News

*Well here’s an interesting story that’s turning out to be the equivalent of fake news, unfortunately. If you haven’t heard, earlier it was reported by ESPN that former Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice was being considered for the vacant head-coaching position by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

Needless to say, what we have here is an exaggerated story. According to the team, the report is simply NOT true.

“Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a great leader, possesses the highest possible character and also happens to be a Browns fan,” GM John Dorsey said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect and admiration for all she’s accomplished and was honored to meet her for the first time earlier this season.”

Dorsey added:

“Our coaching search will be thorough and deliberate, but we are still in the process of composing the list of candidates and Secretary Rice has not been discussed.”

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Via a statement, here’s what Condoleeza Rice had to say about the situation:

I love my Browns — and I know they will hire an experienced coach to take us to the next level.

On a more serious note, I do hope that the NFL will start to bring women into the coaching profession as position coaches and eventually coordinators and head coaches. One doesn’t have to play the game to understand it and motivate players. But experience counts — and it is time to develop a pool of experienced women coaches.

BTW — I’m not ready to coach but I would like to call a play or two next season if the Browns need ideas! And at no time will I call for a “prevent defense.”

Well, if youi didn’t know it before, just from that response, it’s obvious Rice is an avid football. In fact, her name has often come up as a  possible successor to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.  Additionally, she was one of the inaugural members of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Source: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/11/condoleeza-rice-cleveland-browns-deny-report-theyre-considering-ex-sos-for-head-coach-position/

Here’s the good news: Enrollment at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) has never been higher, with the trend showing no signs of slowing anytime soon.

Now, here’s the, um, not so good news, at least for traditionalists: As that spike in students bolsters the bottom lines for schools which may not have been on the firmest of financial footings, it has also been threatening to change the typical racial makeup of HBCU students.

“In many cases, African-American students have ceased being a majority at HBCUs,” according to a new report from Diverse Issues in Higher Education published last week. “At some, they are a small minority among a White majority.”

The report did not single out schools in particular that apparently fell under that category, but a closer look at recent statistics showed an increasing number of white people have been enrolling as undergraduates at HBCUs over the years.

“Additionally,” the report said, “graduate, professional and online programs at HBCUs tend to draw non-Black students at higher rates.”

The percentage of white students at HBCUs stood at 17 percent, according to a report last year from Pew Research Center. That figure was up from 13 percent in 1980. Data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics confirm the steady rise in white students enrolling in HBCUs from 1976 through 2004. That could be the reason, at least in part, why HBCUs saw record growth in 2017.

However, coinciding with that rise in white students at HBCUs was the “lower shares of blacks attending these institutions,” according to Pew:

“As desegregation, rising incomes and increased access to financial aid resulted in more college options for blacks, the share of blacks attending HBCUs began to shrink,” Pew found. “By fall 1980, 17% of black students enrolled in degree-granting institutions were enrolled at an HBCU. By 2000, that share had declined to 13%, and it stood at 9% in 2015.”

For those aforementioned traditionalists, the surge of white student enrollment can be seen as a gift as well as a curse, metaphorically speaking. Adding more students, either white or of any ethnic background, is important to fend of an apparent existential crisis for many HBCUs that has forced some to shut down and others to ponder a new way forward, according to a professor at The King’s College in New York City.

“The reality is that if HBCUs — with the exception of maybe the top five or six — do not diversify, they’re all going to die,” Anthony Bradley, who has written about HBCUs, told Time in 2014. “While they may continue in their mission in respect to providing opportunities to African-Americans on paper, in reality they’re simply going to have to become more like any university in the country.”

Source: https://newsone.com

Once upon a time, ESPN made history with Jemele Hill and Michael Smith as the first all-Black anchor team on “SportsCenter” in February 2017. However, after Hill called out Donald Trump as a white supremacist, ESPN has not been supporting the anchor. Her hosting duties at “SportsCenter” (Smith left in March) ended and she was writing for ESPN’s Undefeated website. Now, her time at ESPN is reportedly over.

According to SportingNews.com, “The former ‘SportsCenter’ anchor will accept a buyout of the remainder of her contract with the network, said sources. Hill’s deal with ESPN still has at least two years to run and she stands to walk away with millions of dollars from ESPN parent Disney while she pursues other career opportunities, sources said.”

Yep, millions of dollars, and she deserves every penny.

This is no shock considering Jimmy Pitaro, the new president of ESPN, said he didn’t want any of the commentators to have political opinions, implying he will be kowtowing to whatever the NFL wants. Pitaro told The Washington Post on August 17, “I’ve spent a lot of time with league executives. The relationship is incredibly important to us. That programming cuts across everything we’re doing on the studio side, on the original content side. And we’ve made that very clear to the NFL.”

He also said, “If you ask me is there a false narrative out there, I will tell you ESPN being a political organization is false. I will tell you I have been very, very clear with employees here that it is not our jobs to cover politics, purely.”

Either way, Jemele Hill is going to be great. We are sure she has big things in the future.

Source: https://newsone.com

Voting has long been a passionate subject for Michelle Obama. A new video sheds light on exactly why the former first lady is a strong crusader for voting rights—and why she is encouraging people to exercise their power at the polls.

Obama shared a powerful story about watching her father vote as a child in the clip, which is part of her “When We All Vote” campaign, an initiative that she co-chairs in an effort to spur voter registration ahead of the midterm elections. Before “When We All Vote” hits the road for a week of action from Sept. 22-29, the ex-FLOTUS had another Black excellence moment that she hopes will inspire people to head to the ballot box in November.

Her story underscored her father’s passion and dedication for voting despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“I grew up in a household where voting was something you did all the time,” Obama said in the video. “And my father, who had multiple sclerosis, I remember going to the polling place with him and how much effort it took for him to park his car, to get his crutches, to walk into the church basement in our local neighborhood where he voted. And to stand there, holding himself up, making sure he cast his ballot. I remember my father doing this exercise every single election.”

Seeing her dad vote made Obama think about what a “special responsibility” it was — a right that African-American groups fought for during the civil rights era. The clip makes clear that voting was not only a right for Obama, but a rite of passage. She encourages voting in the presidential election and at the local level.

Source: https://newsone.com

African-American leaders sent condolences to the family of Sen. John McCain, who leaves a mixed legacy with the Black community.

McCain succumbed on Saturday to his battle against brain cancer. The lawmaker and Vietnam War hero, who ran twice for U.S. president, died at his home in Arizona at age 81.

“Today we not only lost a war hero and savvy politician but a man that always put true American values before himself. He was often open to dialogue and conversation about some of this country’s most controversial issues, and he will forever be remembered for his fighting spirit,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said. “We send our condolences to the McCain family and the constituents he proudly served in Arizona for 33 years.”

President Barack Obama, who ran for president in 2008 against McCain, tweeted this message:

The Congressional Black Caucus had this to say:

Many recalled that McCain defended Obama on the campaign trail in 2008, when he shut down a birther who raised doubts about Obama’s birthplace and religion. He’ll be remembered as one of the few Republicans who openly criticized President Donald Trump for calling Haiti and African nations “shithole countries.” Democrats also cheered the dramatic moment on the Senate floor in 2017 when McCain, while battling cancer, gave the thumbs-down on the GOP vote to permanently repeal Obamacare.

There was another side to McCain that brings balance to his legacy. McCain was indifferent to his Black constituents in Arizona, according to Politico.

McCain “has pretty well zero relationship with the African-American community that I know of,” Oscar Tillman, the former Arizona NAACP head, told Politico in 2008. “I don’t recall him ever attending any function with the NAACP. Each year we send them an invitation [to an annual banquet], and each year they say no.”

The senator was also a staunch opponent of the national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Even after President Ronald Reagan finally decided to approve the bill for MLK Day, McCain voted against it.

He later regretted his opposition to celebrating the civil rights leaders, and he apologized for his support in 2000 for keeping the Confederate flag flying atop the South Carolina statehouse.

Source: https://newsone.com

On April 25, Sadaria Davis, 15, was last seen leaving her West Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago. On May 11, Davis’ body was found several blocks away, according to the Chicago Sun Times. She is one of four girls and women who have gone missing in Chicago since mid-March, but she is the only one whose body has been found.

Now, Davis’ family has spoken out for the first time. They held a vigil where her daughter was found and asked the public for help,ABC 7 reported.

“The last time I saw my daughter she was sitting on the foot of my bed talking to me,” her mother, Nicole Sargeant, said. “I cant’ sleep. I can’t eat. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is my baby because I know she didn’t deserve what you did to her.”

Davis’ cousin Luwana Johnson appealed to the public for help.

“Anybody who has any type of information please come forward and share that information,” Johnson said. “We want to put Sadaria to rest. We want to know what happened.”

On social media, there were reports that Davis’ fingers were cut off and some of her organs were removed. However, the Chicago Police Department told NewsOne it “cannot confirm those details and the cause of death is unknown.”

As of Sunday, “the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has still not been able to determine how she died.”

There are fears of a serial kidnapper in this area of Chicago. On March 16, Anna Stanislawczyk, 18, went missing and has not been seen since. On May 25, Shantieya Smith, 26, went missing and has not been seen since. On June 5, 15-year-old Victoria Garrett also vanished.

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by these tragedies. Anyone with information about Davis’ death has been asked to call Chicago detectives at 312-744-8266.

Source: https://newsone.com

AHoward University student and two of her siblings are taking their talents to the 2020 Olympics. Senior Latroya Pina and her sister and brother Jayla and Troy have been selected to be on the Cape Verde National Swim Team during the Summer Olympics which is slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan, the Sun Chronicle reported.

Pina has been racking up several accolades at Howard for her swimming skills, the news outlet writes. She came out victorious in the women’s 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley against Marymount during the 2017-2018 season. The honors went beyond the swimming pool for Pina. She made the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner’s All-Academic Team and the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Spring President’s Honor Roll List. Although having the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games is a huge honor for Pina and her siblings, she says their accomplishment isn’t “far-fetched.” “We’re not just swimming for our colleges or schools, but for a nation so we want to do our best,” she told the Sun Chronicle. Pina also added that she’s proud to be representing Cape Verde. “Cape Verde is trying to make swimming a big sport now, so it’s our responsibility to represent our country. People in Cape Verde and all the Cape Verdeans in the U.S. will be looking up to us.”

Howard’s Swimming & Diving Head Coach Nicholas Askew is excited for Pina and her siblings. “To represent your country at the Olympic level is every swimmer’s dream,” he said in a statement, according to HU Bison. “We are excited for Latroya and have no doubt, she will make Howard University and Cape Verde very proud.”

The siblings are slated to compete in the Confederation Africaine de Natation Championship Meet in Algeria next month

The death of 18-year-old Nia Wilson, who was fatally stabbed in the neck in Oakland last month, could have been stopped, lawyers for the slain teen’s family said Friday (Aug. 17).

Wilson’s death at a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station on July 22 has sparked outcry, and John Lee Cowell was charged with the murder. The killing happened just days after two other female passengers faced a similar threat from Cowell, attorneys said in a claim filed against BART last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. One of the women was physically touched by Cowell, who slid his hand across her neck to suggest he would slice her throat open, at the Civic Center BART Station in San Francisco. Another woman saw the man reveal a knife on a train in a separate incident, lawyers said.

The women weren’t able to get help from BART workers during the incidents — events that may not have been followed by Wilson’s death if transit agency personnel had heeded warnings, attorneys said.

“Nia’s death is not some horrific anomaly that occurred in two seconds that nobody could do anything about,” said Robert Arns, a lawyer for Wilson’s family. “There’s a serious and endemic public safety problem on BART, and just about everybody who rides BART knows that.”

Wilson’s killing was a “simple case of cause and effect,” attorneys also said. If Cowell was taken into police custody and BART personnel did more to protect riders, Wilson may have never been harmed, they added.

Grief-stricken family members represented by the attorneys were teary-eyed on Friday. Wilson’s sisters, Letifah and Tashiya Wilson, both saw their sister take her last breath on the BART station platform that day. Letifah Wilson was also stabbed in the neck but survived.

The family should get “just” compensation, with a dollar amount that would likely be decided on by a jury, according to the suit. Attorneys, on behalf of the family, also want “transparency when it comes to criminal activity on BART property” and “a new system to prevent fare evaders.”

BART tried to defend themselves against the family’s and attorney’s statements, saying that “safety” was a “top priority.” The agency is investigating the threats outlined in the claim, Anna Duckworth, an agency spokeswoman, said.

Source: https://newsone.com

The historian Gerald Horne is a black internationalist. This stance pushes the reader into the whirlwind of world history. In part, the boldness with which Horne charts the movement of world history has to do with his prose. He has a way of lifting up from archives the experiences of New World Africans and their descendants and allies in the struggle. They appear in his prose as historical agents that comprehend the existing political and economic order governed by empire, race, and racism.

Even when their voices are absent in the records, Horne knows how to dramatize the nature of their struggle. All the humiliations, insults, and violences they experienced— evinced in the vulgar racist language of the annals and countless reports on atrocities, and most important, accounts of what the oppressed did with what was done to them by white supremacy—in Horne’s hands, would link up with world-historic developments. He pieces together a myriad of vignettes drawn from the local experience of race and racism to create a mirror that allows the reader to grasp imperial convulsion and anarchy.

All in all, Black self-determination is the central analytic in Horne’s corpus. The struggles for Black liberation and all the solidarity projects against racism and imperialism, in his accounts, are tethered to wars, revolutions, inter-imperial rivalries, and crises of a world order built upon race and capitalism. These volatile circumstances enable centers of global power, from Washington to London to Moscow to Tokyo, to shift, clash, and realign. Horne refers to this contestation and jousting for global supremacy as the “race for the planet,” the title of the book he published in the aftermath of the collapse of the Cold War.

We all know Tiger Woods isn’t invited to Wakanda, but his latest comments just sucked him down to the sunken place.

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Yesterday, Woods played at the Northern Trust tournament in New Jersey and was asked about his relationship with Trump. Woods said, “Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years. We’ve played golf together. We’ve had dinner together. I’ve known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”

The reporter followed up on how he explains his bromance with Trump to people of color and immigrants who are threatened by his racist policies, and Woods said, “Well, he’s the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.”

The irony of Woods’ comment is that Trump does not respect the presidency. Everyday he debases the White House with scandals, corruption, sex industry stars, lies and horrendous policies. Nonetheless, Woods sunken place comments made Trump tingle, and he wrote on Twitter, “The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game – he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!”

 

Actually, Woods is not playing great golf again, he finished 40th at the tournament. Just like Trump isn’t making America great again. When history is written, he’ll be considered the worst president of all time.