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Saturday, July 24, 2021

Know Your Rights!

 

@ourrightsmatter714

Officer Looks Confused #1stAmendment #KnowYourRights #FreeEducation #CopGetsOwned #Viral #NationalCity #MoreOfThis #Fyp #ForYouPage #ForYou

♬ original sound - OurRightsMatter714

The World’s Very First 3D-Printed Bridge is Open in Amsterdam | Mashable

17-year-old Black girl makes color changing sutures that detect infection


https://blavity.com/a-17-year-old-created-a-potentially-life-saving-sutures-concept-to-prevent-post-surgery-deaths?category1=news

Allow Athletes to be Human

From the Hollywood Reporter - 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Let Athletes Lead the Way on Mental Health

Instead of demanding perfection from sports stars who get candid about their health, viewers should admire their perseverance — and take cues from their coping skills.

BY KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR

Kevin Love, Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps. MICHAEL REAVES/GETTY IMAGES;
MARK BRAKE/GETTY IMAGES; LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

When four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka dropped out of the French Open and Wimbledon because of anxiety and depression associated with compulsory press interviews, many fans were shocked at her bold confession. While most professional athletes rallied to support her “bravery,” some critics dismissed the player, who will represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, as a “diva” and “narcissistic.” The same thing happened in 2018 when NBA star Kevin Love wrote an essay in The Players’ Tribune about his anxiety and depression despite his fear that others, especially his teammates, would see it as a “form of weakness that could derail my success in sports.”

Within the past few years, dozens of celebrities and athletes — among them Adele, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Emma Stone, DeMar DeRozan, Michael Phelps and Dwayne Johnson — have openly discussed their struggles with mental health. Richard Sherman, arrested July 14 after his family called 911 during a domestic incident where he threatened to harm himself, promised to get “the help I need” in an Instagram post.

Yet the stigma of somehow being damaged, tainted, a diva or unable to perform lingers because the public perception is that, unlike with a sprained ankle, people can’t heal from or cope with mental health issues. They forget that these people have been dealing with these challenges at the same time they’ve risen to elite athlete or star celebrity status. Rather than cautionary examples of weakness, they are often models of strength and perseverance.

~~~~~~~~~~

The problem is the desire for the public to hold up performing artists and athletes as paragons of perfection and then punish them when they are anything less. They see mental health issues as a character issue — to suffer is to be weak. This despite the statistics: one in four adults and one in five teens experiences a diagnosable mental disorder. Rather, the public should admire public figures’ perseverance and character strength for all they’ve accomplished despite their challenges — and learn coping skills from them. Actually, it’s a reflection of our own character whether we choose to be supportive or derisive, because that reflects either our capacity for compassion — or the depth of our own personal fears.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/kareem-athletes-mental-health1234985129-1234985129/



What Does It Mean To Be 'Black Famous?' The #BlackMainstream Sounds Off

Triple Crown

From Hypebeast - 

The Antetokounmpo Siblings Become First Brother Trio to All Win NBA Championships

Back-to-back NBA champs. 

By Joyce Li

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

The Milwaukee Bucks have officially claimed the title as the 2021 NBA Champions, giving brothers Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo their first championship ring in the league. The two siblings are now on the same level as younger brother Kostas Antetokounmpo, who previously won the 2020 NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. The historical feat marks the first trio of brothers in the NBA to all win a league title.

Post-championship game, Giannis said during an on-court interview, “A lot of people was making jokes last year when Kostas won his championship with the Lakers. Obviously at the dinner table it was awkward a little bit because he had the ring before me. But now me and Thanasis have ours. But now me and Thanasis have the ring too, so we’re happy.”


https://hypebeast.com/2021/7/antetokounmpo-siblings-first-brother-trio-all-win-nba-championships

A Classy Gesture

From the Irish Mirror -  

Olympics 2021: Huge amount of goodwill for Ireland's Olympians after classy gesture during opening ceremony

Aren't we a great bunch altogether?

BY DAVID KENT

The whole Irish team bowed in unison towards the Japanese welcoming party in what was a lovely nod to the different culture they are immersed in for the duration of these Games.

And that gesture in particular has got huge praise online.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/olympics-2021-huge-amount-goodwill-24604744.amp 

Friday, July 23, 2021

Mr. SOUL! Trailer

From Rolling Stone - 

‘Mr. Soul!’ Documentary Chronicles History of ‘Black Tonight Show’
Award-winning film will be available on HBO Max starting August 1st

By CLAIRE SHAFFER


https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/mr-soul-documentary-trailer-1200947/

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Pulled His Car Over to Have Some Fun

 

Love Has No Labels | Diversity & Inclusion | Ad Council

Eric. Eric. Eric.

From HuffPost - 

Eric Clapton Says He Won’t Perform Where Vaccine Is Required, Gets Feedback

“I reserve the right to cancel the show,” the “Tears in Heaven” singer wrote in defiance of Boris Johnson’s vaccination order.

By Ron Dicker 

Veteran rocker Eric Clapton declared Wednesday he would not perform where proof of vaccination is required, defying U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s order on large indoor gatherings.

Britain, where the delta variant of COVID-19 is threatening pandemic recovery, eased coronavirus restrictions this week. But Johnson said nightclubs and concert venues must require verification of inoculation status.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eric-clapton-vaccine-concert_n_60f92b68e4b0ddf0097ba9de?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001

I Love Bear!

From HuffPost - 

Watch This Viral TikTok Singer Blow Minds In The Most Unexpected Place

Bear Bailey had given up on his dream of being a singer. Then TikTok and his local gas station changed everything.

By Josephine Harvey

At age 33, Bear Bailey thought his dream of being a singer was dead. Then TikTok and his local gas station helped bring it back to life.

Bailey has gained more than a million TikTok followers in less than two weeks since he started posting videos from the Super Serve station near his home in Houma, Louisiana. In the viral clips, the cashiers make song requests and Bailey serenades them at the checkout counter, provoking heartwarming (and often hilarious) reactions from surprised shoppers around the store. 

“Bear! I’ve been waiting for you,” cashier Melissa McGee, known to locals as Mama, shouts in one clip as Bailey walks in and breaks out into a cover of John Legend’s “All of Me.”

@bearbailey1

All Of Me by @johnlegendofficial #cover #foryou #foryoupage #tiktok #adayinmylife TikTok muted the sound on last one! #viral #letsgo #tag him yall!

♬ original sound - Bear Bailey
@bearbailey1

Night shift by the ##commodores ##cover ##foryou ##foryoupage ##adayinmylife ##gasstation ##letmeknow ##unity

♬ original sound - Bear Bailey

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tiktok-singer-bear-bailey-gas-station_n_60f76b4ce4b0d1bafbf83b00

 

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Sell Your Old Tech. Here's How.

From Readers Digest - 

If You Have This at Home, You’re Losing out on $264

By Carrie Madormo

Anyone up for making a quick $200? Go ahead and sell these items you aren't even using. We'll show you how!

When was the last time you upgraded your smartphone, tablet, or laptop? OK, now try to remember what you did with your old tech once the shiny new products arrived. Chances are, you stuffed them in the kitchen junk drawer or in the basement—where they’re now collecting dust. Yep, that’s what most of us do…because we don’t know what to do. We can’t just throw them away, and we’re not sure how to recycle them. Luckily, there’s a third option, and it comes with cash. Selling your old tech items is a way to give them new life while clearing out your clutter and making some extra money.

According to Decluttr.com, the average American household has about $264 worth of old tech items just sitting around. It can feel intimidating to jump in and start selling those items, though. We sat down with Decluttr CMO Liam Howley to learn the fastest, easiest ways to start cashing in on your old tech. 

https://www.rd.com/article/old-tech-thats-worth-money/

Shocked But Not Surprised

From The Nation - 

Our ‘Racial Reckoning’ Is Turning Out to Be a White Lie

Black demands for full citizenship are being treated as entitlement and calls for racial accountability redefined as white persecution.

By Kali Holloway

With inevitable regularity, racial injustice and violence lead to moments of national conflict when even white Americans can no longer ignore the issue. And just as inevitably, instead of addressing this country’s pervasive racism and anti-Blackness, white Americans locate the problem somewhere within Black people themselves.

We’re in yet another of those moments, as last summer’s promised “racial reckoning” turns out to be a white lie. Black demands for full citizenship and equality are being treated as entitlement, calls for white racial accountability redefined as white persecution, and anti-racism falsely construed as anti-whiteness. To reestablish unchallenged white dominance, a movement of white resistance, or anti-anti-racism, is working tirelessly to blot out what it sees as a problematic presence—purging Black folks from democracy by stripping voting rights, erasing Black struggle from history by banning the teaching of slavery and its legacy, and prohibiting protest that threatens the white supremacist status quo.

We can be shocked, but certainly not surprised. This nation has a long history of counterbalancing any move toward Black liberation with the insistence that Black existence is better wholly removed or more tightly controlled. In an 1814 missive addressing the prospect of African American emancipation, Thomas Jefferson advocated for Black expatriation to another country, contending that without the yoke of slavery around their necks, African Americans were “pests in society.” Abraham Lincoln, even as he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, told a delegation of Black leaders invited to the White House that “your race suffer very greatly…by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence,” and placed the blame for “white men cutting one another’s throats” on Black folks requesting equality, claiming “but for your race among us there could not be war.” Lincoln suggested the solution was for Black people to “sacrifice something of your present comfort” by picking up stakes and relocating abroad, an idea the president would support until days before his assassination.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/black-lives-matter-backlash-2/

The Rock is Small Compared to . . .

 

Stand Here for Dance Party

First Black Graduate of Grinnell College

From Black Enterprise - 

MEET 107-YEAR-OLD EDITH RENFROW SMITH: THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO GRADUATE FROM GRINNELL COLLEGE IN IOWA

by Andrea Blackstone

Edith Renfrow Smith, left, was the first Black woman
to graduate from Grinnell College.
Facebook - Bethany Retirement Community


Edith Renfrow Smith—who turned 107 on July 14—is an undeniable trailblazer who refused to let adversity crush her dreams.

Smith was the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa and was honored on campus with a dedication of the school’s Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women’s Library.

According to Grinnell College, the school also has the Smith Gallery, where “student art exhibits” are showcased. And if the educational institution has not previously landed on your radar, musician Herbie Hancock is another noted Grinnell College product who also has personal ties to Smith’s family.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/meet-107-year-old-edith-renfrow-smith-the-first-black-woman-to-graduate-from-grinnell-college-in-iowa/


Naomi Osaka Making History With SI Swimsuit Cover

From USA Today - 

Naomi Osaka becomes first female Black athlete on a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover

By Scott Gleeson

Sports Illustrated magazine cover image
for 2021 Swimsuit issue on sale July 22
featuring a photo of Naomi Osaka by
Yu Tsai, Sports Illustrated

Naomi Osaka appears on the cover of this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, becoming the first female Black athlete to do so. 

Osaka's cover comes on the heels of her controversial withdrawal from the French Open after decision to not speak with media to protect her mental health. The four-time Grand Slam champion is poised to compete in the Tokyo Games later this month. 

SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said in a statement: "There’s no question that Naomi is one of the best athletes in the world, and a cover spot felt obvious. She’s spent her formative years racking up titles and is headed to the Olympics. But we celebrate Naomi for her passion, strength and power geared towards consistently breaking barriers when it comes to equality, social justice, and mental health."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2021/07/19/naomi-osaka-cover-sports-illustrated-swimsuit-issue/8011368002/ 

Black Girls on FIRE!

From Black Enterprise - 

UNDEFEATED: FIRST BLACK GIRL DUO WINS INTERNATIONAL DEBATE COMPETITION AT HARVARD

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors 


https://www.blackenterprise.com/undefeated-first-black-girl-duo-wins-international-debate-competition-at-harvard/