Month: February 2017

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Tuesday that they have purged their front office in a shake-up that will leave former Laker great Earvin “Magic” Johnson in charge of turning the once-great franchise around following the worst half-decade of basketball in its lauded history. 

In a release, the team said it has put Johnson “in charge of all basketball operations” and fired general manager Mitch Kupchak, who had overseen the team’s day-to-day basketball decisions since 2000. The Lakers are already “well underway” in their search for a new general manager, they said. 

Additionally, the team announced that vice president of public relations John Black has been relieved of his duties, and Jim Buss, the son of the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss and one of the team’s owners, will no longer hold the title of executive vice president of basketball operations. Chief operating officer Tim Harris will also find his own replacement, the release said. 

The news shocked the basketball world for multiple reasons ― for one, simply because Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss and John Black had all been associated with the Lakers for decades, over which time the franchise won five championships and made it to seven NBA Finals with star players like Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. 

The decision also comes just two days before the NBA trade deadline, and two days after reports emerged that the flailing team decided against including Brandon Ingram, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, in any trade discussions for enigmatic NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins. (Cousins was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans soon after the All-Star Game on Sunday evening.)

The Lakers currently have the third-worst record in the league and a strong incentive to stay that bad, if not get worse, since the team will give its first-round draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Philadelphia 76ers should it fall out of the top three.

As such, many basketball insiders expected them to shop leading scorer Lou Williams at the deadline in an attempt to heighten their odds at keeping their pick in the draft come June. 

But with Mitch Kupchak gone and no clear replacement in order, how they will be able to make such a trade has left analysts scratching their heads. 

Johnson first returned to the team in February, when it was announced he would become a business and and basketball adviser to Jeanie Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers’ team president and Jim Buss’ sister.

Jeanie, who remains the team’s top decision-maker, said Tuesday that she made the decision to clean house with the team’s best interests in mind, and Johnson called it a “dream come true to return to the Lakers as President of Basketball Operations working closely with Jeanie Buss and the Buss family.”

But the decision to replace Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak with Magic Johnson has left many Lakers fans nervous. Even though the team is currently just 19–39, Kupchak had recently drafted well, picking up solid pieces like Ingram and D’Angelo Russell in the first round of the draft, as well as finding gems like Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Ivica Zubac in the second.

Kupchak had also helmed a number of the league’s biggest transactions during his time with the Lakers, including trading for Pau Gasol, who became the second best player on two championship teams, and agreeing to a deal with the then-New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul ― which was infamously rescinded by the league for “basketball reasons,” leading to the stretch of mediocre-to-bad Lakers basketball that continues to this day.

Whether Johnson can pull something off that Kupchak couldn’t remains to be seen, but many remained dubious on Tuesday as they laughed about some of his famously head-scratching tweets. 

Either way, this is the end of one era and the start of another. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Madonna regularly makes headlines for her sartorial choices. Now, her twin daughters are adorably stealing the spotlight. 

Estere and Stelle, the 4-year-old twins Madge adopted from Malawi in early February, looked unbelievably cute wearing a pair of matching Adidas tracksuits and gold bows around their heads.

“Today’s Blessing brought to you by Adidas!” the 58-year-old mom of six captioned the sweet photo, posted Tuesday. 

Stelle and Estere have often been seen on Madonna’s social media channels wearing matching outfits, whether it be pajamas…

… or heart-adorned dresses.

Whatever the pair is wearing, one thing is for sure: It’s always two times the cuteness. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced Tuesday he was dropping his state’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over a 2013 voting bill that a federal appeals court called the most restrictive in the state “since the era of Jim Crow.”

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit struck down a North Carolina bill that required residents to show photo ID at the polls, shortened early voting and eliminated same-day registration. The court ruled that the law intentionally discriminated against African Americans “with almost surgical precision.” With days left in his administration, former Gov. Pat McCrory (R), whom Cooper defeated last year, appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Just last week, lawyers retained by McCrory filed a brief urging the high court to agree to hear the case, and the justices are set to consider the state’s petition at their private conference on March 3. In the lead-up to last November’s election, the Supreme Court denied an emergency request from North Carolina to allow it to enforce the restrictive voting law.

But on Tuesday, Cooper announced that he and North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) had notified the court that they’re withdrawing the appeal altogether.

“This morning, the Governor’s General Counsel and Chief Deputy Attorney General jointly sent a letter discharging outside counsel in the case on behalf of the State,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “Also today, the Governor’s Office and the NC Department of Justice formally withdrew the State and Governor’s request for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision.”

“We need to make it easier for people to exercise their right to vote, not harder, and I will not continue to waste time and money appealing this unconstitutional law,” Cooper said. “It’s time for North Carolina to stop fighting for this unfair, unconstitutional law and work instead to improve equal access for voters.”

In a Facebook post, Stein said that the plaintiffs had agreed to waive $12 million in legal fees if the case was dropped.

In an article published in Slate earlier this month, Rick Hasen, an election law expert and professor at the University of California, Irvine, observed that Cooper dropping the case would be notable because other courts were already relying on the 4th Circuit’s opinion in the North Carolina case.

It’s not immediately clear what will happen next in the litigation.

Cooper’s statement notes that while his office and the attorney general are giving up the appeal, “the State Board of Elections, its individual members, and its Executive Director will remain in the case for the time being.” Hasen noted on his blog Tuesday that Republicans control both the state Board of Elections and the state legislature, but he was unsure if either could hire its own lawyers for the case.

Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the Board of Elections, said the agency had been informed of the governor’s decision on Tuesday and was still seeking additional information. He said that the board would discuss the case at a planned meeting Wednesday.

Now that the Supreme Court is one member short since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, North Carolina’s move may prevent the justices from delving into an area of law where they’ve been deeply divided in the past.

In the meantime, the court is expected to rule soon in a pending gerrymandering case where North Carolina stands accused of drawing two congressional districts in a way that dilutes the power of minority voters. And in January, the Supreme Court halted a special election called for the purpose of redrawing 28 legislative districts that a lower court found were illegal.

Cristian Farias contributed reporting.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Candice Wiggins didn’t hold back on the WNBA in a jaw-dropping new interview. 

The basketball player, 30, told The San Diego Tribune that she’d been planning to continue playing for an additional two seasons before opting to retire from professional sports in 2016 after eight seasons. Among the factors that influenced her decision, she said, was that she’d been subjected to aggressive behavior from her teammates… for not being gay. 

“I didn’t like the culture inside the WNBA, and without revealing too much, it was toxic for me,” Wiggins, who played for the Minnesota Lynx, Tulsa Shock, Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty, said. “Me being heterosexual and straight, and being vocal in my identity as a straight woman was huge. I would say 98 percent of the women in the WNBA are gay women. It was a conformist type of place… People were deliberately trying to hurt me all of the time.” 

According to the Tribune, there is currently no published data on the number of WNBA players who publicly identify as gay. Still, at least 12 current and former players have come out publicly in various forms of media. Sue Wicks, who retired after playing with the New York Liberty, is believed to be the first WNBA player to publicly identify as a lesbian while still active in professional sports in 2002, while former Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner came out shortly after being drafted by the WNBA in 2013. 

Adding to the WNBA’s “very, very harmful” culture, Wiggins claimed, was that players were expected to “look like a man, play like a man” to get respect. “It comes to a point where you get compared so much to the men, you come to mirror the men,” the 30-year-old Maryland native said. “I was the opposite. I was proud to a be a woman, and it didn’t fit well in that culture.”

Lackluster enthusiasm from sports fans, she said, deepened her discontent with the sport. “Nobody cares about the WNBA,” she said. “They give away tickets and people don’t come to the game.”

Among those to refute Wiggins’ claims was San Antonio Stars small forward Monique Currie. In a Feb. 21 blog, Currie said she’d “never witnessed the kind of bullying” that Wiggins had described in her interview. 

“This does not mean it did not happen but I’m proud to be apart of a league that supports inclusion and celebrates all players regardless of their race, religion or sexuality,” Currie, 33, wrote. “Wiggins needs to check her privilege at the door, and not group her very unfortunate personal experiences on an entire group of women… If you want things to be great then start with accountability first and maybe ask yourself, ‘What did I do to make the atmosphere better for future players?’” 

Regarding Wiggins’s claims on ticket sales, Currie pointed to WNBA statistics, which found that the league’s 2016 season “scored its highest attendance in five years and included record marks for WNBA digital, social media and retail.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

WASHINGTON ― School administrators in a 93 percent white Maryland county recently asked high school teachers to take down pro-diversity posters from classrooms because they perceived them as “political” and “anti-Trump,” a school spokesperson told The Huffington Post.

Teachers at Westminster High School had put up the posters, which depicted Latina, Muslim and black women and were designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the “Hope” posters featuring President Barack Obama in 2008. The women are rendered in patriotic colors, with messages like “We the people are greater than fear.” The teachers put up the posters as a “show of diversity,” said Carey Gaddis, a spokeswoman for Carroll County Public Schools.

At least one staff member complained about the posters, and the teachers were “asked to take them down because they were being perceived as anti-Trump by the administration,” Gaddis said.

After taking the posters down, the teachers were initially allowed to put them up again. But the administration did some further investigation online and determined that the posters could be seen as political. The school does not allow teachers to put up political posters in their classrooms “unless it’s part of a curriculum and they represent both sides,” Gaddis said. (The story was first reported by the Carroll County Times.)

President Donald Trump took office vowing to crack down on immigration and ban Muslims from traveling to the United States, promises that he has already tried to fulfill. His administration is also stacked with anti-immigration hard-liners, and his campaign won early support from prominent white nationalists, whom Trump has unconvincingly sought to disavow.

The art recognizes groups that may feel marginalized under the Trump administration. But it is “definitely NOT anti-Trump in nature,” said Aaron Huey, a photojournalist whose organization collaborated with Fairey on the posters.

The campaign was intentionally designed not to refer to any president or political party, according to Huey. “Anyone who believes that these messages are dangerous or divisive needs to check themselves,” he said.

Carroll County’s school system has struggled to attract more diverse staff, according to a report filed with the school board last year, and only about 4 percent of its employees identify as minorities. Jim Doolan, who was board president at the time, told the Carroll County Times in 2016 that when he first came to the school system to teach more than 30 years ago, he would find Ku Klux Klan invitations on his car windshield.

Carroll County also has a reputation as a place where people of color don’t want to be after work hours, Superintendent Stephen Guthrie told the Times. Staff members said they were trying to change that perception.

Westminster High School’s mission includes preaching “tolerance [and] acceptance of diversity,” said Steven Johnson, the county’s assistant superintendent for instruction.

The principal is looking into alternative images that people can display, Johnson said. But he likened the issue to the controversy over the Confederate battle flag.

“The Confederate flag in and of itself has no image of slavery or hatred or oppression, but it’s symbolic of that,” Johnson told HuffPost. “These posters have absolutely no mention of Trump or any other political issue ― it’s the symbolism of what they were representing. They were carried in these protests.”

Hamial Waince, a 17-year-old student at Westminster High and president of a women’s math and science club, said she has faced discrimination around town as a Pakistani-American Muslim. But she considers her high school a safe place where people are willing to stand up for her.

“Since the posters were taken down, what does that tell the students?” Waince asked. “That it’s perfectly fine to remove something which supports a moral value that each human being should have?”

Sarah Wack, a 2012 graduate of Westminster High, has started an online fundraiser to print free T-shirts displaying the images for students to wear. Once the shirt order is finalized, Wack says, the balance will be donated to the Amplifier Foundation, the nonprofit that put out the posters.

The students plan to wear the shirts on March 1. (Gaddis said they will be permitted to do so.) As of Tuesday, Wack’s fundraiser had raised over $5,000.

“I’m wearing the shirt to school to stand by those affected by the posters being taken down,” said Delaney McKelvie, a high school senior. “I also hope to get the message across that promoting diversity should be commonplace.”

The school board has scheduled a meeting about the posters, Gaddis said.

Madi Macera, a junior, said she knows two students ― one black and one of Muslim faith, both of them girls ― who were “upset and disturbed at the sight of teachers having to remove posters containing images of women similar to them from their walls.”

“I want people to understand that these are American people,” said Macera, who is helping to organize the demonstration at the school. “They are a staple of who America is as a whole.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Today, President Trump toured the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, where he was shown everything from slavery to the present day ― depicting both the ugliness in our past and the progress that we have achieved. As one who has toured the museum (and even has two or three photos in it), I have taken great pride in attending events there and showing people various parts of this unusually important institution. My immediate reaction to Trump’s visit was cynical; that it’s just a photo op, and it’s a way for him to get by some of his policies that are clearly bigoted and exclusionary. But on the other side, it is good that he went and at least saw some of the history that makes many of us look at him through the eyes of people that have felt trumped all of their lives and the lives of their forefathers. The real question now is, how will the Trump era be viewed in that museum?

We are a little over a month into Trump’s Presidency, and there are many unanswered questions as to how he will proceed when it comes to issues impacting our communities. As the president immediately following Barack Obama ― the first African American president ― will Trump want to be in that museum as the one who reversed progress like unemployment being cut in half for Blacks, or implementation of the Affordable Care Act that disproportionately helped Blacks? Will he want to be the one who turns back from an emphasis on criminal justice reform, including police reform and Obama’s commutations of low-level offenders more than the last 11 presidents combined? Does he want to be remembered as the President that removed protection of voting rights and instead tried to reverse it with more suppression tactics like voter ID laws?

…the corridor of history is longer than an election cycle.”

President Trump should keep in mind today and going forward that he will be in that museum one day alongside others. He can go down surprising everyone by continuing to ensure that the arc is bent towards justice, or he can be another one who tried to bend the arc back in the wrong direction. Will he be the first President in modern history that didn’t meet with the Congressional Black Caucus, or heads of major civil rights organizations (even though they may be critical of some of some of his policies)? He should reflect on the Museum of African American History and Culture and realize that the corridor of history is longer than an election cycle.

Black history is American history. Trump should realize that he cannot only look at black history, but that he will be in it. Question is, what will the exhibit say? Neither he nor I will live to be around years from now to call a critical appraisal of fake news. What Trump should do is use this visit to reverse fear and change historic profile for the better. Visiting this remarkable museum is a sobering experience that reminds people how we must never allow horrific aspects of our history to repeat, and also how we must continue to work towards justice and equality so that future generations will never witness the kinds of challenges that we endured. It is up to this President to decide whether he wants to stay the course of progress or not.

I just have one simple message to Trump: history’s record of you will remain a lot longer than last night’s tweet.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Blogger and travel connoisseur Oneika Raymond, who popularly goes by Oneika The Traveller, stopped by The Huffington Post Black Voices’ bi-weekly talk show the “BV Breakdown” ― a Facebook Live show that discusses hot topics, current events and self-care tips ― on Thursday to share some of her travel savvy.

Black Voices’ Senior Editor Lilly Workneh and Associate Editor Taryn Finley sat down with Oneika, who was also joined by financial educator and author Tiff The Budgetnista, to share her knowledge on the most affordable travel destinations as well as the best countries for black Americans to visit. 

Below are some of the essential travel gems Oneika ― who has traveled to 95 countries so far ― dropped during the episode: 

1. Don’t Be Afraid To Venture Solo

Sometimes waiting around for everyone’s schedule to free up can cause you to miss out on some promising ventures. But if you’re hesitant to journey out on your own, Oneika suggests at least spending a weekend by yourself and working your way up towards a full excursion. 

“I think we build it up in our minds to make it so much bigger than it is. And that’s why I would recommend people to do really short trips,” she said. “Spend a Saturday by yourself. Go on a staycation. Go an hour away and do a weekend trip there and build up to traveling by yourself.”

2. Go Where Your Budget Guides You

One of the best pieces of travel advice Oneika said she’s received is “chase the deal, not the destination.” So while you may not be able to afford a Parisian trip just yet, Oneika said there are a number of places that allow for more affordable travel like Bolivia, Canada, Russia and Nepal. 

3. There Are Some Pretty Great Destinations For Black Travelers 

During the segment, Oneika championed a few countries that she said embrace and celebrate the African Diaspora. She mentioned Thailand, Colombia, Dubai, South Africa and Brazil among some of the best destinations for black travelers. 

4. Try Not To Write Off Countries Because Of Their Race Relations

While you should certainly make it a point to visit countries that are celebratory of black culture and be conscious of those that don’t, Oneika said you shouldn’t always write off a travel destination because of the area’s race relations.

“If you use [racism] as a basis to not travel, you wouldn’t go no place,” she said. 

5. Travel = Self-Care

The wondrously refreshing nature of travel serves as the ultimate form of self-care and Oneika says to drop any inhibitions and treat yoursel. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Savannah State University’s cheerleaders just made history in the world of competitive cheer.

The 12-woman, one-man squad earned the first place title at the CheerSport Nationals in Atlanta on Sunday, making them the first team from a historically black college and university to win this national cheerleading title.

“We are very excited, ecstatic, just a feeling that you can’t explain,” senior cheerleader Morgan Moore told Savannah’s WJCL. “It’s indescribable, it’s just a great feeling to know that we’ve made history at our school.”

Dathan Gooden, the lone male on the team, told WJCL that they’re proud, especially since no one has seen them compete at that level. 

“We didn’t know about it until like the last minute and thought about it when they were presenting the award, “ Gooden said. “And we were just like, oh, we are really, the first HBCU to win this, so we were very, very proud of that.”

This is the school’s first appearance at the competition since 2013, the local station reported. 

A few cheerleaders expressed their excitement on social media by posting celebratory photos and videos.

The team also got a Twitter shoutout from actress Gabrielle Union, head captain of the East Compton Clovers in “Bring It On.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Diversity does sell, according to a report from the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA, released Tuesday. And if you had been paying close attention, you would’ve already known that.

The center’s fourth annual Hollywood Diversity Report, helmed by Darnell Hunt, once again found that films with relatively diverse casts bring in the highest average box-office receipts and return on investment. In television, the report found that diverse casts excel in ratings over broadcast and cable networks.

A team of 11 people analyzed 200 top films released in 2015 and 1,206 broadcast, cable and streaming TV shows from the 2014-2015 season. Their findings come just a few weeks after the industry’s biggest award show ― the Oscars ― happily announced a slate of nominees more diverse than previous years.

The authors write that their research has “consistently revealed a curious disconnect,” however, “between Hollywood industry production choices and market realities.”

In other words, the industry puts out a lot of not-so-diverse shows and movies that don’t do so well, and comparatively fewer ones that are successful while better representing the makeup of the U.S.

In film, the positive association between diversity and income held up even when individual budgets were taken into account, and regardless of genre. For example, movies that were 21 to 30 percent minority, including “Spectre” and “San Andreas,” had the highest median global box-office earnings. In television, broadcast scripted shows where the cast was majority-minority, like “Law and Order: SVU” and “Black-ish,” excelled in ratings among a group coveted by advertisers, adults between 18 and 49. Social engagement was also highest among diverse shows. 

The conclusion seems obvious ― people like seeing themselves on screen. Black households preferred scripted cable shows with majority-minority casts, and Latino and Asian American households preferred fairly diverse shows, too.

So, why don’t we see even more people of color and women on screen?

The report makes note of one major culprit: talent agencies. Calling these companies “gatekeepers” to the industry, researchers found that a few big talent agencies increasingly represent film directors, lead actors and writers, along with show creators and TV actors. Across the board, minorities are underrepresented among their client lists. 

“As the intermediaries between Hollywood’s artists and its studios and networks, talent agencies play a pivotal role in deciding who can participate in the media landscape,” the authors note.

Talent agencies employ agents who find jobs for actors and creators ― if those actors and creators skew white and male, then so does what we see on screen.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Jay Z’s streaming music and entertainment platform, TIDAL, has partnered with Harry Belafonte’s social justice organization, Sankofa.org, to raise awareness about police brutality.

On February 17, TIDAL announced the release of a new visual EP entitled, “17,” which follows a 17-year-old black male (see teaser clip above) and his experience with racial bias and police violence.

Featuring music by Ty Dolla $ign, Raphael Saadiq, Mali Music and Elijah Blake, the project’s depiction was inspired by the victims of racial bias and instances of lethal police violence, including the death of late 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot by then-Florida neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. Five years since his untimely death, last month Martin’s parents commemorated their son’s life with the release of

Five years since his untimely death, Martin’s parents commemorated their son’s life with the release of book entitled, Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin.

Connecting artists to social-political issues through projects such as “17” is among Sankofa.org’s biggest initiatives, according to Sankofa.org co-executive director Gina Belafonte.

“As a first of its kind ‘social justice impact entertainment enterprise’ our mission at Sankofa.org is to connect artists, entertainers with the activists, organizations, and communities most directly impacted by issues like racial bias, systemic violence, mass incarceration, economic, social and political disenfranchisement in an effort to drive social and policy change,” Belafonte said in a press release for the project.

“This Visual EP is one of the many projects Sankofa.org has produced (and will be rolling out more of) that has inspired artists to use their massive cultural influence and followings to shine a light on issues of political and moral urgency,” she added.

In addition to the release of “17,” TIDAL and Sankofa.org launched the #IAM17 social media campaign in an effort to encourage people to share personal stories about their life experiences at age 17.

Check out a teaser to “17” in the clip above, and watch the clip in its entirety here.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices