Google’s #LoveLetters campaign seeks to highlight and uplift the voices of young people who have an incarcerated parent. Sadly, this phenomenon hits our community more than most: The costs of mass incarceration have disproportionately affected the lives of Black men. From 1980 to 2007, about one in three of the 25.4 million adults arrested for drugs was African-American. And if that current trend continues, one in three Black boys born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime. All in all, we’re now at a point where there are more African-American men incarcerated in the U.S. than the total prison populations of India, Argentina, Canada, Lebanon, Germany, Finland, Israel and England combined. Great to see the love these children have for their fathers has prevailed through such circumstances. YouTube
Google’s #LoveLetters campaign seeks to highlight and uplift the voices of young people who have an incarcerated parent. Sadly, this phenomenon hits our community more than most: The costs of mass incarceration have disproportionately affected the lives of Black men. From 1980 to 2007, about one in three of the 25.4 million adults arrested for drugs was African-American. And if that current trend continues, one in three Black boys born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime. All in all, we’re now at a point where there are more African-American men incarcerated in the U.S. than the total prison populations of India, Argentina, Canada, Lebanon, Germany, Finland, Israel and England combined. Great to see the love these children have for their fathers has prevailed through such circumstances. YouTube
Attrell Cordes “Prince Be” Passes Away At Age 46 More sad news for the music world, as another memorable name has passed on . 90’s kids will remember Attrell Cordes, one half of Hip-Hop/Soul brother duo P.M. Dawn best from their #1 smash hit “Set Adrift On Memory Bliss,” though their voices also popped up prominently on the “Boomerang” soundtrack and other radio singles. Via TMZ : One half of P.M. Dawn … singer Attrell Cordes, who was best known as Prince Be … has died. Cordes passed away Friday at his NJ home from renal kidney disease. He was 46. PM Dawn, which also included Cordes’ brother, Jarrett, were huge in the early ’90s. They’re best known for their #1 hit “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.” It appears Cordes was also living with diabetes. A post on the group’s Facebook page read, “Prince Be Rest In Peace forever more, Pain from Diabetes can’t harm you anymore.” 2016 is just claiming life after life in sports and entertainment. May he rest in peace. Getty
Attrell Cordes “Prince Be” Passes Away At Age 46 More sad news for the music world, as another memorable name has passed on . 90’s kids will remember Attrell Cordes, one half of Hip-Hop/Soul brother duo P.M. Dawn best from their #1 smash hit “Set Adrift On Memory Bliss,” though their voices also popped up prominently on the “Boomerang” soundtrack and other radio singles. Via TMZ : One half of P.M. Dawn … singer Attrell Cordes, who was best known as Prince Be … has died. Cordes passed away Friday at his NJ home from renal kidney disease. He was 46. PM Dawn, which also included Cordes’ brother, Jarrett, were huge in the early ’90s. They’re best known for their #1 hit “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss.” It appears Cordes was also living with diabetes. A post on the group’s Facebook page read, “Prince Be Rest In Peace forever more, Pain from Diabetes can’t harm you anymore.” 2016 is just claiming life after life in sports and entertainment. May he rest in peace. Getty
Donald Trump Says More Guns Would Have Prevented Orlando Massacre Donald Trump has essentially refused to recognize any of the 49 lives lost or the sad gravity of the Orlando Nightclub shooting, instead taking every opportunity to congratulate himself, say “I told you so,” and push his agenda to cut off immigration — even though the shooter was American — and promote discrimination against Muslims . Now, he’s making the statement that MORE guns and increased shooting inside Pulse Nightclub could have prevented such a large loss of life. As he told CNN on Monday: “If you had some guns in that club the night that this took place, if you had guns on the other side, you wouldn’t have had the tragedy that you had.” “If people in that room had guns with the bullets flying in the opposite direction right at him, right at his head, you wouldn’t have had the same tragedy that you ended up having.” CNN’s Alisyn Camerota tried to point out that the club security guard inside was actually armed, but Trump insisted that patrons of the club should also have been armed for their own protection. “But if you had guns in that room, if you had — even if you had a number of people having them strapped to their ankle or strapped to their waist, where bullets could have flown in the other direction right at him, you wouldn’t have had the same kind of a tragedy.” Trump seems to not realize the difference between a Sig Saur MCX — capable of firing off hundreds of rounds per minute — and your everyday handgun. Besides the fact that most people aren’t in ‘Call of Duty’ mode while drinking and dancing inside a nightclub, nor should they expect to be. And thirdly, he fails to realize that NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO RUN AROUND WITH A GUN ON THEM. Is he blaming the victims for not hitting the club with guns strapped to their ankles, just in case some isht pops off? SMH. CNN
‘Central Intelligence’ Screening In NY On Tuesday, NYC influencers and tastemakers descended on Manhattan for a screening of the new Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson buddy comedy, ‘Central Intelligence.’ hosted by Blogxilla. Vh1’s “Black Ink Crew” was in the building, as Dutchess and Ceasar worked out some aggression before heading in for the show: And Puma and Quani struck a pose before the lights dimmed Other guests, including rapper Nyemiah Supreme, Model Yaris Sanchez and Beauty blogger Jessica from Hey Gor-Jess were also spotted. Peep more pics below: J. Chea
Gloria Govan Denies Sleeping With Gilbert Arenas While reigniting her crusade against ex-husband Gilbert Arenas earlier this week, Laura Govan made multiple claims and accusations about her relationship with Gilbert — even comparing it to an O.J. and Nicole situation . But Laura didn’t only throw barbs at Gilbert. During a recent radio interview, Laura also claimed that her own sister, Gloria Govan, was on her husband so hard that she had to hook her up with Matt Barnes just to keep her distracted with a baller of her own and away from her man: Gilbert already denied that anything went down between him and Gloria in his own way. Now, Gloria herself has taken to social media to clear the air…and also ask her sister WTF is wrong with her: Wow. If Gilbert and Gloria are to be believed (even MATT backed them up on this), we wonder why Laura would go so far as to make something like that up?? Pretty cold rumor to get going about your own blood… Splash
“Tell the truth and shame the devil!”— Joseline Hernandez Joseline Hernandez Is Still Threatening To Expose Stevie J Joseline Hernandez is still fed up with her estranged husband, so much so that she’s trying to expose him. The Puerto Rican Princess is apparently making good on her crusade to “reveal” Stevie J’s “undercover” lifestyle…. and took to a polygraph facility to answer questions about Stevie. As previously reported Joseline says she want so share the results at the L&HHATL reunion. Will you be watching??? More on the flip.
12-Year-Old Black Girl’s Classmates Drag Her By Makeshift Noose Bullying has become a bigger and bigger problem in schools across the nation, even costing some students their lives in the long run. One family has sued a local school system not only because their daughter was being bullied, but also because the school seemed to turn a blind eye as she was physically attacked repeatedly due to the color of her skin — to the point of a near lynching. Via TheDailyBeast : The family of a black sixth grader in Texas is suing her school after white students allegedly wrapped a rope around her neck and pulled her to the ground. The $3-million lawsuit accuses Live Oak Classical School in Waco of negligence, gross negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lead attorney on the case is Levi McCathern, who represents the Dallas Cowboys. According to the lawsuit, KP’s mother chose Live Oak—a largely white private school with a pricey tuition rate—and applied for scholarship grants so that her daughter could attend an institution with a “better education” and a “wholesome learning environment.” In the next year though, the lawsuit claims KP encountered bullying at the school that was not disciplined. An email from KP’s mom in the lawsuit from November alleges that a boy repeatedly pushed and shoved her 12-year-old daughter. But things went far beyond pushing and shoving one day in April when the class took a field trip offsite. The boys that taunted KP took things up a notch when faced with a park swing… But the main complaint against the school comes from an April field trip to Germer Ranch in Blanco County, Texas. KP and several other children were said to have come across a swing with long rope was attached so children could pull it, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit states KP was standing to the side of the swing when three white males, including one who allegedly bullied her in the past, pulled the rope back and wrapped it around her neck. The boys then violently jerked KP to the ground, the family claims, leaving abrasions on her neck. Jeremy Counseller, a board member for the school, told the Dallas Morning News that “Live Oak takes the safety of its students seriously and is saddened that one of its family suffered an unfortunate accident and injury.” Counseller described what happened as “accident.” HOW are injuries of this caliber an “accident?” This looks deliberate and extremely racially driven, if you ask us. Sounds like the school did little to protect this little Black girl from her tormenters…so hopefully the family gets every dime they are asking for…
Omar Mateeen Visited Club Pulse Over 12 Times The nation is still recovering from the most deadly mass shooting in US history this evening as more details about the victims and the shooter emerge . As it turns out, Omar Mateen didn’t pick Club Pulse at random. In fact, he had personally patronized the club and interacted with its clientele heavily on over a dozen occasions… Via MailOnline : Omar Mateen, the gunman who murdered 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning, was a regular at the club, patrons have said. Mateen, who was armed with an assault rifle and handgun, entered Pulse nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, killing and injuring dozens before a SWAT team knocked down a wall of the club and shot him. But that wasn’t the first time he’d been there, The Orlando Sentinel reported. One regular at the club said he’d seen Mateen, whose father claimed he was very homophobic, at least a dozen times there before the massacre. ‘Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself,’ Ty Smith, who also uses the name Aries, told the Sentinel Monday. ‘Other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent,’ he added. Remarks that Mateen drank heavily conflict with his apparently strict adherence to his Muslim faith, including regular worship at a mosque in his home town of Port St. Lucie – where he was quiet and kept to himself. Smith said he’d seen Mateen at Pulse ‘at least a dozen times’, joining three others who said they’d seen the shooter at the club before. ‘We didn’t really talk to him a lot, but I remember him saying things about his dad at times,’ Smith said. ‘He told us he had a wife and child.’ Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, denied that the attack had anything to do with religion, and said his son had become enraged after seeing two men kissing in Miami months before. HMMM. So what exactly would someone who had such an intense problem with homosexuals be doing hitting up the gay club routinely for months on end…striking up conversations about his life with the openly homosexual men and women he “hates so much” in a nightclub setting???? Sounds like he had some seriously repressed feelings he didn’t know how to deal with that manifested themselves in hate…
