments after a conversation with her television sons from \u003Cem>The Neighborhood, \u003C/em>Marcel Spears and Sheaun McKinney. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-did-tichina-arnold-say-about-seeing-reverse-colorism-on-martin\">What did Tichina Arnold say about seeing reverse colorism on ‘Martin’?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Speaking to Cole, Arnold said her co-star, Tisha Campbell, experienced reverse colorism as a light-skinned woman on the popular sitcom. The 56-year-old star suggested that dark-skinned girls shunned Campbell because they didn’t want to see her get close to the show’s star, Martin Lawrence.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Even with Tisha, people don’t realize that reverse colorism happens as well,” Arnold told Cole, per \u003Ca href=\"https://thegrio.com/2026/01/09/tichina-arnold-apologizes-reverse-racism-comments-martin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Grio\u003C/a>. “I remember Tisha, she would cry sometimes. It would be so bad because we had the live studio audience and the girls, the Black girls would come in, and they were there for Martin. That was Martin [during] ‘Def Comedy Jam’ and stuff. So, it was that kind of crowd that would come to our shows and they would laugh so hard they would bang on the floor.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>On Thursday, however, Arnold went to Instagram, in a video with McKinney and Speas, to say that she regrets the comments she made about reverse colorism.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Listen, we all have opinions. We all have our rights to opinions, but we also have responsibility. So when I misspeak, I like to apologize for that because you’re never too old to learn,” Arnold said. “So I made a statement on Deon Cole about reverse colorism. I was speaking too fast, just speaking from experience, but I never want to insult anyone for no reason. I misspoke, I spoke too soon.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTQ2Z0pDqgL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\"> \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTQ2Z0pDqgL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\u003Cdiv> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/a>\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTQ2Z0pDqgL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Tichina Arnold (@tichinaarnold)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-did-ari-lennox-say-about-seeing-colorism-on-martin\">What did Ari Lennox say about seeing colorism on ‘Martin’?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Lennox talked about colorism on \u003Cem>Martin \u003C/em>when she sat down for an interview in July, as \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/tichina-arnold-on-ari-lennox-martin-criticism-colorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blavity\u003C/a> previously reported. The singer said she remembers watching the show in the 90s and realizing that Arnold’s character, Pam, was facing colorism.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The thing that pissed me off about Martin was how much he was goin’ in on Pam, and this is coming from a girl who loves a joking a** movie and even when the joking movie is like ‘Damn, that was f**ked up.’ There are some things where I draw the line,” Lennox said in the interview, per \u003Ca href=\"https://people.com/tichina-arnold-addresses-colorism-on-martin-11878433\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People\u003C/a>. “Pam was so f**king beautiful and so fine, and I just feel like growing up as a chocolate girl, I don’t even know if I was able to understand the greatness of Pam.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">American singer Ari Lennox speaks out, saying Martin’s jokes about Pam’s looks still hit a nerve: “I’ll always feel a way about that. It’s disrespectful to dark-skinned women; she’s beautiful.” \u003Cbr> \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/xsuQ1xrZvH\">pic.twitter.com/xsuQ1xrZvH\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Raindropsmedia1/status/1950259880784515542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 29, 2025\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote> \u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",[251,252],{"name":108,"slug":109,"id":110},{"name":24,"slug":25,"id":26},[254],{"id":255,"name":256,"slug":257,"description":10,"image":10},22581,"ari lennox","ari-lennox-2",{"url":259,"thumbnail":260,"credit":261,"title":262,"alt":263,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2252060352.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2252060352-150x100.jpg","Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Family Film and TV Awards","The 28th Family Film and TV Awards","BURBANK, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on December 20, 2025, Tichina Arnold accepts an award onstage during the 28th Family Film and TV Awards at Associated Television Int'l Studios in Burbank, California.","2026-01-10T20:51:55-05:00","2026-01-10T20:52:02-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":269,"author":270,"authors":280,"title":282,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":283,"body":284,"categories":285,"tags":287,"featuredMedia":288,"publishedAt":293,"updatedAt":294,"type":45,"listicle":295,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":296},72893131,{"id":271,"avatar":272,"firstName":273,"lastName":274,"displayName":275,"email":276,"username":277,"normalizedUsername":278,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":279},100537,"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f4ecddcf27ce84b9426a97e5c335db5e419980ab2adca9a0c2b050bc9476b8e9?s=1024&r=g","Sharronda","Williams","Sharronda Williams","[email protected]","SharrondaWilliams","sharrondawilliams","2024-07-21T17:29:39+00:00",[281],{"id":271,"avatar":272,"firstName":273,"lastName":274,"displayName":275,"email":276,"username":277,"normalizedUsername":278,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":279},"Matt Rogers Apologizes For Discouraging Jasmine Crockett Donations On 'Las Culturistas': 'My Phrasing Was Not Right'","matt-rogers-for-jasmine-crockett-donations-remarks-phrasing-las-culturistas","\n\u003Cp>After receiving backlash and inciting discourse on social media about progressive politics and the upcoming election, actor/comedian Matt Rogers, who hosts the \u003Cem>Las Culturistas\u003C/em> podcast with \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/why-is-bowen-yang-leaving-snl-when-is-his-last-episode\">Bowen Yang\u003C/a>, has apologized for comments about \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/jasmine-crockett-launches-us-senate-bid\">Jasmine Crockett’s U.S. Senate run\u003C/a>. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Crockett, who currently serves in the House of Representatives, is eyeing one of Texas’s Senate seats. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-matt-rogers-apology-about-jasmine-crockett-comments\">Matt Rogers’ apology about Jasmine Crockett comments\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Hey everybody. I hear the response and I am taking every bit of it to heart, I promise,” he said in an Instagram Story post on Saturday. “Transparency and candor matter to me, especially on the podcast. I’m a very progressive person who cares deeply about winning these elections, but my phrasing was not right. I will be more thoughtful! I really do promise. “I have great respect and admiration for Rep. Crockett, and I regret that my words suggested otherwise. I just want us to win and I will be better at finding ways to help.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Yang reposted Rogers’ apology, adding, “should not have cursorily weighed in on this. understanding the platform and will use it more responsibly.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bowen Yang appears to be walking back/apologizing for his recent comments about Jasmine Crockett on the podcast ep with Matt Rogers \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/fqlS3FoGn9\">pic.twitter.com/fqlS3FoGn9\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/status/2010065946749423829?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 10, 2026\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-did-matt-rogers-and-bowen-yang-say-about-jasmine-crockett\">What did Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang say about Jasmine Crockett\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In a recent \u003Cem>Las Culturistas \u003C/em>episode, Rogers and Yang spoke about Gavin Newsom’s possibility of being the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028 and not agreeing with a presumptive pick. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I don’t necessarily want that,” said Rogers. “I don’t think we will win with him. Just go to L.A., ask people how they feel being there.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>They then talked about Crockett, with Rogers adding, “Any time a politician is making it too obviously about themselves, I’m already done. And don’t waste your money sending to Jasmine Crockett. Do not do it. Don’t do it, you’re going to waste your money, with Yang saying, “I must agree.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>He further explained, “Let me just qualify the Jasmine Crockett thing. She’s not going to win a Senate seat in Texas, you guys. If Beto O’Rourke couldn’t do it, Jasmine Crockett is not going to do it. It’s nothing against her, it’s just that she is a politician, in that she is very well-defined already, and it’s my opinion that we’re going to need someone who is less defined at this moment that rises up.”\u003Cbr>\u003C/p>\n",[286],{"name":24,"slug":25,"id":26},[],{"url":289,"thumbnail":290,"credit":136,"title":291,"alt":292,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/photo-collage.png-40.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/photo-collage.png-40-150x84.jpg","photo-collage.png (40)","Matt Rogers and Jasmine Crockett","2026-01-10T19:46:52-05:00","2026-01-10T20:06:18-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":298,"author":299,"authors":300,"title":302,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":303,"body":304,"categories":305,"tags":307,"featuredMedia":312,"publishedAt":317,"updatedAt":318,"type":45,"listicle":319,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":320},72893155,{"id":239,"avatar":240,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":241,"email":242,"username":241,"normalizedUsername":243,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":244},[301],{"id":239,"avatar":240,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":241,"email":242,"username":241,"normalizedUsername":243,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":244},"Who Are Kristy And Desmond Scott? Here's Why They Are Making Headlines","who-are-kristy-and-desmond-scott","\n\u003Cp id=\"h-popular-social-media-star-kristy-scott-is-divorcing-her-husband-fellow-viral-personality-desmond-scott-citing-infidelity-as-the-reason-for-the-breakup-kristy-filed-the-paperwork-on-dec-25-ending-her-12-year-marriage-with-desmond-us-weekly-reported\">Popular \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/unredacted-epstein-files-hacks-spread-search-for-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social media\u003C/a> star Kristy Scott is divorcing her husband, fellow viral personality Desmond Scott, citing infidelity as the reason for the breakup. Kristy filed the paperwork on Dec. 25, ending her 12-year marriage with Desmond, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/kristy-scott-files-for-divorce-from-desmond-scott-cites-alleged-infidelity/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Us Weekly\u003C/a> reported.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-to-know-about-kristy-and-desmond-scott-s-relationship-status\">What to know about Kristy and Desmond Scott’s relationship status\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>During their time together, Kristy and Desmond rose to fame as one of the most beloved couples on social media. The pair, who have been together since they were 14 years old, inspired their followers as they showed off the love they had for each other. One of the couple’s videos from earlier this year showed Kristy trying the viral chair challenge with Ciara.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The real challenge was Desmond trying to keep up with @ciara at the end 😂 SIR???” Kristy wrote in her post, taking a friendly jab at her husband.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As the couple celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary in 2024, they spoke to People about the special event they planned.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The theme of the party was focused on floral elegance. Our guests felt like they were walking into a garden,” they told \u003Ca href=\"https://people.com/kristy-and-desmond-scott-celebrate-10-year-anniversary-party-exclusive-8697767\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People\u003C/a> at the time. “Our aim was to be elegant and timeless.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The couple also became emotional as they spoke about their journey together.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“We were teenagers and hadn’t even developed any style preferences, so this was our chance to redo our wedding as the adults that we are now, celebrating the life we’ve built and journey thus far!” they said.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As business owners, Kristy and Desmond focused on their media platform, Meant To Be Films, a production company that tells wedding stories in documentary format.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Kristy has amassed more than nine million followers on Instagram and nearly 17 million on TikTok, while Desmond has gained almost two million Instagram followers and 1.4 million on TikTok. Many of those followers found joy in seeing how much love the couple had for each other.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“We have been best friends since teenagers and that’s never changed,” the pair said in their interview with People. “We focus on genuinely having fun, constantly laughing, keeping things light and spontaneous and finding humor in everyday life. Ten years flew by — we’ve literally grown up together and navigated life together.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-details-revealed-about-kristy-and-desmond-s-divorce\">What are the details revealed about Kristy and Desmond’s divorce?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>According to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2026/01/09/kristy-scott-files-divorce-husband-desmond/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TMZ\u003C/a>, the couple’s paperwork states that they will no longer live together in their Texas home. As she cited infidelity as the reason for the divorce, Kristy said in the documents that there is no hope for reconciliation. The documents were filed in Harris County, Texas.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Kristy and Desmond have been raising two sons together.\u003C/p>\n",[306],{"name":24,"slug":25,"id":26},[308],{"id":309,"name":310,"slug":311,"description":10,"image":10},75810,"Non-Newsletter","non-newsletter",{"url":313,"thumbnail":314,"credit":315,"title":316,"alt":10,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2153285427.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2153285427-150x100.jpg","Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images","“Megalopolis” Red Carpet – The 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival","2026-01-10T19:41:49-05:00","2026-01-10T19:41:56-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},{"id":322,"author":323,"authors":333,"title":335,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":336,"body":337,"categories":338,"tags":347,"featuredMedia":368,"publishedAt":374,"updatedAt":375,"type":45,"listicle":376,"disableContentGate":47,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":47,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":377},72886534,{"id":324,"avatar":325,"firstName":326,"lastName":327,"displayName":328,"email":329,"username":330,"normalizedUsername":331,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":332},100233,"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72f914bd1af7a8b8565f0bd4e863560ddbb3f74da3e30d69c4a7ee2e71847a08?s=1024&r=g","Shanique","Yates","Shanique Yates","[email protected]","ShaniqueYates","shaniqueyates","2023-09-15T16:06:13+00:00",[334],{"id":324,"avatar":325,"firstName":326,"lastName":327,"displayName":328,"email":329,"username":330,"normalizedUsername":331,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":332},"'Forever' Season 2: Mara Brock Akil Just Confirmed This About The Show's Return","forever-season-2-expectations-mara-brock-akil","\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/why-is-netflix-forever-series-set-in-2018\">Forever\u003C/a> \u003C/em>took the world by storm in May, and as fans anxiously await the second season on \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/entertainment/no-one-saw-us-leave-true-story-netflix\">Netflix\u003C/a>, Mara Brock Akil requests one thing — trust.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In an interview with \u003Ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2025/12/netflix-book-adaptations-data-audience-2025-1236632110/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%2520was%2520exhilarating%2520to%2520know,to%2520how%2520they%2520normally%2520respond.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deadline\u003C/a>, the series creator was vague about the details of the forthcoming second season of her television adaptation of Judy Blume’s controversial titular novel. However, she expressed excitement that news of a second installment of the show was announced just five days after its release.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“It was exhilarating to know you’re on the biggest stage in the world, and Netflix was able to make a decision that quickly, comparatively to how they normally respond,” she told Deadline. “It was a collective win for the artists who we all collaborated with to bring a great story, and the audience, who were just great listeners. I mean, they sat down for eight hours, or however long it is — eight episodes, and they let Netflix know, ‘More of this, please.’ It put a lot of gas in the tank for Season 2. And we’re very excited. We’re already in the writers’ room. Things are gelling.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-she-wants-fans-to-trust-the-process\">Why she wants fans to trust the process\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Akil, known for creating worlds that celebrate Black love in all its forms, such as those featured in \u003Cem>Girlfriends\u003C/em>, \u003Cem>Love Is\u003C/em>, \u003Cem>The Game\u003C/em> and many others, wants fans to have faith in her commitment to delivering the best product possible.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I’m excited about not revealing too much about where we’re headed for Season 2 until it’s time to. I’ve been cooking in the kitchen, as the kids say, I’ve been cooking for over 25 years,” Akil said. “And I have served up a lot of hit shows, and I just want people to trust me and to show up when I ring the dinner bell, knowing that I want to serve you the best meal. I want to cook that dish, make that TV show that you can’t get enough of and you want more of, and will show up when next time I make it.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-forever-about\">What is ‘Forever’ about?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>According to the official logline, “Judy Blume’s groundbreaking 1975 novel, \u003Cem>Forever\u003C/em>, is being reimagined for a new generation by Mara Brock Akil. It’s an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The first season of \u003Cem>Forever \u003C/em>follows characters Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) as they navigate the nuances of first love, and Akil said their story is not done yet.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-season-2-is-confirmed-to-still-focus-on-justin-and-keisha\">Season 2 is confirmed to still focus on Justin and Keisha\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I can offer this — we will be following Justin and Keisha, as opposed to moving to a new couple. I think we have more to say with them before we pivot in a new direction,” she said, offering a very small glimpse into what lies ahead in the second season.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Following its May 8 release, \u003Cem>Forever\u003C/em> drew in 124,200,000 total hours viewed, with 19,100,000 views, according to Netflix’s January through June 2025 engagement report, per Deadline.\u003C/p>\n",[339,343],{"name":340,"slug":341,"id":342},"Entertainment","entertainment",3,{"name":344,"slug":345,"id":346},"Television","television",100,[348,352,356,360,364],{"id":349,"name":350,"slug":351,"description":10,"image":10},62137,"Forever","forever",{"id":353,"name":354,"slug":355,"description":10,"image":10},74740,"Judy Blume","judy-blume",{"id":357,"name":358,"slug":359,"description":10,"image":10},29930,"Mara Brock Akil","mara-brock-akil",{"id":361,"name":362,"slug":363,"description":10,"image":10},37487,"Netflix","netflix",{"id":365,"name":366,"slug":367,"description":10,"image":10},63105,"Season 2","season-2",{"url":369,"thumbnail":370,"credit":371,"title":372,"alt":373,"type":43},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Forever_102_240424_EM_01590_R-scaled.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Forever_102_240424_EM_01590_R-150x100.jpg","Photo: Netflix","Forever_102_240424_EM_01590_R","'Forever' on Netflix","2026-01-10T16:11:54-05:00","2026-01-10T16:12:14-05:00",[],{"disableAd":47,"disableConnatixPlayer":47,"enabledComments":47,"headScript":10},75560,["Reactive",380],{},["Set"],["ShallowReactive",383],{"page-herman-cain-says-trump-doesnt-have-a-racist-bone-in-his-body":50,"L5mKWLzO22":50,"7VUhfdt1ev":50},"/herman-cain-says-trump-doesnt-have-a-racist-bone-in-his-body?category1=politics&category2=news",["Reactive",386],{}]