Source: Reinier Snijders / EyeEm / Getty A Georgia woman was arrested after at the Georgia Department of Driver Services office in Cobb County, after she started yelling and screaming about blowing the place up. According the WSBTV , Polly Barfield grew frustrated with the wait times at the DMV when she erupted stating she’d “blow the place up.” Bartfield was charged with Disorderly Conduct and sent Cobb County Adult Detention Center before posting bond. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images National Geographic Discusses Racist Past Coverage The new issue of National Geographic is dedicated to race — which is complicated by the fact that the magazine has a racist history. So, National Geographic’s EIC Susan Goldberg decided to fess up and face the publication’s problematic past head on: I’m the tenth editor of National Geographic since its founding in 1888. I’m the first woman and the first Jewish person—a member of two groups that also once faced discrimination here. It hurts to share the appalling stories from the magazine’s past. But when we decided to devote our April magazine to the topic of race, we thought we should examine our own history before turning our reportorial gaze to others. It’s not exactly an apology, but Goldberg goes on to detail how the magazine enlisted University of Virginia professor John Edwin Mason to dive into their archives and uncover exactly how racist they were: What Mason found in short was that until the 1970s National Geographic all but ignored people of color who lived in the United States, rarely acknowledging them beyond laborers or domestic workers. Meanwhile it pictured “natives” elsewhere as exotics, famously and frequently unclothed, happy hunters, noble savages—every type of cliché. Unlike magazines such as Life, Mason said, National Geographic did little to push its readers beyond the stereotypes ingrained in white American culture. We’ve seen those old issues of National Geographic but for a refresher, the article touches on how the magazine sent a writer and photographer to the coronation of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia in 1930, a time when the publication NEVER would have covered such an event in the United States or even allowed an African American person National Geographic membership. There’s also stuff like this: In 1941 National Geographic used a slavery-era slur to describe California cotton workers waiting to load a ship in California: “Pickaninny, banjos, and bales are like those you might see at New Orleans.” And this: In a full-issue article on Australia that ran in 1916, Aboriginal Australians were called “savages” who “rank lowest in intelligence of all human beings.” Goldberg also notes a 1962 story about South Africa completely fails to mention the massacre of 69 black South Africans by police in Sharpeville just two years before, not even bothering to consult black South Africans at all. Goldberg concludes by looking forward: In two years, for the first time in U.S. history, less than half the children in the nation will be white. So let’s talk about what’s working when it comes to race, and what isn’t. Let’s examine why we continue to segregate along racial lines and how we can build inclusive communities. Let’s confront today’s shameful use of racism as a political strategy and prove we are better than this… We hope you will join us in this exploration of race, beginning this month and continuing throughout the year. Sometimes these stories, like parts of our own history, are not easy to read. But as Michele Norris writes in this issue, “It’s hard for an individual—or a country—to evolve past discomfort if the source of the anxiety is only discussed in hushed tones.” Do you think that she said ENOUGH though? It’s one thing to say she’s not comfortable with the magazine’s past, but should she and the magazine’s publishers be MORE APOLOGETIC? What do you think? Hit the flip for a glimpse of what the Race issue will touch on.
Source: Roberto Machado Noa / Getty The anti-baggy pants crew strikes again! Some might remember Mississippi lawmaker Tom Weathersby proposing a bill that would ban saggy pants a year ago . Low riding offenders could face punishment ranging from a warning to a $100 fine, depending on the number of offenses. Now, South Carolina is on the same wave length. Republican and Democrat lawmakers alike co-sponsored a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to wear their pants “three inches below” the top of their hips, according to WLTX . Violation of the law could result in a $25 fine for the first offense or at the most extreme, a $75 fine plus six hours of community service for a third or more violation. “We have to lead by example,” Charleston County Representative Wendell Gilliard said . “The pants now are being worn below the knees.” Folks were not here for another lecture on pants-sagging. Considering the current fight for gun control in many states, a little underwear glimpse was the least of people’s problems. Swipe through to peep the backlash (and sarcasm) from folks on social media.
Source: Garrett Ellwood / Getty Everyone is still giving Fergie flack for her botched National Anthem attempt at the NBA All-Star game but she wouldn’t be the only celebrity who didn’t deliver. Let’s take an opportunity to look back and some of the other terrible attempts at the National Anthem over the years.
Happy Presidents Day 2018 from all of us at The Hollywood Gossip, as we come together to honor a couple of true American heroes. The truest of heroes, really. The truest of the true. And the Winner is? Abraham Lincoln Click Here To Vote for Abe George Washington Click Here To Vote for G-Dubs They were both A-plus chief executives, but which U.S. President do you love more, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington? That’s what we wanna know! View Poll » It’s time we determined who among these United States legends is worthy of being called the greatest of all time. OF ALL TIME! In a Fashion Face-Off for the ages, that is! Yes, we realize that styles popularized by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington haven’t been popular with the mainstream in ages. Like, ages . Industrial Revolution style. By the same token, when you’re a titan of history, you never go out of style, are we right?! If you got you a national monument, ’nuff said. Take the first President of the U.S., George Washington. He led a rebellion over Great Britain, then oversaw the birth of a new nation. Four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln valiantly preserved and paved the way for a more perfect union against long odds. Overcoming similarly huge obstacles, redefining what was possible and then fighting to preserve it, both patriots delivered for America. In their respective eras and now, giants among men. Ones who make all of our lives seem more than a tad mundane and pointless all of a sudden. Kind of sad if you stop and think about it. Anyway, comparing achievements and legacies by people in such rarefied air is impossible … but we can at least pick a fashion winner. Would you rather rock George’s 18th Century Colonial garb or Abe’s 19th Century Civil War-era attire? Talk about the toughest of calls. Make it. It’s your duty as an American.
Warren Ballentine explains why the violence that occurred this week in Parkland, Florida, is a part of the very terrorism that America was founded on. White America has terrorized just about every group in America from the beginning, starting with the Native Americans. So it’s no wonder that we have major difficulty cultivating an honest, productive narrative around home-grown terrorism. Warren explains what we can do about gun control, knowing this about United States history.Click on the audio player to hear more in this exclusive interview from “ The Rickey Smiley Morning Show .” Listen to “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” LIVE every weekday from 6/5am C. RELATED: Attorney Glennon Threatt On How Domestic Terrorism Ties Into Florida School Shooting [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] RELATED: Dr. Alduan Tartt Explains How The Education System Should Help Prevent School Shootings [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] RELATED: Warren Ballentine On The Difference Between White Supremacists & Regular Racists [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] RELATED: Warren Ballentine Explains Why African-Americans Experience Police Brutality [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] The Latest : Viola Davis Opens Up About Growing Up In Extreme Poverty [VIDEO] 9 Saturday Morning Cartoons You Probably Forgot About Warren Ballentine Explains Why Terrorism Is Built Into America’s DNA [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] Trying To Sneak Into The ‘Black Panther’ Movie Was An Epic Fail G.O.A.T. Day: Take A Look Back At A Time Before Michael Jordan Became The Greatest Athlete Of All Time New Everyday Struggle VS Yung Berg Internet Trolls Pretending To Be Assaulted At “Black Panther” Screenings Drake’s New Social Media Challenge Is Exactly What The World Needs Right Now Wanda Sykes Calls Out Omarosa As A Black History Fail Alleged Secret Daughter Of Joe Jackson Writing Tell-All Book [ione_media_gallery src=”http://blackamericaweb.com/” id=”639183″ overlay=”true”]
Kylie Jenner is officially back. Did she ever really leave? Yes, actually, as the 20-year old reality star scarcely shared a single photo or message on social media in the last couple trimesters of her pregnancy. This changed earlier in the month, however, after Jenner broke her Instagram silence in the most precious way possible: Via a photo of brand new daughter Stormi Webster ! Or at least a photo of brand new daughter Stormi Webster’s tiny little hand and adorable little wrist. What else can one say about the following snapshot except AWWWW , right? But that isn’t the type of response Kylie typically aims to elicit. She built a following of over 100 million followers not by making fans smile, but by making them drool. For the past couple years, Kylie has practically made half-sister Kim Kardashian blush by taking off numerous layers of clothing in nearly every selfie shared online. Jenner has taken the scantily-clad ball Kim got rolling and ran faster than maybe anyone else on the Internet with it. Then she got pregnant, though. And her body responded in kind, growing larger and larger by the month. Kylie disappeared from the spotlight because, according to various sources, she was ashamed of what her once-sexy figure had become. Would she ever pose in a seductive manner again , teenage males across the country wondered? How long until we need to look at Kylie Jenner photos again in private , they’ve likely been wondering, implying that they would be masturbating to said photos. Jenner sort of answered that question over the weekend, sharing her first selfie since giving birth . But now the reality star has truly answered the question, sharing her first SULTRY selfie since giving birth. And here it is: “vday,” the 20-year-old mogul wrote as a simple caption to the image, including with it a pair of heart emojis. In the snapshot, Kylie is once again showing off her long legs, while also rocking a pair of stiletto boots. You know, the usual attire of any mother recovering and taking care of a two-week old baby girl at home. We kid. In all seriousness, it sounds like she’s settling in well and going about this new phase of life with the right approach. “She’s in no rush to lose the weight she gained while pregnant,” an insider tells Us Weekly, which is refreshing to hear. Previous reports claimed that Jenner would be so anxious to get back to her svelte self that she would undergo some dangerous surgery . According to this rumor, she even looked into going outside of the United States to keep the procedure(s) secret after giving birth. We’re very glad to hear this won’t be happening. And we sincerely hope that the new mother did not share the image above due to any kind of pressure, perceived or direct. “The Queen looks amazing, She’s come back,” one person wrote in response, while others asked for more pictures of Stormi. View Slideshow: Kylie Jenner: Her Most OMFG Moments of All Time We’d have to imagine they’re on the way. In the meantime, however, anyone who thought Kylie’s time away from the spotlight would dent her popularity is mistaken. Just consider the jaw-dropping totals: Kylie’s sexy selfie has received 1.8 million Likes in just 50 minutes, as of this writing. The Queen really is back, huh? View Slideshow: Kylie Jenner Gives Birth, Reveals Shocking Pregnancy Secrets & Photos
Barack and Michelle Obama returned to the public eye on Monday, February 12. Both the real-life versions of these stars and two pieces of artwork based on them, as the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery unveiled its two latest additions to its presidential portraits collection. The paintings of the 44th President of the United States and his First Lady were completed by world famous artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, and each drew quite a reaction on social media. Some users looked at these portraits and longed for the days when there was a sense of sanity and intelligence in the White House. Others, meanwhile, looked at Michelle's in particular and wondered: WTH is that?!? Scroll down for a look at the paintings and for some of the most prominent reactions online to them… 1. Barack Obama Simple. Elegant. Beautiful. There weren’t many negative responses to this depiction of former President Obama. 2. Michelle Obama A thing of beauty or a thing of controversy? The Internet is split on this official Michelle Obama portrait. 3. How Appropriate Two African-American artists for the first African-American couple in the White House. Makes sense, right? 4. We Feel Ya, Little Girl These portraits are gorgeous, they just take us back and give us ALL the feels. 5. We’re Not Entirely Sure What This Means But it still sounds about right to us. 6. The Future Seems Bright It only SEEMS that way upon portrait glance, that is. In reality, let’s remember who is President. View Slideshow
Source: Splash News You may know him now as one of the biggest film stars in the game and social media’s vote for Vice President of the United States in 2020 (with Oprah as POTUS of course). But back 17 years ago, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a pro Wrestler with a not so professional — or long — music career. In honor of National Pie Day, check out this video of The Rock’s single “Pie” ft. Slick Rick. You’re welcome. Hit the flip for the full track.
Image via Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Explaining What The U.S. Government Shutdown Means In case you hadn’t heard, the United States government is no longer operational, well, sort of operational. It’s complicated. For weeks now Democrats and Republicans have been arguing over a stopgap spending bill that would fund government’s day-to-day activities. Attached to that bill is all sorts of political chess pieces that lead to serious conflict on both sides of the aisle. The Democrats want protection for DACA “dreamers” and the anti-immigrant GOP gang wants funding for Trump dumba$$ “wall” and border security. You see the problem. Last night was the last chance for both the donkeys and the elephants to get their s#!t together, but that didn’t happen. So, the shutdown is in full effect and here’s what that means. According to CNN , thousands of gov’t employees will go on furlough, they will not report to work and they will not be paid. When a shutdown occurred in 2013, there were about 850,000 employees affected. Lot of people not getting the money that feeds their families. Furlough also affects White House employees, over 1,000 of them, 659 of which are considered “essential” will still come to work, but only to send emails and correspond with parties to let them know they won’t be working. This also affects soldiers, even those in active combat, they are fighting for free at this point. No checks will be distributed to those who are risking their life for us as well as this inept body of federal officials. TSA will still get paid, but the employees may not. The mail man will still deliver your mail. HOWEVER, the one group of feds who will still work diligently with pay is the Special Counsel, headed by Robert Mueller, who is investigating all of Donald Trump’s shady shenanigans. Oh, by the dubs, today marks Donald Trump’s 365th day as crispy cheeto POTUS. This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Congratulations, d!¢khead. We have no gov’t. Great job. SMFH.
