Source: Megan Q Daniels/Getty Images / Getty / Getty Wait, what??? Bennett College Loses Accreditation, Gets It Back After donors nationwide rallied together to save an HBCU, a board STILL denied the college its accreditation—but ultimately was defeated, for now at least. As previously reported Bennett College proudly announced that it raised $8.2 million , surpassing the required $5 million to keep it accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). That number has since jumped to a whopping $9.5 million in donations. Despite that Wxii12 reported that Bennett STILL lost its accreditation. The SACSCOC released a press release to the news station confirming that Bennett’s accreditation was still revoked and noted that the Appeals Committee of the College Delegate Assembly would be holding up their December 9 decision. The board claimed that Bennett was still lacking financial resources. The school “failed to show that the institution possesses resources demonstrating a stable financial base to support the mission and scope of programs and services,” said the board. After the news broke, Bennett took swift action and filed a lawsuit against The SACSCOC. Journal Now reports that Bennett had their accreditation restored by a federal judge in Atlanta who granted the college a temporary restraining order that lets them keep their accreditation while the lawsuit remains active. The President of the college has since spoken out and she’s assuring students and alumni that Bennett’s still fighting. “Our fight continues, … ” said President Phyllis Worthy Dawkins. “The negative decision … to remove Bennett from membership will not interrupt the daily operations of the college. … We urge everyone to keep the faith and know that Bennett College is standing strong.” . @BennettCollege Files Lawsuit to Keep Accreditation: https://t.co/ESbXfx1iJy — Bennett College (@BennettCollege) February 23, 2019 Fight on Bennett, we’re glad to see that the Bennett Belles are still standing.
Source: Floresco Productions / Getty Virginia Elementary School Apologizes For Runaway Slave Game Virginia just KKKan’t get right. After the commonwealth’s Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mike Herring were both involved in blackface scandals, a racist incident at an elementary school is garnering national attention. School officials at Madison’s Trust Elementary School in Ashburn, Virginia, are apologizing after third, fourth and fifth graders at the school were asked during P.E. class to play a game where students pretended to be runaway slaves. During the exercise, students went through an obstacle course representing the Underground Railroad and at least one black child, in particular, was made to act like a runaway. The Loudoun Times-Mirror broke the story and spoke with Loudoun NAACP Chapter President Michelle Thomas, who said she received complaints from parents about the Black History Month incident. “Loudoun County has a history of miseducating kids, number one, and perpetrating racist things amongst our students. This is not the first one. This is the first one of many. This is the most egregious, and the timing is incredible,” said Thomas said. She also noted that Attorney General Herring is a product of Loudoun County Public Schools. “[Herring] graduated from Loudoun Valley, so of course he wouldn’t know what he was doing, going up, dressing as blackface, because blackface is never discussed in the curriculum. When we discuss Jim Crow, it doesn’t come up,” she said. “ … The insensitivity is astronomical. We are in a racism crisis in Virginia, and the school is where it starts.” The school’s principal David Stewart sent a letter out following the incident and apologized. Stewart is promising that the content will be retaught in a “respectful manner.” “The lesson was culturally insensitive to our students and families. I extend my sincerest apology to our students and school community,” Stewart said in the letter. SIGHHHHHH, do these racist school incidents even surprise you anymore???
Source: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Terrence Howard Supports Jussie Smollett With all that’s going on with Jussie Smollett, it’s hard to know what to believe. But according to Terrence Howard , that’s not for the public to decide. The Empire star shared a video on Instagram of giggly Smollett playing with Howard’s adorable baby boy. The caption read, All your lil homies got you… We love the hell outta you View this post on Instagram All your lil homies got you… We love the hell outta you . A post shared by Terrence Dashon Howard (@theterrencehoward) on Feb 23, 2019 at 4:44pm PST Folks in the comment section weren’t feeling Terrence’s support of his co-star. One follower replied, Seriously? You support that lying felon? Even though all the facts are out? If it was a White person staging a Black person, would you still support him? Typical liberal hypocrites. But of course Howard didn’t hold back… “Sorry you feel that way but that’s the only Jussie I know. The Jussie I know could never even conceive of something so unconscious and ugly. His innocence or judgment is not for any of us to decide. Stay in your lane and my lane is empathy and love and compassion for someone I’ve called my son for five years. It’s God’s job to judge and it’s ours to love and hope, especially for those that we claim to have loved.” Luscious may still have Jamal Lyon’s back — but according to reports , Jussie has been suspended from Empire after police say he faked his attack to boost his salary. Chiiiile.
Source: Gregg DeGuire / Getty Queen Latifah To Invest In $14 Million Affordable Housing Development In Newark According to NJ.com , Queen Latifah is investing in her hometown in a major way. The Newark native just recently announced that her company, BlueSugar Corporation, is working to develop affordable housing in Brick City. BlueSugar Corporation is reportedly partnering with GonSosa Development on the $14 million initiative, which will also include a 20 three-family townhomes and another mixed-used building with an additional 16 units of affordable housing, a fitness center, and commercial space for nonprofit community organizations. Rents for the market rate units will start around $1,800 a month and are expected to open by December 2020. The affordable housing building is expected to be finished in December 2021; units there will be priced according to a person’s income.
Q ueen Latifah has broken barriers in both the music and entertainment industries and now she plans on doing the same in real estate. In an effort to level the playing field when it comes to housing equity in her hometown of Newark, the Star actress is creating an affordable housing complex in the city, NJ.com reported. Queen Latifah is coming home to Newark and building $14M worth of new housing https://t.co/GhP6SbZqLf pic.twitter.com/OxI5mwPVBp — NJ.com (@njdotcom) February 21, 2019 The project—which is reportedly going to cost $14 million—will be a community of multi-family townhouses, the news outlet writes. The homes—which will be located on Springfield Ave. and South 17th Street—will include 20 three-family townhomes and an additional mix-use building that will have 16 units. The mix-use building will feature a fitness center and commercial space that will be used by nonprofit organizations. 60 of the units will be market rate starting with a price of $1,800 and 16 of the units will be affordable and based on an individual’s income. The project is being led by BlueSugar Corporation—where Latifah serves as co-president—and GonSosa Development. BlueSugar Corporation has been on a mission to revitalize struggling neighborhoods across the country and GonSosa Development has reconstructed and developed over 1,000 units. There is a need for affordable housing in Newark and those who are involved in the project are excited about making change. “They understand how difficult it is to make ends meet for many residents and want to be part of the solution. They remain dedicated to making life better in communities like Newark,” said Cristina Pinzon who serves as a spokeswoman for the developers. Like other cities across the country, Newark is experiencing an affordability crisis where many longtime residents are at risk of being displaced due to gentrification. News about Queen Latifah’s plans comes nearly a month after NFL star Marshawn Lynch shared that he was going to purchase real estate in his hometown of Oakland so that people who have lived in the community for decades wouldn’t be pushed out. SEE ALSO: Magic Johnson To Invest In The Revitalization Of Baltimore Marshawn Lynch Is Pushing Back Against Gentrification In Oakland [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3846537″ overlay=”true”]
Teen Mom has a lot of drama. Just so, so much drama. On the show, we see breakups, fights, custody battles, abuse accusations, arrests, serious health struggles … it's a lot. But the one thing we can always count on is that there are some cute kids on the show. And just a couple of days ago, Catelynn and Tyler added one more kid to the crew! 1. A Cause for Celebration! She’s here, everybody! Catelynn and Tyler’s little bitty baby girl is here! 2. Bittersweet? It’s still kind of a weird situation, considering that they were separated not too long ago. 3. A Long Story A whole lot of stuff happened. You remember. 4. Recap! But just in case you need a refresher, the last time Catelynn was pregnant was in the fall of 2017. She had a miscarriage, she became suicidal after, and she spent six weeks in rehab, came home for a bit, then went back for six more weeks. 5. The Struggle Tyler was very supportive at first, but the rehab was all the way in Arizona, and the second time she wanted to go, he had a hard time understanding why she couldn’t just do therapy at home. 6. Uh Oh And when she went back anyway and started telling about how she was skipping the actual treatment stuff to stay up late and watch movies in her room … well, that was a tough pill for him to swallow. View Slideshow
Source: George Doyle / Getty 16-year old Alexander Bishop was arrested on Friday for the murder of his real estate developer father, William Bishop, who was found strangled with a dog leash. Alexander initially staged his dad’s April 2018 death to appear as a suicide, telling Durham County police that he had found his dad unresponsive in their basement with a dog leash wrapped three times around his neck and the dog still attached. Dad was found dead with a dog leash on his neck. Now his son is charged with murder. https://t.co/G2x8m9k0d0 pic.twitter.com/ZiMboCrz8Z — Popular Crime (@popular_crime) February 23, 2019 He added that his father had just gone through a divorce and was having issues with his new girlfriend. When police arrived at their North Carolina home, they found William in a chair unresponsive, without a leash around his neck. They also found 25 pieces of gold valued around $463,000 in his office. Bishop was rushed to the hospital and where he died three days later of stargulation. Forensic specialist went to the teens school after the death and searched his email and Iphone. They found some pretty suspicious info, including how to calculate the value of an estate and how to transfer bank accounts. On Friday, Alexander was arrested for the murder of his father. He will be tried as an adult.
Source: NBC / Getty John Legend Performs “Preach” With The Roots John Legend stopped by The Tonight Show last night, where he not only did an interview and played a game of Lip Sync Karaoke, but he teamed up with The Legendary Roots Crew for a beautiful performance of his new song, “Preach.” Check out the video below to see multi-talented musician and The Roots together in their latest performance collaboration.
Source: Adene Sanchez / Getty Black History Month has been a lot. We need a do over…but in the meantime, these were some of the craziest moments and pettiest reactions of the month so far. To kick things off, 21 Savage was arrested by ICE after he spoke out against some of their practices in his song “A Lot.” Obviously, we all wanted to see 21 safe and free to stay in the United States with his family—but when the nation found out that the most ATL person we’ve ever known was actually born in London, pettiness about him possibly having a British accent and more ensued. Click here to see who folks say “snitched.” Liam Neeson randomly admitted to wanting to kill a Black man…any Black man…in order to get revenge for a friend who claimed she was rape by a Black guy. He admitted to actively looking for Black men, hoping for some sort of an altercation…and while some folks, gave him props for admitting to his “past” racism, most didn’t let him off that easily and/or had petty jokes for days. Since we not fucking with Liam Neeson anymore put me in the next Taken ima find Jay Z 92 bricks. — Vince Staples (@vincestaples) February 11, 2019 I'm a bit late. All the good Liam Neeson jokes are…Taken. — Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) February 6, 2019 On another note, is it just us or has it been feeling more like blackface month? Gucci, Moncler, AND Prada were all blasted for obviously racist designs that were all blatantly offensive. Then, to top it off, Burberry had a model wear a “noose hoodie” while walking the runway for London Fashion Week. While many of us instantly decided these designers were #canceled, Floyd Mayweather—in all his ignorance and pettiness—decided to throw on head-to-toe Gucci , and hit Instagram to say “People boycott for trend but turn around and still shop at H&M and watch the NFL.” 50 Cent made fun of his reading ability once more and Twitter had a blast with it all. 50 Cent has responded to Floyd Mayweather’s comments pic.twitter.com/PBjUQeJGTw — Quake (@QuakeGW) February 15, 2019 People also thought it was pretty interesting that Nicki Minaj dropped her own remix to Blueface’s viral hit “Thotiana,” even though the West Coast rapper’s remix with Cardi B was on its way . Now that Cardi’s version has arrived, the debate on who’s is better has been never-ending. But overall it seems like the internet is fed up with Nicki’s…creative choices. I love this Thotiana Remix, Cardi B verse is heat on it, Blueface got bodied lmao. Nicki Minaj take notes, you could freestyle without having to rhyme IANA with IANA. — Hip-hop bigger than any artist (@TopHipHopPolls) February 17, 2019 On February 10, Will Smith was the butt of some hilarious jokes after unveiling his genie look in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin . Reassuring petty fans that he would, in fact, be blue he posted a sneak peek from the movie—but people were highly dissatisfied with the end result. “Should he look like the genie or like Will Smith?” “Yes.” pic.twitter.com/54sRUKXiRB — American Antony Santos (@TheMikeTre) February 11, 2019 The Grammys also went down on February 10. Due to being locked up by ICE, 21 Savage wasn’t able to hit the stage for his scheduled performance with Post Malone…so fans were eager to see if Post would at least shout 21 out—but nope. In fact, Childish Gambino producer Ludwig Goransson was the only person to shout 21 out the entire night. This ain’t a petty tweet, it’s simply facts. Ludwig Goransson gives the night's only real 21 Savage shoutout 3 and a half hours into the show. — Craig Bro Dude (@CraigSJ) February 11, 2019 But there was more…Cardi B and Offset confirmed their obvious reunion… but folks are kind of tired of Offset , Kylie Jenner didn’t look her best and people pointed it out all night, Anita Baker didn’t seem pleased with the Aretha Franklin tribute, and for some reason Jennifer Lopez did the Motown tribute…which literally confused everyone. Also Cardi winning a Grammy had everyone on their pettiest behavior (including, BET unfortunately). ….. Shaking my head. https://t.co/u06PUk6Tsq — Anita Baker (@IAMANITABAKER) February 11, 2019 I will never recover from that Jennifer Lopez Motown tribute at the Grammys or this Mariah Carey quote. pic.twitter.com/TC4boZHCB3 — GirlTyler (@sheistyler) February 13, 2019 Cardi B isn't better than Nicki Minaj!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! — Omo Iya Eleja (@motivatedgeorge) February 11, 2019 When Steve Harvey and Mo’Nique sat down to discuss their differences of opinion regarding the actress being blackballed, fans came to Mo’s defense. After suggesting that Mo’Nique’s integrity was not as important as getting a check and more, Harvey was accused of being a sellout and dragged to Black Twitter hell by the internet. mo'nique: i have integri– steve harvey: if i crumble, my children crumble, my grandchildren crumble, blueberry crumble, rumble in the jungle, bitch be humble, i am a CLOWN — . (@hoodqueer) February 14, 2019 For some reason, people are obsessed with Malia Obama pretty much being a normal 20-year-old. Our Forever First Kid was caught sipping on some wine after a writer posted a photo that showed her holding a bottle of Rosé. The legal drinking age is 21, but everyone seemed more amused than they were upset. All of Twitter coming together to defend Malia Obama pic.twitter.com/9wgS2WHvj3 — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 19, 2019 In what was probably the most confusing moment of them all, Jussie Smollett has been accused of staging the homophobic and racist attack that hospitalized him in January. His mugshot has since been released and reports say he is being charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in jail. Lmfao. I don’t want him in jail. I think he should be on 3 months probation with the terms being him having to eat Subway everyday https://t.co/WmsRxargHR — Yac House P | Taahir (@PhillyTheBoss) February 21, 2019 On a lighter note, persistent cheater Tristan Thompson got caught stepping out on Khloe Kardashian yet again—this time with Kylie Jenner’s best friend Jordyn Woods at a party. When reports surfaced, Khloe and the crew pettily confirmed them on social media and fans went in on the ever so trifling Jordyn and dirty dog Tristan. *source* from Tristan Thompson's party: pic.twitter.com/bMag6zKqMt — Jenn Wick (@Jennykay5real) February 20, 2019 While sitting down for a town hall symposium for the My Brother’s Keeper program, Barack Obama and Stephen Curry gave out some great advice to the young men in attendance. Specifically, Obama talked about having confidence and not using twerking women and gold chains to front. “If you are very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerkin’,” he hilariously said. “You seem stressed that you’ve gotta be acting that way. I’ve got one woman that I’m very happy with.” Shout out to Mrs. O. and to be clear, there is no tweet to see here people…”You seem stressed” is Obama at his pettiest and we love it. To close thing out, we’ve also gathered your usual, everyday pettiness happening on social media…like folks making fun of single people, Soulja Boy correcting TMZ titles that claimed he was “dating” Blac Chyna, people laughing at Kim K.’s cluelessness , and more. Idk who needs to hear this but… Sis, your soulmate is not that lady’s husband. Lmao. — i work at the mall. (@noIGjazz) February 18, 2019 #SignsYouAreSingle You finished Netflix — Katt Funny (@KattFunny) February 11, 2019 when cardi b said invasion of privacy, offset took it literally pic.twitter.com/nniNkdlrDj — R1+ O (@r1finesse_) February 11, 2019 Soulja Boy apologizes to Blac Chyna pic.twitter.com/jtsln5mv9z — BallerAlert (@balleralert) February 21, 2019 Kim Kardashian saying PERIODT is violence — kayla (@kaylawillsaveu) February 21, 2019 You mean like @KylieJenner did countless times with smaller black owned businesses??? — belladonna (@la_bellamarie) February 19, 2019 lmao why did the sun give you a lineup https://t.co/awVvE4UPn9 — cilvia demo’s #1 fan ⃠ (@thesunstirade) February 13, 2019 He looks like Bruce Willis and Adam Sandler combined https://t.co/A4zoN1e4Bk — B E A N Z | Currently stuck in Raccoon City (@PhotosByBeanz) February 20, 2019 And per usual, shoutout to our heavenly queen, Bey. Every week Beyoncé is doing her part to save Black History Month and it needs to be acknowledged. https://t.co/VOpUO8UKJG — Your Fave (@PartitionBeat) February 20, 2019
Source: John Lamparski / Getty This was one of those weeks where the loses weren’t one hundred percent loses, and the wins are up for debate. But we’ll leave it up to your interpretation. Check out the W’s below and find out who took L’s on the next page! Winners Barack Obama (sort of) One young scholar put Barack Obama in the deep florescent spotlight when he brought up the topic of masculinity. During a My Brother’s Keeper town hall in Oakland, California, the former pres and NBA star Steph Curry talked to young men of color about their upbringing, philosophy and ways to succeed in America. Towards the end of the discussion, one person asked Barack how they can collectively change the narrative on what it means to be a man in the midst of unhealthy masculinity. Barack’s response was interesting to say the least. Along with talking about being responsible, being kind, being compassionate, etc., Barack also threw in a little criticism for hip hop. It’s well known Barack is an avid listener of rap music , but when it comes to flossing, he had some thoughts: “Let’s face it, a lot of hip-hop and rap music is based around me showing I have more money than you, I can disrespect you and you can’t do nothing about it, I’m gonna talk about you and punk you. Ironically that actually shows the vulnerability that you feel.” He continued: “If you were really confident about your financial situation, you’re probably not gonna be wearing an eight-pound chain around your neck. If you are very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerkin’. You seem stressed that you’ve gotta be acting that way. I’ve got one woman that I’m very happy with.” Now granted, Barrack’s words are seeping with rigid ideas about sexuality and success. I mean if bills are paid… Why can’t I wear my gold chain! And all consenting twerk teams are welcome if we’re keeping it cute and safe, right? However, Barrack does have a point about the realities of juggling heavy chains and multiple sex interests. I mean, eight women are twerking in front of you? Are they getting paid? Do they have substantial health benefits? How long will the twerking go on, and are their adequate lunch breaks? All questions that need answers. And don’t get me started on that eight pound chain. Can someone say neck pains. Barrack is only watching out for the people. Check out his whole spiel in the clip below starting at the 52:17 mark.
