Source: Stockbyte / Getty After Multiple Reported Instances Of Discrimination, She Had Enough One Black girl is coming for the entire Blue Valley School District after she was told her skin was “too dark” to perform during a school dance. According to The Kansas City Star , Camille Sturdivant graduated from Blue Valley Northwest High School in May 2018, and she was only one of two Black students on the 14-member Dazzlers dance team. According to a lawsuit filed by Sturdivant in U.S. District court, she suffered racial discrimination and was ostracized from dance team events out of retaliation for complaints she made in regards to her race. It was in 2017 that the dance team choreographer Kevin Murakami allegedly made remarks about Sturdivant’s skin being too dark. He said it would distract the audience from looking at the other dancers. “Murakami also told Sturdivant that her skin color clashed with the color of the costumes,” the suit said. Then in 2018, more pasty shenanigans allegedly went down when the dance team’s coach, Carley Fine, was fired for racial comments she made about Sturdivant, according to the lawsuit. Shortly before Sturdivant’s graduation, someone gave her the coach’s phone to play music for the dance team. According to the suit, Sturdivant saw messages between Fine and Murakami talking about how she recently won a spot on the Golden Girls dance team at the University of Missouri for the next year. The choreographer wrote, “THAT DOESN’T”T MAKE SENSE. I’m so mad.” The coach responded, “It actually makes my stomach hurt.” She then added, “Bc she’s (expletive) black. I hate that.” Sturdivant was sickened by the beige rage, and she showed the messages to her parents, according to the suit. They then showed the messages to the school principle. The coach was fired the next day, and she wasn’t allowed to be on school property or have contact with Sturdivant or any other members of the dance team. However, according to the suit, the former coach was seen at the school and with members of the dance squad multiple times afterwards. Sturdivant’s family also said that a team banquet paid for by the parents was canceled. However, they later learned that Fine and the other dancers, except Sturdivant, organized a dinner on the Plaza… On the same date as the canceled banquet. Smh. During the final dance performance of the school year, all of the team members, except Sturdivant and the other Black teammate, rocked ribbons on their costumes with the initials CL for Carley Fine, according to the suit. Sturdivant and the other Black student were also excluded from the team photos taken after the event, which was on school property. Now, Sturdivant’s lawsuit names the district, school principal Amy Pressly, Fine and Katie Porter, the parent of another dancer and a school district teacher, as the defendants. The Blue Valley district released the following statement regarding the lawsuit: “Respectful and meaningful relationships between staff and students are at the heart of Blue Valley’s culture. Discrimination of any kind has no place here. The District expects staff to treat all students with respect at all times, and any report that this expectation has not been fulfilled is taken very seriously. As stated in the Complaint, on May 1, 2018, Mrs. Sturdivant showed Dr. Pressly the text message between Mr. Murakami and Ms. Fine. Ms. Fine’s employment with the District was separated the following day on May 2, 2018.” Mhm. We’ll find out if that same energy works in court. The damages being sought by Sturdivant are unspecified.
Image via Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella Police Prepare For Potential Mass Shooting At Coachella Sadly, it seems that nowadays police and emergency responders have to be fully prepared for a mass shooting massacre whenever there is a large public gathering. According to TMZ , police officers who will be working Coachella are undergoing intense training in the event that a terror event takes place at the wildly popular music event. Law enforcement and responders will be equipped with tourniquets and medical supplies to stop blood loss, in addition to heavy security surveillance like drones to keep an eye on everything happening in the surrounding areas. It’s so real that police are being taught where trashcans are placed so that if one appears out of place they can respond with bomb units etc. This is world we live in now. SMFH.
Nancy Rivera / Splash News Cardi B Performs At Warner Music Pre-Grammy Party The GRAMMY’s Weekend was off to a great start Thursday at Warner Music’s Pre-Grammy Party in NYC. Cardi B looked pretty amazing in this strapless black number, she also performed at the event. Nancy Rivera / Splash News Ciara also opted for an all black look. Nancy Rivera / Splash News And Janelle Monae went with her usual black and white with punches of red. Winnie Harlow, Gucci Mane, Keyshia Ka’Oir, Rita Ora and a gang of other celebs were in the building. Check out more great photos from the event below and hit the flip for more highlights from Cardi’s night.
Zendaya And Kelly Rowland Hit Essence Street Style Festival Stylish New Yorkers descended on DUMBO in Brooklyn yesterday for Essence’s annual Street Style Festival, to show off their personal fashion sense and buy one of a kind creations while DJs spun and celeb sightings abounded. Stars Kelly Rowland and Zendaya were on the scene , helping host the event and accepting awards for their own fashion sense. Zendaya showed off her mile-long legs in purple flare pants and a striped top, letting her long curls flow… While Kelly rocked a white chiffon Zimmerman dress, decked out with a sequined floral pattern and a fly blunt-cut bob.. Getty/Esteban Camarillo/Instagram
SMH: Rachel Dolezal Set To Appear At A Natural Hair Rally Of course none of us could forget the greatest cultural appropriator in history, Rachel Dolezal . The white woman who caused a national debate about race after posed as an black woman for over a decade. She’s kept a low profile since the media circus she caused last year but it looks like she is back for round two. According to The Daily Beast , Rachel will be headlining a natural hair rally for braiding this weekend. Here’s the plot twist though, Dolezal says she was invited via Facebook by celebrity stylist, natural hair activist Isis Brantley. For those of you who didn’t know, Dolezal has been making a living braiding hair since losing her job as professor and resigning from the NAACP. Fans and supporters were of course, outraged by the mere thought of Rachel being apart of such an event, despite Brantley insisting that she was not a keynote speaker at the event but rather there for greeting and solidarity. Ex-supporters believe that Brantley’s tactic is merely to get more people and media for her event and is truly a “slap right in the face.” Would you guys agree? Don’t forget to drop your thoughts in the comments.
Dear Bossip , My closest and longest standing girlfriend of 16 years and I have recently come to an awful fallout. Our relationship was already strained considering I had bumped heads with another one of our mutual friends who did me wrong, and for five years they were cut out of my life. All that changed earlier this year when my mother died suddenly of a brain stroke. Both of my friends attended the funeral and all our beef was immediately squashed given the circumstances. I should have been more cautious, but to be honest I was really happy to have my two besties back in my life. And, at the time, I thought that any petty drama in the future would be avoided as we are mature adults. I was wrong. My initial friend and I have never fallen out before. We may have had some heated moments, but it’s never been a slanging match. Until now. It all started when my girlfriend invited me to her son’s religious confirmation. My other mutual friend is his godmother. But, she was getting married and then having her honeymoon so his event had to be postponed to assure her attendance. The date of the affair was up in the air until further notice. In the meantime, I had managed to locate my biological father. As you can imagine, at 35 years old this was a big thing for me. To celebrate I arranged a night out followed by a party at my house in which my closest friends and existing family could meet my father and new stepmother. On at least 5 separate occasions, I reminded my best friend of the date. I sent her a link to the event that we would be attending and I kept on reminding her that I wanted her and her man to be there. As my other friend was getting married and couldn’t be there, due to being on her honeymoon, to me that was acceptable. When the day arrived my best friend sent a message with my brother saying she couldn’t be there because she had to work. I did not hear from her asking how we got on. This left a bad taste in my mouth, but I did not say anything about it as I was unsure how to approach the situation given our long history of friendship. I was hurt at the fact that she didn’t have the decency to even pick up the phone to call me and let me know herself or even ask me about the DNA results that she knew I was awaiting. The following week our mutual friend returned from her honeymoon. We met up for drinks, as we both live in the same neighborhood, to catch up. Two days later, I’m on Facebook and there is all these photos on my feed of my two friends and her son- celebrating at the son’s event, which I was not told was going to be happening that day. I seriously felt a way as I had just seen the mutual friend for drinks and she did not mention anything about the fact that the event was going to be taking place a matter of days later. Still, I said nothing. The following week was my birthday. While celebrating in Barcelona, both of them messaged me to wish me a happy birthday?! I paid them dust. Fast forward to the present day. After being out of the country for a month and meeting my new family on my father’s side, my brother tells me that my mother’s ashes are to be scattered. Given the situation of how I feel about my best friend – I messaged her and told her that I did not want to see her at the grave site as I was questioning our friendship. I explained to her why I felt the way I did and that whatever condolences she would have potentially wanted to pass along would not be greeted with the best enthusiasm. Instead of righting her wrongs and apologizing- she says that she didn’t know that she was supposed to be meeting my dad and that no friends were invited to her son’s event as it was just ‘Family only.’ I told her that I was disgusted by her behavior and that real friends do not categorize real friends in such a manner. Now, I’m left wondering if I have made the right decision or if I have acted in haste? Thoughts? – A Confused Friend Dear Ms. A Confused Friend , I think you need to clarify with your friend why you have cut her off because I was confused by reading your letter. I wasn’t sure who was who – who was getting married, who was having the religious ceremony for their son. And, when you brought them up again I had to go back to the top of the letter and find out which one was the best friend, and who was the mutual friend, and why you fell out with the mutual friend, but now you all are cool again. I also didn’t follow, and wasn’t clear if you confronted your best friend and told her why you cut her off, or are you expecting her to guess why you are mad at her? Does she, or did she know that she was cut off? And, you want her to right her wrongs and apologize, but for what? Look, you are mad because you were not invited to your best friend’s son’s religious confirmation. However, your mutual friend was invited, and you’re mad because your friend told you that it was “family only.” But, isn’t the mutual friend the “godmother” of the child? So, if the mutual friend is the godmother, then, technically she is “family,” or considered “family.” And, it appears that she is much closer to your best friend than you, considering your best friend asked your mutual friend to be the godmother of her child. So, my question to you is why are you calling her your best friend when it seems that the other woman may be her best friend? (Sips tea) I think you may have given too much credit, and too much credence to your relationship with your so-called best friend. You are not on the same page, and though you may think she is your best friend, she is best friends with your mutual friend. And, before you start dismissing and chopping folks off, I think you need to have a conversation with her as a grown woman and express how you feel, and ask her about your friendship. I’m sure you may realize that you two have different interpretations of your friendship, or what your friendship is about. Now, yes, you have every right to be upset considering she bailed on your reunion and meeting of your father. You did express that you emailed, called, texted, and confirmed with her that you wanted her and her man to be there for the festivities. And, you can confront her about it and ask her what happened. Ask her why she didn’t show up and why failed to show support for an important moment in your life. Again, have a grown woman conversation with her, and find out the reason. I noticed that whenever you have a beef or issue with your friends that you tend to shut down. You don’t say anything, and you don’t confront them about it. You let it fester and then you create this whole scenario of what you think happened, why it happened, and how they did you wrong. You pretend everything is fine and things are all good, yet, you are stewing with being upset, angry, and disappointed. They have no clue that they did something to you, and that you are upset over it. And, then, you just stop speaking, and start pouting and then go to your corner and then when they ask what’s wrong you blow up and make them out to be wrong and bad for something they had no clue over what they did. I am very certain you do this a lot with all of your relationships and with other people in your life. Also, didn’t you say you fell out with both of them at one point, or at least your mutual friend for five years, and it wasn’t until the death of your mother that you and she reconciled, and came back together as friends? So, if this is the case, then if you haven’t spoken to the mutual friend for five years, it may be possible that during that time she and your best friend developed their own friendship and became close. And, your best friend probably didn’t tell you because if there was bad blood, then, I’m sure she was like why mention her if you’re going to bad mouth her when she and her are growing close, and your best friend has a friendship with her independent of you. Ma’am, it’s time to grow up and be an adult, and when someone or something bothers you, then you confront the person gently and lovingly and explain that you are upset by what they did. You talk with them to get clarification over the matter, and see how the miscommunication may have been prevented, and, or, you discuss if something wasn’t clear, or misconstrued. You can avoid a wealth of headaches, anger, upsets, and being mad if you just calm yourself and talk with the other person. I’m sure all disagreements, misunderstandings, and any other concerns can be worked out if you just ask take the time to get very clear and make sure everyone is on the same page. Because, again, you were not at her son’s religious confirmation because you are not family, and if she didn’t express that to you, then, you need to ask her why it wasn’t clear, and if your friendship as her best friend doesn’t constitute you as “family.” You need to be on the same page regarding your friendship and how you interpret best friend, and she interprets best friend, or if you are her best friend. – Terrance Dean ***(Attention all media/news outlets, if you use this story and letter, or any parts of this content for your outlets you must give credit to this site, the columnist, and his advice)** Hey Bossip Fam, what do you think? S hare your opinions and thoughts below! Also, e-mail all your questions Terrance Dean: loveandrelationships@bossip.com Follow Terrance Dean on Twitter: @ terrancedean and “LIKE” Terrance Dean on Facebook, click HERE ! Make sure to order my books Mogul: A Novel (Atria Books – June 2011; $15); Hiding In Hip Hop (Atria Books – June 2008); and Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, And Having A Fabulous Life (Agate/Bolden Books – November 2010; $15). They are available in bookstores everywhere, and on Amazon, click HERE !
CNN Security Guard Killed By Police While Talking His Son Down From Hostage Situation In today’s episode of “Cops Kill People” a father was tragically taken from his son under suspicious circumstances… Via RawStory Bobby Daniels was a peace officer by trade – a private security guard employed at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta. When he learned that his emotionally troubled 25-year-old son Bias had suffered a breakdown and was holding a fellow security guard at gunpoint in a mobile home part in Douglasville, Bobby raced to the scene. Using the skills of persuasion and patient de-escalation upon which a private peace officer must rely, Bobby persuaded his son to relinquish his handgun and place it on the hood of a car. Just seconds later, Daniels was fatally shot – not by his mentally ill son, but by the sheriff’s deputies who had arrived on the scene. In familiar fashion, law enforcement officials insist that the victim of this police shooting – at least the 960th to occur in 2015 – was to blame, and they have provided contradictory accounts as to how it happened. “I think that he could have been trying to help the situation instead of hurting it, but when he pointed the gun at the officers, he was shot,” asserted Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller in remarks to reports at the scene shortly after the December 21 incident. A different official account provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation claims that as Bobby and Bias struggled over control of the gun, deputies attempted to incapacitate the younger man with a taser. It’s amazing how each and every time the police murder kill a civilian there are wildly polarized versions of the events.
Media Maven Karen Civil Teams Up With Rapper Lil Wayne To Brighten The Holidays For 500 Students In Haiti Karen Civil brought seasons greetings to hundreds of deserving children in Haiti over the weekend. The Christmas celebration was a partnership with Live Civil and included sponsors Trukfit, Scholastic Corporation & L’union Suite. During the Live Civil Christmas Giveaway each child was gifted an outfit from Lil Wayne’s Trukfit clothing line and an exclusive Live Civil Thinking Cap from Karen Civil’s partnership with New Era. Haitian-American professional boxer Andre Berto also surprised the kids by dressing up as Santa Claus and passing out toys! Additionally, Scholastic Corporation, The United States’ largest children’s publishing company, donated a book to each of the 500 children, while Karen Civil did a live reading of her new book, Be You & Live Civil. “A lot of people tend to forget about those who are less fortunate during the holiday season, not many understand how receiving just one item could bring so much joy to a child’s life, especially if they don’t have the same everyday luxuries that the more fortunate tend to overlook. I’m just grateful to be able to give back to Haiti in any way possible,” said Lil Wayne. “The Live Civil initiative in Haiti is something that brings me joy! Being able to put a smile on the kids faces during the holidays is a gift within itself,” stated Karen. Through this event, the help of various notable hip hop celebrities and the Live Civil playground and middle school remodeling in Pétionville within Port-au-Prince, Karen Civil continues to emphasize the importance of literacy, education and fun! This is such a great cause! Check out more pictures from the event below. Continue reading →
Saturday night celebrities gathered at the private home of Jane Seymour and James Keach for the 4th Annual Open Hearts Foundation Gala in Malibu, CA. The event honored four remarkable individuals,…
Celebs including Dita Von Teese, Coco Rocha and Jessie J hit the red carpet for the 2014 Delete Blood Cancer event held at Cipriani Wall Street. The event was hosted by Chris Tucker. In the…
