Bath & Body Works Celebrate Black History Month

An excerpt from Stylecaster - 

Bath & Body Works Is Launching Its First Black History Month Collection — With a Huge Donation

by ELIZABETH DENTON 

Photo: BATH & BODY WORKS.

When I hear a popular brand is launching a collection for Black History Month (or Pride, or Women’s History Month, etc.) I’m a little cynical. Before supporting, I need to make sure the brand is actually giving back to the community in some way, whether in terms of employment (such as when Target hired LGBTQ+ designers for its Pride tees) or a monetary donation of some sort. With Bath & Body Works’ first-ever Black History Month collection, I don’t have to worry. Not only is this collection really, really cute, but the brand is also making a $500,000 donation.

“This Black History Month, Bath & Body Works is proud to continue its longstanding commitment to the Columbus and National Urban Leagues through a $500,000 donation,” Ronak Fields, community relations and philanthropy, said in a statement. “These funds will support underserved communities with workforce development and economic empowerment programs throughout America. I am grateful for the opportunity to work at Bath & Body Works and side-by-side with passionate associates who are committed to uplifting our neighbors.”

https://stylecaster.com/beauty/bath-body-works-black-history-month/

Fall Asleep in 2 Minutes!

 

@justin_agustin Technique to falling asleep in 2 minutes! Insp. AsapSCIENCE on YT #sleep #fallasleep #insomnia #insomniac #learnontiktok #howto ♬ You - Petit Biscuit

Have You Met Miss Jones? (Fingerstyle)

https://youtu.be/E5zhyhr_o2c

Restoring a Refuge For Black Travelers

An excerpt from Fast Company - 

On Route 66, a family is restoring the only gas station built for Black travelers

The Threatt Filling Station offered refuge for Black travelers driving through Oklahoma. Now, the Threatt family hopes to turn it into a historical center.

BY KRISTI EATON

[Photo: courtesy of the Threatt family, National Register of Historic Places/
NPS, Rhys Martin/courtesy Oklahoma Route 66 Association]

If you were to travel on Route 66 in the early 1900s, you probably passed the Threatt Filling Station, a family-owned gas station for Black travelers traversing the famous route from Chicago to Southern California.

But after closing in the 1970s, the station eventually fell into disrepair. Now the Threatt family is looking to revitalize and preserve it.

Allen Threatt Sr. [Photo: courtesy of the Threatt family]

The Threatt Filling Station, located near Luther, Oklahoma, was a place where Black travelers could fill up their tanks and grab something to eat. The property, which was originally 160 acres, eventually expanded to also include a farm, a field for Negro League baseball games, an outdoor stage, and a bar for those wanting to dance the jitterbug. Allen Threatt Sr. built the station around 1915, and it continued to operate until it closed in the 1970s, according to Ed Threatt, one of Allen’s grandsons. Ed Threatt and other relatives are now working to restore the historic property.

“It’s a part of Black history within the state of Oklahoma,” Ed Threatt said. “For him to acquire 160 acres of land in the Jim Crow era, that’s no small feat.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/90711794/on-route-66-a-family-is-restoring-the-only-gas-station-built-for-black-travelers

Bel-Air | Official Trailer | Peacock Original

https://youtu.be/_-_P9DPMuy8

Don't Pet!

An excerpt from Reader's Digest - 

If You See a Dog with a Red Collar, This Is What It Means

By Wendy Rose Gould

TOM MEAKER/GETTY IMAGES

Red is the universal sign for “stop.” We see it on stop signs and stoplights around the world. It’s a prominent color for police sirens and fire trucks, and we even use the color when talking about “red flags.” Red gives us reason to pause and be cautious, and it’s why some pups wear red dog collars or bandanas or use red leashes.

“Red is the signal that this pet is aggressive and needs space from both people and other animals,” explains Dr. Brian Evans, veterinarian and medical director of virtual vet care company Dutch. “These are pets that have been known to snap or bite at passersby, attack other dogs, or lunge at people. These pets may be perfectly fine at home with their owner but become overly protective of them when they are out.”

In some cases, red dog collars might also be worn by service or working dogs that shouldn’t be pet. Usually, they’ll have on a vest that says “service dog” or “emotional support,” which is often accompanied by a phrase like “Do not pet.”

https://www.rd.com/article/red-dog-collar/

SSSS Code on Your Boarding Pass

An excerpt from Conde Nest Traveler -  

What to Know If An SSSS Code Shows Up on Your Boarding Pass

The mysterious code means a passenger is flagged for additional—and sometimes invasive—TSA screening.

BY ASHLEA HALPERN

For travelers lucky enough not to know, SSSS stands for Secondary Security Screening Selection. It’s the Transportation Security Administration’s way of flagging airline passengers for “enhanced” screening. An SSSS code stamped on your boarding pass overrides pre-approval through a Trusted Traveler Program such as TSA PreCheck and can add 15 to 45 minutes (or more) to your boarding process.

Unfortunately, there are many groups of travelers who are no strangers to being flagged repeatedly for invasive TSA screenings. But for fliers privileged enough to have a usually smooth process through security, the SSSS codes can come as a shock.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/what-to-know-if-an-ssss-code-shows-up-on-your-boarding-pass

Traveling by Train

From Newsbreak -

I spent over 160 hours traveling to major US cities by train for $299. Here are 10 things that surprised me

By Kaitlyn Cheung

A few things surprised me about traveling by train.

 Kaitlyn Cheung

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2476641962726/i-spent-over-160-hours-traveling-to-major-us-cities-by-train-for-299-here-are-10-things-that-surprised-me?noAds=1&_f=app_share&s=i0

WOW!

 

@shopping666 My baby is six years old, and he gets up at six every day to cook for himself, do housework and then go to school❤️👏👏#GEICOGiveHappy #shopping666 ♬ original sound - Smarthome shopping

Sharecropper to Shareholder | Rendel Solomon | TEDxChicago

https://youtu.be/4cNoGB400Ik

Kennedy Center Honors: Berry Gordy Tribute 2021

https://youtu.be/G03fAFn5PVY

Black-Owned Small Kitchen Appliances @ Target Only

An excerpt from The Kitchn - 

This New Black-Owned Small Appliance Line at Target Has Some of the Best Stuff I’ve Ever Tested — and Y’all, Lots of It Is on Sale! (Sorry folks.  This was published before Christmas when the sales were happening).

By SAVANNAH WEST

Credit: CRUXGG

For Black families, connection and community have been centered in the kitchen for centuries, especially around the holidays. Just in time for this year’s festivities, Target dropped a new collection of stylish and affordable kitchen electronics from CRUX in partnership with Ghetto Gastro, and I can’t wait to incorporate some of these pieces into my own holiday traditions.

If you haven’t heard of Ghetto Gastro, they’re a Bronx-based culinary collective comprised of chefs and food enthusiasts that formed back in 2012 and now includes members Jon Gray, Lester Walker, and Pierre Serrão. Last year, the group and CRUX co-founder Shae Hong launched a wildly popular, exclusive line of seven CRUXGG products in partnership with Williams-Sonoma. The double rotating waffle iron sold out in just 48 hours! Based on the success of that collection, Ghetto Gastro partnered with CRUX again on an even more competitively-priced line of electric countertop appliances only available at Target, and they’re flying off the shelves again.

https://www.thekitchn.com/cruxgg-target-small-appliances-23276868

1000 New Texans Arrive Every Day!

An excerpt from the NY Times - 

1,000 New People Arrive in Texas Every Day. Half Are Newborns.

A surge in births in Texas comes amid a declining birthrate nationwide. 

By Edgar Sandoval

All across Texas, the cry of newborn babies has become a common sound at hospital maternity wards.
Credit...Matthew Busch for The New York Times

SAN ANTONIO — Every three minutes, a child is born somewhere in Texas.

At one hospital in North Texas, 107 babies were delivered over 96 hours this summer, shattering local records. At a hospital in San Antonio, more than 1,200 babies have been born this year, up nearly 30 percent since 2018.

Across one of the nation’s fastest-growing states, an average 1,000 new Texans arrive every day. Half of them are newborns.

“Our population is going up. So just with that, I would expect our birthrates to increase,” said Shad Deering, a department chair with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. “We will become very busy.”

We spent a day last month with Dr. Deering and his staff and witnessed the arrival of several new residents to the Lone Star State.

~~~~~~~~~~

Between 2010 and 2020, the state’s population grew by four million — or the entire population of neighboring Oklahoma. Babies made up the largest number of new arrivals to Texas (about 48 percent), with migrants from other states (31 percent) and countries (21 percent) rounding out the rest.

And hospitals are trying to keep up.

“It has not slowed down,” said Michelle Stemley, vice president of patient care at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, which broke its four-day delivery record this summer.

The surge in births comes amid a declining birthrate nationwide. Couples have waited longer to have children, a trend that continued during the coronavirus pandemic and an uncertain economy, Mr. Potter said.

But a spike in sales of pregnancy tests — a 13 percent increase since June of last year — may signal that a so-called millennial baby boom may be on the horizon, according to Nielsen’s data and Bank of America’s research.

Many longtime Texans are contributing to the uptick in tiny new residents.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/26/us/texas-newborns-birthrate.html

What Does Home Mean To You?

From the Bitter Southerner - 

A Letter From Home

By President Jimmy Carter

President Jimmy Carter. Photo by Dustin Chambers

https://bittersoutherner.com/a-letter-from-home/jimmy-carter

10 Black Women Who Made History in 2021

From mymajicdc.com - 

10 Black Women Who Made History In 2021

By BreAnna Holmes

1. Michaela Coel

Source:Getty

Michaela Coel is the first Black Woman to win an Emmy for ‘Limited Series Writing’!

2. Beyoncé

Source:Getty

Beyoncé Makes History As The Most Grammy Awarded Artist Ever!

https://mymajicdc.com/playlist/black-women-who-made-history-in-2021/item/2

Sacramento man sold home to make 2022 film 'North Central' about track a...

https://youtu.be/pNFEEXxgHj8

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/sacramento/filmmakers-film-selected-festivals-nationwide/103-836eff6e-07f4-4a65-999a-7fdf39aeb84b

Designing HBCU Clothing for Urban Outfitters

An excerpt from WXii12.com - 

North Carolina A&T student helps design HBCU clothing line for Urban Outfitters

By Louie Tran

Ulia Hargrove - North Carolina A & T State University

GREENSBORO, N.C. —

A North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University student helped design an HBCU clothing line for Urban Outfitters.

U'lia Hargrove, a native from Henderson, North Carolina, is a junior at North Carolina A&T. She's double majoring in fashion merchandising and design and supply chain management.

Hargrove finished a 10-week internship with Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia. It took place from June to August.

During her experience, Hargrove said she had the chance to work as a buying intern and in a summer class where she was able to work alongside four other HBCU students to help design an HBCU collection line.

Each intern was responsible for designing the outfits, including the colors, style, material, accessories, etc., she added.

Hargrove helped design a clothing line that represented North Carolina A&T. The collection included sweatpants, sweatshirts, tote bags, varsity jackets and playing cards.

https://www.wxii12.com/article/north-carolina-aandt-student-helps-design-hbcu-clothing-line-for-urban-outfitters/38562106#

Critical Race Theory Explained With a Cake

From CNN - 

This Cake May Change Your Mind on Critical Race Theory

https://www.cnn.com/videos/opinions/2021/12/20/critical-race-theory-elliot-williams-kneads-to-know.cnn/video/playlists/elliot-williams-kneads-to-know/

He Broke the NFL's Color Barrier. Have You Heard of Him?

An excerpt from Slate - 

Why Isn’t Kenny Washington an American Icon?

The forgotten story of the man who broke the NFL’s color barrier—before Jackie Robinson got to Major League Baseball.

BY JOSHUA NEUMAN

Washington at UCLA, where he played in the late 1930s.
Courtesy of Kirk Washington

If you were able to go back in time and tell sports fans of the late 1930s and early 1940s that a young Black athlete would become an American icon for breaking a color barrier, they’d likely think you were talking about Kenny Washington. Few would imagine you were describing Jackie Robinson, who followed Washington at UCLA as a football and baseball player. In 1940, a Los Angeles Times sports writer worried that Washington was irreplaceable on the gridiron. “It is going to take a piece of doing,” he wrote, “for Jackie Robinson to fill his shoes.”

Today, it’s Washington who’s been engulfed by Robinson’s shadow. In the decades since Washington broke the NFL’s color barrier in 1946—the year before Robinson got to the Brooklyn Dodgers—the league has hardly acknowledged his importance, especially compared with the way Major League Baseball has burnished Robinson’s legend. A 2006 exhibition at the Pro Football Hall of Fame called “Breaking Through: The Reintegration of Pro Football” focused on the Cleveland Browns’ Marion Motley and Bill Willis—half of the sport’s “forgotten four” of pioneering Black players, along with Washington and Woody Strode (who signed with the Los Angeles Rams two months after Washington). In 1946, Motley and Willis integrated the All-America Football Conference, a newly formed league that launched without a color barrier. Washington, meanwhile, was the first of the four to integrate pro football.

This year is the 75th anniversary of Washington’s groundbreaking season, and he’s barely a footnote in the annals of sports history. During the lead-up to this past Super Bowl, a CBS segment at last acknowledged his singular breakthrough—calling it a “Jackie Robinson moment.” So why, all these decades later, don’t we talk about Jackie Robinson’s debut as a “Kenny Washington moment”? Why did America forget Kenny Washington?

https://slate.com/culture/2021/12/kenny-washington-nfl-color-barrier-rams-jackie-robinson-football-history.html

Erin Jackson smashes AMERICAN RECORD in Salt Lake 500m | NBC Sports

https://youtu.be/8heq2Pqru-c