California
Rev. Jonathan E.D. Moseley Sr. was honored by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) Los Angeles chapter for his work and services in the Los Angeles community Feb. 19 during a ceremony at Grace Temple Baptist Church. Rev. Moseley is the vice president of NAN Los Angeles. He has been active since 2014, helping making changes in the Los Angeles community. One of his campaigns was “The Fight for 15” to increase the minimum wage to $15 for workers in the fast food and hotel industries. This movement moved across the country, and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti signed it into law in the summer of 2015. Among Rev. Moseley’s additional accomplishments are: serving as vice president of marketing for Gospo-Centric/B-Rite Music; as vice president of Bust It Records featuring MC Hammer; a consultant for EMI artists D’Angelo and Jay-Z; establishing and opening Troop Clothing Inc.; and serving as a sports agent assistant with Asset Financial Group. He’s also a licensed and ordained minister, and has served as pastor of Ark of Grace Christian Fellowship, as well as associate pastor at Grace Temple Baptist church.
Florida
An 18-year-old Black man is under arrest in South Florida, after he allegedly posed as a doctor and even opened his own medical practice. According to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Malachi Love-Robinson, known as Dr. Love, was busted after police set up a sting operation. The young man posed as a 25-year-old with a Ph.D. Robinson has been charged with practicing medicine without a license and he is in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail. He was released on bond. His grandfather told the Sun-Sentinel that it’s all a big misunderstanding and that his grandson never claimed to be a medical physician, just a holistic doctor. The health department for the state of Florida, however, says that he is not certified and that he was in fact ordered to “cease and desist” last year, but he failed to do so. Health department officials called the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and an undercover officer went in to see Robinson. Reportedly, Robinson gave the undercover agent a medical exam and advice, and then he was arrested on the spot.
Ray Allen always had a smart way of handling his business. After his initial contract with the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, when it came time to renew, he fired his agent and hired an attorney and accountant to negotiate a new contract. Smart move … because he paid the accountant and attorney a one-time fee instead of having an agent get a percentage and he also maintained more control over his money. Now that Allen has retired from his last team–the Miami Heat– the former three-point shooter is making another smart move. He and his wife Shannon came up with the idea to open an organic fast food eatery, after they were having a hard time finding healthy alternatives for their diabetic son while keeping up with his busy schedule. The first Grown will open in South Miami on Dixie Highway in March, reports the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. Grown will be complete with a drive-thru window, and it will also feature a rooftop garden. Shannon, by the way, is no stranger to healthy food. She is the creator and producer of the cooking show, “The Pre-Game Meal,” on Comcast’s SportsNet. Prices run from $4 to $18 for menu items that cover breakfast, lunch and dinner. Selections will include soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps, gluten-free baked goods, juices, smoothies and more. The restaurant is environmentally friendly and health all around. It includes an iPad bar where kids can play nutritional- and fitness-themed games.
Georgia
Marley Dias, 11, will be honored with the “Dream Big Award” on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the fifth annual International Pretty Brown Girl Day celebration at Spelman College in Atlanta. Frustrated with the lack of diversity in the books that she was assigned to read at school, Dias conceptualized a project to collect 1,000 books where Black girls are the main characters. “My parents have taught me the value of reading and self-love through books that have characters that look like me and talk like me. I want to make sure other Black girls around the world can see and love themselves, too, through these books,” Marley said. Her campaign, #1000BlackGirlBooks, has inspired others and has grown into a social movement. In three weeks, Dias has collected more than 1,000 books and gained international media attention. International Pretty Brown Girl Day takes place each year on the fourth Saturday of February during Black History Month. It is a day of camaraderie for girls of all ages to have fun, bond with others and reflect on their inner beauty. The theme of the event this year is “Empower a Girl, Empower the World,” and the organization seeks to highlight the importance of girls in their communities having higher levels of education, excellence and expectancy. More info is available at www.prettybrowngirl.com.
Illinois
The man accused of killing members of singer Jennifer Hudson’s family several years ago says he is innocent. William Balfour, who is serving life behind bars for the crime, is speaking out. He was convicted of shooting and killing Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. “I didn’t have nothing to do with the case and don’t know who had anything to do with the case,” he reportedly told ABC 7. He went on to tell the news station that the real killer was “heartless, straight heartless. He isn’t got no family morals, nothing.”
Nevada
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance during Stellar Awards weekend (Feb. 20) at the Gospel Radio Awards at the Orleans. Gospel music executives and artists were honoring gospel radio personalities and stations, when Don Jackson, CEO of the Stellars, stepped out on stage with Clinton. The packed theater erupted into cheers. She spoke very briefly. That same day, Clinton won the Nevada caucus.
New York
Police are investigating what they are calling the “bizarre” death of a Black college student at Buffalo State College last week. The business major, Bradley Doyley, was set to graduate this spring. He was reportedly admitted to Buffalo General Hospital on Jan. 29 and died last Feb. 18. Police are looking into the possibility that the young man died as a result of a hazing incident, where he was allegedly asked to drink a toxic substance. According to the New York Daily News, the 21-year-old was throwing up blood and when he got to the hospital, he had to have surgery and cut open his stomach. Doyley was reportedly trying to join the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which is a traditionally Black organization.
North Carolina
Nathan Barksdale, the former gangster who reportedly inspired characters for the TV show “The Wire,” died in federal prison in the state last week. He was 54. Barksdale was a known criminal in the 1980s, allegedly operating a heroin business. He was arrested in 2014 and pled guilty to taking part in a heroin conspiracy with what was called the Black Guerilla Family. Barksdale died from an undisclosed illness at the Butner facility. Although he admitted he fell back into a life of crime, at one time, Barksdale was working with a program called Safe Streets, counseling young people to not make the same mistakes he did.
Students at Duke University in Durham protested last week when a sorority and fraternity held an incarceration-themed party. Partygoers dressed as police officers and prisoners, and the site of the party had a jail cell/cage as well as a mug shot photo booth. “Our fellow classmates find it appropriate to so callously ‘party’ around a theme that has brought pain, suffering and violence into the lives of so many,” said a statement from the protestors. “Their acts normalize a system that enacts brutality and violence against low-income communities and communities of color—right here, down the road, in Durham.” The statement went on to talk about the callousness of throwing a party only weeks after a man named Matthew McCain became “the third inmate in a year to die while detained at the Durham County Jail,” which is less than a mile away from Duke’s campus.
South Carolina
People are asking if there another George Zimmerman-type of character on the loose in South Carolina? Multiple television news stations in the state are reporting on a case of a White man following and shooting at two Black teens. Fortunately, the teens were unharmed. But the case bears a striking similarity to the one several years ago where Zimmerman was accused of gunning down Black teen Trayvon Martin, because he claimed the teen looked suspicious while inside a gated community. According to the news reports, police say that Brandon Suggs, 34, was arrested last week for a shooting incident on Feb. 12 in Little River. The two teens were reportedly invited to a young lady’s house, but when the girl’s parents were heard coming home, the girl allegedly made them leave through a window. The two Black teens ran to their car, which was parked out front, and started to drive away. Suggs reportedly tried to stop them and then began to follow them, firing at them as they sped down the road. The teens were able to get away from Suggs, who reportedly ran stoplights while firing his weapon. Suggs reportedly called 911 and became frustrated with the operator and hung up on her saying, “The hell with it. I will take care of it myself.” Suggs has been charged with assault and battery first degree and pointing a firearm. He was released on $3,500 bond according to News 13.
Tennessee
A sheriff in Tennessee says Beyoncé is responsible for gunshots fired outside of his home. The story goes that a car drove by the home of Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold and fired six shots. This happened Monday night Feb. 15, and by Tuesday morning, the lawman reportedly knew what had happened. “We all know, as soon as you put your uniform on, you’re a target,” Arnold reportedly said at a press conference the next morning. “You make people mad, when you’re just doing your job.” Then he said it was probably a part of the wave of attacks on law enforcement since the Super Bowl. “You know, Beyoncé’s video,” he actually said. Arnold isn’t the only one on Bey’s case, although her attackers aren’t actually getting much support. A protest was scheduled to take place outside NFL headquarters in New York City on Tuesday Feb. 16 morning to protest her halftime show. According to CNN, only two people showed up.
Virginia
A proposed bill allowing all Virginia law enforcement officers’ names to be withheld from the public would be the first of its kind in the country, and is being decried by police accountability groups and those who believe in freedom of the press, reports the Virginian Pilot newspaper. The proposal was put forth by Sen. John Cosgrove, (R-Chesapeake). SB552 excludes the names of law enforcement from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Cosgrove, who worked on the bill with the Fraternal Order of Police and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, first said he was concerned about the safety of undercover officers. Yet, Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, pointed out to the Virginian-Pilot that Cosgrove’s theory would not apply, because undercover officers never use their real names. Cosgrove later backed off of that position and began citing officer safety generally, reports the paper. The bill passes the state Senate and heads next to a House of Delegates subcommittee.
National
Channing Dungey has been named president of the ABC Entertainment Group, becoming the first African American to be president of a major broadcast network. Network executives are hoping Dungey can bring stronger programming to ABC, which, despite winning ratings on Thursday nights with “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” is in last place in overall ratings for the four big networks—ABC, NCB, CBS and Fox. According to the Grio, “Dungey certainly has her work cut out for her, considering part of the reason for the lack of higher ratings is the complete lack of sports on ABC compared to the other networks. But it will be interesting to see how Dungey’s tenure will seek to improve the future of the network.”
Compiled by Carol Ozemhoya.
