Ratchet & Righteous
Talking the 2020 BET Awards, George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, Russian Mob Ties, GA Politics, Netflix, & Jada.
The 2020 BET Awards
Sunday we sat together as a family and watched a Socially Distant BET Awards. This version of the awards show was executed with amazing production and hosted by the wokest host to date, Amanda Seales (who’s BEEN telling us everybody is racist!).
As the night went on it married the two things that Black America does best: Entertain and Persevere. At every moment I was reminded to “Fight the Power” (thanks to PE, Nas, Black Thought, and Rapsody), be vulnerable and in touch with my feelings (thanks to Alicia Keys and John Legend), and to support my people with accolades and resources and when I can (thanks to Beyonce and Michelle Obama).
However the one thing I was not given, was a break. With every Proctor and Gamble commercial I was reminded of the dull ache in my heart. A break may be selfish to ask for, but that is my right, and the one thing that I looked to the BET Awards for, was a little bit more ratchet righteousness to fill my depleted cup of Black humanity. I wanted the show to remind me that I was well rounded and that my entire existence was not based on being “aware, woke, or ready to fight”.
I also missed the feeling of watching everyone in the same room. Honestly, I longed for the live glitches that I’ve ridiculed the network for all of these past years and the pristine flow of the music video like performances annoyed me. I will acknowledge that it was necessary because the show was aired on mainstream television networks like CBS and showed white American citizens a polished version of Black culture that they could relate to.
I am excited for what the BET Awards will look like next year with the possibility of a vaccine.
More Entertainment News
Netflix Hires Bozoma Saint John as its Chief Marketing Officer. Read More.
iHeart launches Black Information Network, the first 24/7 news audio service with a Black voice and perspective. Read More.
Virgil attempts to honor Pop Smoke’s wishes. More.
Since You’ve Been Gone…
Politics: Updates on Federal Police Reform
The last newsletter opened with Republican Senator Tim Scott’s led police reform bill.
This week I want to touch on the bill that the House or Representatives sponsored, led by the CBC and endorsed by the Hispanic Caucus.
Completely different from the former bill, the Georgie Floyd Justice in Policing Act is tackling the deadliest issues that Black people face when dealing with policing. The bill offers a way to level the playing field in holding police accountable for any misconduct. This bill was received by the Senate on 6/29. Please reach out to your Senator and request that they vote “Yea”.
Alexa, play Black Republican by Nas and Jay Z
Image via The Daily Beast
Van Jones is being accused of secretly working with the Trump Admin to construct Trump’s weak police reform policy…one that he commended ON CNN?!
Jones praised the executive order on Inside Politics, saying it’s…
“a good thing, mainly because you saw the support of law enforcement there ... There is movement in the direction of a database for bad cops.”
Talk about a conflict. See the original report here.
#ICYMI
Here is a fact sheet that breaks the House of Rep bill down further. Read more.
Trump’s Benghazi
International Politics: Russia’s Bounty
Top officials in the White House were made aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering CASH bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of American soldiers. This update goes against the original claim that Trump was just made aware of the Russian threat earlier this year (March 2020).
This leads to the heartbreaking conclusion that the deaths of the three marines outside of Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield in April 2019 may have more behind it than we thought.
Sources from the AP are saying that President Trump was made aware of the threats in his weekly briefing (that he does not read) on March 2019. It is rumored that the matter was discussed verbally by former National Security Advisor John Bolton and then again in second written presidential daily briefing earlier this year (2020) and verbally discussed with the current national security adviser Robert O’Brien. However, both Bolton and O’Brien are denying that they had these conversations with the president. That may be because they are trying to distance the president from the idea of more Russian ties.
The parents of these soldiers are not having it. It is reasonable to assume that the circumstances surrounding more deaths will be called into question until this is resolved. Twenty Americans were killed in combat in Afghanistan last year. It is important to note that the administration is still claiming this that intelligence in “not credible” and no reprimand or response has been issued to Russia, and it is recorded that cash has gone out from Russia to organizations that are excused of these killings. Read more.
Local Politics
#BuildtheBench Georgia and the Perdue-Ossoff faceoff
In a fight to take the GA Senate seat, Democratic Senate primary winner, Jon Ossoff, has challenged the Republican incumbent David Perdue to debate him across the state of Georgia saying:
“Georgians deserve to hear candidates for office debating these issues publicly.
I am asking you to join me in committing to five live, televised debates sponsored by media organizations throughout our great state. Georgians deserve nothing less.”
And those debates would address both candidates views and strategies on:
The public health and economic crisis
Unequal justice
Compromised voting rights
Corruption across the political system
Uniting the Republic
Perdue has yet to respond, which probably means: “That’s a NO for me dog.” But you can see Ossoff’s complete request here.
Netflix Banks Black
Big Bank Helps Lil Bank
Netflix is pledging to shift up to $100 million to Black-owned banks. The streaming service is set to start this initiative by moving $25 million into the Black Economic Development Initiative, a new fund that will invest in Black-owned financial institutions serving low-income communities, and $10 million to Hope Credit Union which services about 1.5 million customers.
A capital contribution of this magnitude will enable these Black-owned institutions to fund mortgages, personal loans, and small business loans for their customers.
This is what Black commentators and activists mean when we say that we need more than cosmetic facelifts and lip service from giant companies that say they support Black people and Black prosperity. We want real monetary contributions and policy changes that undermine the systems currently in place. And Netflix put their money where their mouth is.
Measuring the Impact
JUST THE MERE ANNOUNCEMENT of this pledge has impacted the shares of Black-owned financial institutions. Carver Bancorp Inc. jumped as much as 192% in premarket trading and Broadway Financial Corp. gained as much as 96%.
This contribution led by Netflix executive Aaron Mitchell, will make Netflix the only company to make a huge investment like this into the Black community, but if media companies with big money like Facebook and Apple do the same, we will really see a difference in what Black-owned banks can bring to the table for their customers and the black community as a whole.
On top of the direct investment to Black-owned banks, Netflix will also steer 2% of its cash on hand, (about $5 billion) to financial organizations that directly support African-American communities.
More from Bloomberg here.
#TrendingTwitterTopics
Will & Jada
Black Twitter went up for August Alsina after the release of an interview that confirmed a romantic relationship with Jada Pinkett-Smith wife and life partner of Will Smith. After years of speculation regarding the two’s open marriage Alsina shed light on his relationship with the couple and why it ended.
Initially, the interview left fans and culture commentators with many questions, including:
Why is Alsina going public at this time?
What is the current nature of the pair’s relationship?
What’s Jada got to say about this?
But after a night to marinate on the interview the conversation started to go in a different direction. Many seemed to wonder if Jada’s behavior could be classified as predatory due to August’s young age and his circumstances at the time of their relationship. Alsina has dealt with the loss of his brother and sister-in-law which forced him to become a father figure to his three young nieces. He was also diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and is a recovering addict, and he faced all of this before the age of 30. It is said that his relationship with Jada started when he was in the midst of his most vulnerable state and seeking counsel from the actress.
Where is the issue?
Although people laugh at the thought, when starting therapy it is not uncommon for a counselor to lay down ground rules in regards to the forbiddance of physical touch and any form of unprofessional intimacy between a counselor and the counseled due to the stirring of emotions that one may feel via their counseling sessions. It is easy to want to lean on your listening ear for more physical ways of comfort.
However, when you are not licensed and you take on someone’s burdens under the guise of a nurturer you have no ethical boundaries that can prevent you from starting a physical relationship with that person. This is where things can get messy. Unfortunately, this can serve as a cautionary tale to all of those seeking counsel and guidance from spiritual coaches, wellness experts, and mentors who are not licensed or professionally trained to deal with combatting these feelings.
What are your thoughts?
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