Source: Taylor Hill / Getty Mo’Nique is out there living her best weight loss life y’all. The Oscar-winner recently shared on a video showing off her super-snatched waist..and it was everything. She let her fans get a little peek of her at a recent photo shoot rocking a pair of curve-hugging jeans and a cinched waist poppin’ to Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow. ” The 50-year-old also showed some love to her fitness trainer Dwight Holt, Jr. , for helping her dance off the pounds. “CARDI B, baby you will get a photo shoot going. DANCING MY POUNDS OFF. WHAT A TEAM,” she wrote. YOU BETTER WERK QUEEN! As we previously reported , earlier this year Mo celebrated weighing under 200 pounds for the first time since high school. “I said that I would share this new journey with y’all on the weight loss and getting healthy,” the comedian said in a video she posted on Instagram. “Today was the first time in my adult life that I’ve been under 200 pounds, so I wanted to let you all know it’s possible and you can do it and we can get there.” She added that she achieved this weight loss without having to go under the knife or falling for any diet fads. “For me it was no surgery, no prepackaged foods, not listening to no spokespeople saying ‘it’s easy and you can do it.’” “It was just putting in the work and not giving up on me … it’s called giving yourself a chance to live the best life you can live.” Clearly, all this hard work has paid off: BEAUTIES: What do you think of Mo’s weight loss and new body? RELATED NEWS: Mo’Nique Sends Message To Nicki Minaj And Cardi B About Their Ongoing Femcee Beef Slay! Mo’Nique Celebrates Weighing Under 200 Pounds For The First Time As An Adult Oprah Gets Real About Weight Loss: ‘I Can’t Accept Myself If I’m Over 200 LBS’ [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2871762″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Marla Aufmuth / Getty It’s Black Poetry Day, and today we honor those ingenious men and women who have been brave enough to bare their souls through literature and share it with the world. Why commemorate on October 17th ? According to sources, Jupiter Hammon, the first published black poet in the United States, was born in Long Island, New York, on October 17, 1711. In honor of Hammon’s birth, we celebrate the contributions of all African Americans to the world of poetry. Although he was a slave, Hammon was purportedly allowed access to the manor library and was educated with the estate owner’s children, even working with Henry Lloyd in his business ventures. But he was far from being the only former slave to have a notable writing career. Phyllis Wheatley was also an African slave — however, as her works spread throughout town, she became the abolitionists’ illustrative testimony that blacks could be both artistic and intellectual. Her name was a household word among literate colonists and her achievements a catalyst for the fledgling antislavery movement. Poetry has certainly transformed over the years, especially with the rise of social media and the impact Hip Hop now has on the mainstream. Most people don’t realize that Hip Hop is a form of poetry with a sick beat behind it. Just ask rap’s go-to poet, Wale . The DC native once said of poetry: “The ability to make somebody feel something: that’s art. However you look at it, whether you’re an author, a painter, a singer, a rapper, a spoken-word artist – art. I feel like I’m one of the more creative artists in the game. I think I’m going to be here for a while.” In honor of Black Poetry Day, we’ve highlighted some of our favorite young stars who’ve changed the poetry game for us millennials. Everyone love a generic quote, but these writers always push their pens to give us more — and keep us wanted more. Hit the flip for 5 young, Black poets we all should be following on Instagram.
Source: Splash News What’s going on with the weather, NYC? Welcoming fall is supposed to be a joyous occasion , a gradual introduction to crisp winds and the occasional dip in temperatures—but last week it was 80 degrees and now it’s brick azz. We need answers. New Yorkers have been left feeling—and looking —hella confused, as we try to find the middle ground between staying warm and not looking like straight up winter. These months before the holiday season are supposed to be our time to break out our flyest sweatsuits, constructs, Nike Techs…wash and sets that actually last. But like your boy Lenny Kravitz in the photo up top, we really don’t know what season we’re in. Do we put away all of our summer clothes even though temperatures could shoot up again? Do we take out our winter coats? Is it okay to wear a scarf yet? Or, do we just accept that we might catch a little ‘monia in the days to come? And someone tell us, what’s the consensus on Uggs? Trump, bless his heart, seems to think even though “something” is wrong, it’ll reverse itself. He told 60 Minutes this week, “Something’s changing and it’ll change back again.” Um…WHAT?! While 45 is acting like he couldn’t care less, NYers are super annoyed. This guy, primed for hoodie weather, expressed the disappointment we’ve all been feeling deep down inside: Bruh nyc weather skipped Nike tech weather and went straight to Christmas -_- — (@Detresss) October 13, 2018 While lacking melanin or any sign of Black folks existing in NY, this meme really sums things up neatly: NYC weather is no joke ….. pic.twitter.com/VMJHJw90Go — Shaa. (@QueenShaShaa_) October 17, 2018 Even Ryan Seacrest is fed up. Six days ago he took to the innanets to say what every NY’er has literally been saying all day for the past few weeks: Hot & humid this morning… rain this afternoon… cool temps tomorrow a.m. NYC weather is all 4 seasons in the span of 24 hours. — Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) October 11, 2018 It’s a lot…especially because we have other things to do that don’t include thinking about what to wear all day—like, figuring out which bae is our best cuddle option for Cuffing Season ’18. As for the rest of this week, it looks like temperature highs will be between 51 and 64 degrees with lows between 39 and 54 degrees. Whatever that means. But the good news is…we probably won’t have to deal with any rain. Hit the flip for more hilarious tweets about NYC weather. Hopefully, it’ll just go ahead and even itself on out like Trump suggested it would…but realistically, we don’t see him being right about anything anytime soon. That, we can predict.
S tacey Abrams is moving forward with a strong campaign for Georgia’s governor office ahead of the midterm elections next month. RELATED: Stacey Abrams May Be Reason Why Georgia’s Black Voters Want More Absentee Ballots Abrams, who is on the road to becoming the nation’s first Black female governor, released a new ad on Tuesday (Oct. 16). The candidate, who is running against Georgia Secretary Of State and Republican Brian Kemp , talks about how her childhood and upbringing helped shape her desire to run for governor. “Growing up we didn’t have much. But my family’s challenges showed me what’s possible,” Abrams said in the clip. “I’m running for governor because I believe we can continue the progress we’ve made by building each other up not by tearing each other down.” Abrams also has been speaking out against voter suppression and rallied with other Georgia residents for a group of Black seniors who were blocked from early voting on Monday. “My goal is to make certain that every person be able to cast their vote,” Abrams said to Think Progress . “That’s why I wanted to come to Louisville to just encourage everyone to take advantage of the chance to early vote.” The candidate has also participated in Atlanta’s Pride Parade and energized voters in the LGBT community on Sunday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “We’re here because we stand together, because we know that allies do not run from fights. And because we know we all have pride in Georgia,” Abrams said. “We stand with you and not against you.” Kemp is busy facing several allegations of voter suppression targeting people of color . He has vehemently denied the allegations, but civil rights groups aren’t buying his statement, Governing reported. The midterm elections are on Nov. 6. SEE ALSO: Cops Called On Black Man Doing Something White Soccer Moms Do Freely Unarmed Black Man Killed By California Police Was A Morehouse Man [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3832050″ overlay=”true”]
Today on Leah’s Lemonade….She dished the unsaid beef between Ella Mai and Jacquees. According to Ella Mai there isn’t much of one. The singer sat down for an interview and explained that the situation isn’t a beef but when you try to profit off a song that’s not yours… well it’s not going to go well legally. She admitted that they had met and they were cool, Ella Mai admitted she didn’t follow him on social media so there was no way for her to block him…Yikes… Apparently things are all good because they were seen embracing one another on social media. T.I. is in some hot water for teasing a video with a look alike of Melania Trump…Let’s just say the first lady isn’t too pleased. The video shows Donald Trump leaving the White House and the Melania look alike strips all the way naked. Well the White House isn’t too fond, Melania’s Director of Communications tweeted the video was in bad taste and that Americans should boycott T.I…. Y’all not messing with the King of the South or nah? Want more stories?? Listen to Leah’s Lemonade above for all these stories and more.
I t started out as just another viral video: A white woman named Alison Ettel saw Jordan Rodgers, an African-American girl, selling water near AT&T Park in San Francisco. Rodgers was trying to earn money for a trip to Disneyland. Ettel was caught on camera calling 911 and the video was soon spread across social media. A meme was born . Alison Ettel, CEO of weed dispensary Treatwell Tinctures, calls the police on an 8-year-old girl for selling water. She profits from a drug that put so many people of color behind bars, yet still tries to harm a little black girl. For water. #PermitPatty pic.twitter.com/WJRzfJglhh — Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 24, 2018 A few weeks later an Oakland woman called the police on a group of Black people having a cookout. Again, her face was plastered on every social media outlet, photoshopped in different scenarios and even parodied on SNL. She was given the moniker of BBQ Becky . At first, the seemingly weekly moments and memes doubled as mindless comedy combined with ways to shame the white women for their racism. But it’s time to stop it. Because, in the end, these nicknames and memes are only shielding white women from real consequences they should get for putting Black lives in danger. READ MORE: Cornerstone Caroline Investigated For Falsely Accusing Black Child Black people comprise roughly 13 percent of the United States population but make up more than 23 percent of people killed by police. Black men and women have 6.6 to 1 odds of being killed by police while unarmed. Police are more likely to use excessive force on Black people. And so on. So it’s clear that calling the police on a Black person is effectively putting that Black person’s life in danger. Everyone knows this, including the white people who erroneously call police on Black folks. White people who call the police on Black folks don’t just want us removed from their sidewalks or their parks or their cookouts or their neighborhoods. They want us dead. And they know that calling the police on us is going to heighten their chances of those dreams coming to fruition. Take, for instance, the story of Jeremiah Harvey. He was in a New York corner store when his backpack brushed up against a white woman named Teresa Klein. She called the police claiming that the boy groped her. She’s been given the nickname “ Cornerstore Caroline .” How adorable. The problem here is that Harvey calling the police for believing a boy groped her recalls the infamous case of Emmett Till , a boy accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham . She alerted a mob of white men — not that far off from a modern-day police force, depending on whom you ask — who went on to lynch Till. Klein was engaging in a tried and true American tradition of using stereotypes of over-sexualized Black men to aid in the deaths of said Black men. This isn’t an act that should just garner alliterative nicknames and social media memes because that’s letting these perpetrators off the hook. Here’s a question? Without scrolling up, do you even remember Permit Patty’s real name? What about Cornerstone Caroline? Barbecue Becky? Giving them nicknames is providing aliases that cover the names of real women with real racist motivations to commit real harm to real Black people. America has functioned under the premise that white women are innately innocent and harmless in the history of anti-Black violence despite overwhelming historical and present-day evidence to the contrary. Guarding women with nicknames and comedy will surely embarrass them in the short-term, and, in the case of Ettel, she stepped down from her post as a CEO. But do you think she has gone un-hired since? What true recourse has she seen? What true contrition has she been forced to show? Like many others I was disturbed when the news reported #TeresaKlein falsely called the cops on a 9 year old black boy. One of the ways I plan to combat this issue in our community is by introducing Senate Bill S9150 https://t.co/QHatyNGYsm @JeffCMays #CornerstoreCaroline pic.twitter.com/RBZUskS8e0 — Senator Kevin Parker (@SenatorParker) October 13, 2018 There need to be precedents set to make sure these anti-Black violent offenders face more than just a handful of days of embarrassing memes. If there aren’t going to be laws that penalize these people for their calls — something I’m skeptical of, as such a law would be asking police to side with an innocent Black person over a white person, which doesn’t usually garner great outcomes for us — then we have to find ways to hold these white people accountable. So, yes, say their real names as often as possible. Make the world know that anyone who hires them or does business with them is choosing to engage with someone with a clear disregard for Black lives. Whatever you do, leave the cute nicknames for situations that are actually funny, because there’s never any comedy involved when Black boys and girls get police called on them. SEE ALSO: Cops Called On Black Man Doing Something White Soccer Moms Do Freely White Parents ‘In Disbelief’ When Woman Calls The Cops On Their Black Babysitter [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3813570″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Palm / Palm Palm the brand behind PDA’s (personal data assistants) that were all the rage in the 90s is back from the dead. The company unveiled its tiny new assistant to the world. Yesterday (Oct 15) the company announced its new small device that in essence acts as a phone but it’s not a phone. Head scratching right? Well, Palm’s new assistant is just that an assistant to help ween you away from your larger smartphone. It will pair with your phone just like your smartwatch does and Palm is hoping people will instead choose the smaller handset which is about the size of a credit card over their favorite wearable. Source: Palm / Palm Instead of straining your eyes staring at your smartwatch, you get a much a larger 3.3-inch touchscreen. It’s IP68-rated water- and dust-resistant and has 2GB of storage, an 800mAh battery, 3GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 that grants users access to all apps in the Google Play store and of course a camera. It features one USB-C port for charging and headphones and is equipped with Bluetooth 4.2 low energy. Oh, and Palm promises it will last all day too if you put in Life Mode which silences the phones notifications and incoming calls. The Palm will also sync with iOS devices but can’t run iOS-only apps so that might scare some Apple aficionados from away the Palm. Source: Palm / Palm Right out of the gate Palm has a big face trying to sell you on the new device, and it’s none other than the unanimous MVP and NBA champion Steph Curry who is also an advisor and investor with the brand. Hyped to bring @Palm back and share everything we’ve been working on since day 1! #LetsGo #LiveInTheMoment pic.twitter.com/SvVQZxJifT — Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) October 15, 2018 Palm’s new device will be exclusively sold by Verizon and will cost $349 on top of adding an additional $10 to your phone bill. Once signed up the devices LTE cellular radio will be activated and will be synced to the primary device receiving all of its calls and messages. Sounds like a good idea, but newer Apple and Samsung devices already have functions to help limit your smartphone use. But who knows maybe people will gravitate towards The Palm. — Photo: Palm
A group of Mrs. America contestants’ complaints of racism about the pageant CEO and co-founder may open the floodgates for more allegations to come in the future. The complaints already have re-opened the door to the racist history of beauty pageants. RELATED: Beauty Queen Stoned To Death For Being In Pageant Black women have historically been shut out of pageants and forced to create their own contests. Members of this same group found themselves shut down again, saying that David Marmel made disparaging comments about African-Americans at the Mrs. America competition in Las Vegas in August. Four contestants — three Black and one white — called out Marmel for racist remarks that included him having repeatedly hurled the N-word. Marmel also allegedly said that Black women “need to stop having so many babies,” the women said during a press conference Monday. His other alleged offenses included saying that Black men were “drug dealers, incarcerated in jail, on welfare and killing each other.” Mrs. Delaware Kimberly Phillips , Mrs. New Jersey Crissy Timpson , Mrs. Ohio Jeri Ward and Mrs. Missouri Brandy Palacios made clear their feelings, with the help of high-profile women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred , USA Today reported. Four former Mrs. America contestants say the pageant's co-founder and president said that black women “need to stop having so many babies” and black men “need to stop shooting each other.” https://t.co/IVWf89gXJx — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 16, 2018 Adding insult to injury, the women also called out Marmel for allegedly having compared his skin tone to the Black contestants. The women reportedly don’t plan to file a lawsuit. Instead, they want an apology from Marmel and equal treatment for contestants. However, a lawsuit would be a likely move based on the claims and the painful history of racism in beauty pageants. It was 50 years ago that protesters and feminists took on the Miss America pageant to fight for women for the first time since the pageant’s creation in 1921, according to the Smithsonian . They were sick and tired of the pageant’s vain and oppressive standards of judging women on their appearance and white skin: “Rule 7″ stated that Miss America contestants had to be “of good health and of the white race” before it was thrown out in 1940. At the time of the protest in 1968, a Black woman had not been crowned winner nor invited to participate in the pageant. Black women didn’t wait for an invite; they created their own pageants. The first-ever Miss Black America pageant was born as a result of the mainstream pageant blackout that same year as the protest. The inaugural pageant celebrated Blackness as beautiful — a message that still gets lost in translation in those same spaces today. The Mrs. American contestants’ stories about Marmel indicated that some mainstream pageants were still not as inclusive as needed. SEE ALSO: Sarah Huckabee Sanders Gets Complaint Filed Against Her Because Of Kanye West Photo Lost In The World: Photos Of Kanye West’s Bizarre Trip To Uganda [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3831800″ overlay=”true”]
Q uestions were going unanswered in the case of a Nigerian-American man who was killed by sheriff’s deputies in San Mateo County, California, earlier this month. The family of Chinedu Valentine Okobi criticized the cops for using excessive force in the Oct. 3 arrest of the man who they said suffered from mental illness. SEE ALSO: Legal Claims Are Piling Up In Stephon Clark’s Shooting Death But No Justice Has Come Yet A memorial service for the 36-year-old father was planned for Tuesday at the San Francisco Christian Center, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Okobi was walking in and out of traffic before two deputies tasered him multiple times to subdue and place him in handcuffs, authorities said. The violent arrest sent him into what tuned out to be a fatal cardiac arrest. All five officers involved in the incident were placed on paid leave. “All I know is a young man’s dead and he was in custody of the police. He was unarmed, not engaged in any serious crime,” stated John Burris , a civil rights attorney who’s representing Okobi’s family. Burris demanded transparency, calling on the district attorney to release more information, including police video. VIGIL FOR CHINEDU OKOBI, UNARMED FATHER KILLED BY POLICE TASER! Please join us in lifting up Chinedu's name and demanding that the San Mateo DA Steve Wagstaffe charge and prosecute San Mateo deputies for killing our brother Chinedu! #Justice4Chinedu pic.twitter.com/tzWXLIgYbi — Nana Gyamfi (@attorneynana) October 16, 2018 Okobi, who earned a business administration degree from Morehouse, was a dedicated father to his 12-year-old daughter, the New York Times reported. He was also a spoken word poet who had strong views on issues and always well-dressed. About 10 years ago, he began to struggle with mental health issues. Okobi’s family suspected that he may have stopped taking his medication earlier this year. “This was a heavy-handed approach against someone who very likely was laboring under mental health conditions. They may have not known that up front, but observations should’ve alerted them that something was going on,” said Burris, who was also involved in the high-profile cases of Oscar Grant and Rodney King . Okobi is the latest victim in a series of several police killings of mentally ill Black men. The growing list includes Shaheed Vassell , Jontell Reedom and Marcus-David L. Peters . Wagstaffe expected the investigation to take between eight to 10 weeks. An autopsy report has not yet been completed. SEE ALSO: Where Is Kierra Coles? Everything We Know About Missing Chicago Pregnant Postal Worker Sarah Huckabee Sanders Gets Complaint Filed Against Her Because Of Kanye West Photo [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3831334″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Santiago Felipe / Getty Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago when Remy Ma did the absolute most saying that she believed racism was behind Bill Cosby’s 2018 rape conviction and that not all of the 60-plus women accusing the fallen star of sexual assault were telling the truth? Well, apparently she’s back with more utter nonsense. This time’s she addressing the N-word and how she believes that non-Black folks can totally say ni$%a with no consequence. Apparently during a recent taping of the popular Revolt TV show State of the Culture , the topic turned to Latino (but white-looking) rapper Lil Xan, who recently got caught yelling the N-Word at a man in an Indianapolis mall food court. “I’m rich ni**a, I’m rich,” he screamed in a video TMZ published. “You broke ass b*tch!” Other folks on the panel including Scottie Beam and Brandon Jenkins weren’t here for the tomfoolery. Scottie said a word stressing that “Everybody wants to be an n***a until they’re a n***a.” But given Remy’s recent basic and contrarian behavior, to no one’s surprise, she had a different take. “I don’t usually get offended, regardless of what your nationality is if I feel like you’re not using it as a racial slur,” she said. “I hear it so frequently from people who aren’t black people. Like Fat Joe, he’s the blackest Spanish guy on this planet earth and I’ve never questioned did it.” Yeah, she tried it. SIGH…GIRL, WHET? Given the amount of nonsense here, there is a lot to unpack. Listen…I get that as African-Americans, we don’t all see eye to eye on whether we should use ni**a with one another or about one another, given the white supremacist nature of where the word derived from. While some of us, especially those in hip-hop, believe that we have reappropriated the term, stripping it of its negative connotation and making it ours, others continue to see it as a destructive racial slur and a means of bringing us down as a people. But even in that age-old debate, at least most of us (minus Black folks like Kanye and Stacey Dash pandering for white approval), can agree that whether or not Black folks choose to use the word, IT’S ONLY FOR US TO USE. POINT, BLANK, PERIOD. That simple philosophy is as understood as leaving your Pops the big piece of chicken, but for whatever reason this cultural norm refuses to register on Ms. Remy’s radar. But let me be clear: Regardless of whether artists, including those of color such as Fat Joe have been heavily influenced by Black culture and surround themselves with Black people, I could care less if you don’t think non-Black folks aren’t using the n-word as a slur. Why are they using the word at all? Better yet, what about you not being Black, or claiming your Blackness, makes you feel entitled to use the word in the first place? That, and quiet as it’s kept, it’s exhausting to witness folks bite off our culture for monetary gain and street cred, then simultaneously harbor anti-Black sentiment and co-sign of colorism as too many of us sit back and smile, saying nothing. But let Remy tell it, if it’s her homies and they “Black” in her eyes, it’s OK. No ma’am. You’ve let folks get too comfortable and we cannot afford for people to be this damn comfortable, especially living in Trump’s America. It’s become even more crucial for us to put our foot down on this issue, which includes you too Remy. Yes, we love you sis, but you’re one slip-up like away from joining the #CancelKanye tour if you don’t get it together. So please, stop giving non-Black folks a pass to use the n-word. We’re begging you. Signed, All the Blacks with Common Sense RELATED NEWS: Remy Ma, Kavanaugh & President Trump Are Exactly Why Sexual Assault Survivors Don’t Speak Up White Woman Arrested After Spray Painting N-Word And ‘Hail Trump’ On Neighbor’s House Omarosa Claims There Are Tapes of Trump Using The N-Word [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2651567″ overlay=”true”]
