Childish Gambino Shares 2 New “Summer” Songs: Listen
Donald Glover returns with “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer”
Donald Glover is back with more new Childish Gambinomusic. Glover has shared a pair of new songs, “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer,” this morning. Check them out below. They appear on streaming services under the title Summer Pack, and will also be on his upcoming fourth studio album, his first under new label Wolf+Rothstein/RCA.
Glover previously debuted a song called “Saturday” on the “SNL” episode for which he was both host and musical guest. Also on the episode, Glover performed his single “This Is America,” which received a political Hiro Murai-directed visual.
This fall, Childish Gambino heads out on tour with Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples. He is also set to perform new music during the New Zealand edition of his Pharos live experience in November. Glover has previously said that the next Childish Gambino will be the last under that name, explaining, “I think endings are good because they force things to get better.”
Read “What Does Atlanta Hip-Hop Think of ‘Atlanta’ the Show?” on the Pitch.
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The U.S. Navy Is Just Now Allowing Black Female Sailors To Wear Their Natural Hair
Hair styling has never really been a “just hair” issue for black women. Whether rocking it in the professional world or during a protest, afros, locs and braids have long served both as a means of personal, religious and sociopolitical expression.
The U.S. military has had strict dress and grooming codes in place. But, as more and more black women have joined the armed forces, the issue of hair became more complicated. Many soldiers lobbied for the right to wear their hair in varied styles.
According to the Marine Corps Times, the U.S. Marines became the first branch to allow locs and twists, starting the policy in December 2015. According to News One, the U.S. Army followed suit in January 2017.
Now, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. Navy is joining in on the inclusive hairstyle movement and will allow locs, ropelike strands (such as braids or twists), wider hair buns and ponytails to be worn by its female servicemembers.
“Because of the texture of my hair, it stood straight up,” recalled Captain Thurraya Kent, who was forced to remove her braids under the old policy. “It was a very embarrassing moment that stays with you.”
Kent went on to serve as the senior member of the group who recommended the policy update.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson and Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones announced the new policy during a Facebook Live event on Tuesday. Other black servicewomen in the recommendation group joined as well, per OANN.
“It’s my honor to announce that CNO and CNP have announced the following recommendations: loc hairstyles will be authorized, hair bun width will be authorized to be equal to the width of the back of the head, ponytails will be authorized in all service, working and PT uniforms,” Jones noted proudly.
“I think it’s a step forward,” noted Lieutenant Commander Jess Cameron. “They’re getting more female feedback in the service, and updating what I think are somewhat antiquated guidelines that maybe no longer serve their purpose in today’s society, today’s military.”
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Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Protests In Haiti
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You may have seen images circulating the internet depicting the violent and deadly protests that have recently occurred in Haiti. Swarms of Haitian workers shut down the capital of Port-au-Prince Monday following the government’s announcement of increased fuel prices. The prices had long been subsidized, but where raised in order to free up government funds to comply with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) austerity measures.
“I ask for your patience because our administration has a vision, a clear program,” said Prime Minister Guy Lafontant said in a televised announcement according to TeleSurv. Shortly after announcing the new measures, the prime minister put a temporary halt to what would’ve been a 38 percent gasoline price increase, 47 percent diesel price increase and 51 percent kerosene price increase.
According to The Globe Post, the protests may have incited a comprise, as IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice confirmed the organization agreed to restructure conditions imposed on the Haitian government during a briefing on Thursday. Calls for the resignation of many high ranking government figures may have also led to the speedy about face.
This whole ordeal can’t simply be reduced to anger over gas prices, though. The price increase was simply the spark that ignited the powder keg. There’s quite a bit to unpack, so we’re here to offer some background.
Unfortunately, as often is the case with many major protests, there was a lot of misinformation going around, but Twitter user @AdoreAmanda_ had time today. Citing, long-terms frustrations over poverty, a horrible education system and corruption, she broke it all the way down.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Now obviously my people are being counterproductive af by destroying business, setting buildings on fire, etc etc…but by now y’all should know Haitians don’t fucking play and when a country is pushed to the point where they feel they have nothing to lose this is the outcome.
As CFR notes, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. The country also heavily relies on foreign aid. Natural disasters and ineffective humanitarian relief management have also negatively affected its economy, especially with regards to tourism.
Haiti was thrown into extreme debt almost immediately after its independence. After the country’s slaves won freedom for themselves in a war with France, France refused to acknowledge it as a country until Haiti paid France the full worth of all those newly freed slaves.
Haiti won independence in 1804 according to CFR, and agreed to pay France $22 billion in today’s dollars in 1825, literally at gunpoint (France had set up a naval blockade of the island country) in order to gain international recognition, Forbes reports.
Haiti, which at the time was poised to become one of the richest countries in the West thanks to its plentiful natural and agricultural resources then spent the next 122 years paying as much as 80 percent of its revenues paying France back for its “stolen slaves.”
While it struggled to get out from under this crippling debt, the United States spent nearly two decades destabilizing the country politically during World War I and the the lead up to World War II. President Woodrow Wilson invaded the country in 1915 claiming doing so was necessary to keep out the German forces, then instituted a policy of segregation, slavery and fake news that led to several rebellions, the deaths of at least 15,000 Haitians and the forced dissolution of a series of governments hostile to the U.S. presence.
The U.S. pulled out in 1934, leaving a power vacuum that was eventually filled by Kim Il-Sung-esque dictator Francois Duvalier.
Haiti was still under a mountain of debt when hit by the devastating 2010 earthquake. Following the disaster, Haiti was largely forgiven of its debts, but had to borrow roughly $2.6 billion in order to rebuild, as its coffers were drained from years of paying debtors.
“For an entire century, Haiti geared its economy to paying back the French debt and missed out on industrialization, education, and development of its government and democratic institutions,” noted Brian Concannon, founder and executive director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. “It really couldn’t develop.”
The IMF’s measures were supposedly meant to help Haiti accelerate its development, and Rice has said the organization still wants Haiti “to move as quickly as possible” in carrying out reforms. However, there is no definitive timeline as of yet.
Emmett Till Murder Investigation Reopened 62 Years After Slaying
Emmett Till was a 14-year old boy who was brutally beaten and shot for allegedly making sexual advances against a white woman. The white women later confessed she lied.
Watch the 2017 update here:
Thankfully, federal authorities have reopened the lynching case of Emmett Till, a black teenager whose brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 helped launch the modern civil rights movement.
The Department of Justice informed Congress in a report in March that it is reopening the case after “the discovery of new information,” which was not detailed. The decision was first reported on Thursday by The Associated Press.
A DOJ spokeswoman, reached by HuffPost in an email on Thursday, said it cannot provide further comment because it is an open investigation.
The department’s decision comes nearly 63 years after Till, a 14-year-old Chicago native, was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and shot after a white woman accused him of making sexual advances against her in a store in Money, Mississippi. Since his death, two white men acquitted of the crime confessed to his murder, and the woman recanted her allegations against him.
The horrifying case began in August 1955, when Till was abducted at gunpoint while staying with family near Money. Three days after he was taken in the night, his mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton-gin fan tied to it with barbed wire for weight.
His mother, Mamie Bradley, insisted on having an open casket funeral for him so that the world could see the savagery done to him because of racial hatred.
Authorities charged two white men for his murder, Rob Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, after Bryant’s then-wife, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, claimed that Till whistled at her, grabbed her and made sexual advances against her inside her husband’s store.
Both men were acquitted by an all-white jury. Years later in a paid magazine interview, they confessed to killing Till but were never retried. No one else was ever charged.
Milam and Bryant died in 1981 and 1994, respectively.
The case was closed in 2007, with authorities stating that there were no surviving suspects and the statute of limitations at that point precluded federal charges.
Last year the book The Blood of Emmett Till was published with a confession from Carolyn Bryant, today Carolyn Donham, that she lied under oath about her claims against Till. She confessed during an interview in 2008.
“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” she was quoted as saying.
Donham today resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will turn 84 this month. A man who answered her door declined to comment to the AP on her behalf.
Civil rights activist the Rev. Jessie Jackson Sr. was among those reacting to the department’s decision on social media on Thursday by urging the passing of a bill that would make lynchings unlawful at the federal level as well as a hate crime.
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr
✔@RevJJackson
In memory of #EmmettTill and thousands of other black men, women & children lynched, we must finally pass anti-lynching law.
ABC 7 News – WJLA
✔@ABC7News
#BREAKING: Federal government reopens investigation into the 1955 slaying of black teen Emmett Till, a case that shocked the worldhttp://wjla.com/news/nation-world/government-reopens-probe-of-emmett-till-slaying …
Till’s cousin Deborah Watts, who co-founded the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, called the news “wonderful” when reached by the AP. She declined to comment further on the case.
“None of us wants to do anything that jeopardizes any investigation or impedes, but we are also very interested in justice being done,” she said.
We hope Emmett Till gets justice.
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Karrine Steffans Claims ‘POWER’ Star Rotimi Left Her After Miscarriage
Karrine Steffans, previously known as “Superhead,” is taking her personal life public once again, calling out Power actor Rotimi for using her during their relationship and leaving her once he landed a role on the STARZ hit, shortly after she lost their child.
The author took to Instagram last weekend to speak on their past relationship, claiming she drove him to auditions and allowed him to move into her home. She also claimed they were expecting a child together, but that she suffered a miscarriage.
Soon after, according to the former video vixen, Rotimi dumped her as his career began taking off. Read her full accusations aimed at the Naija actor and recording artist below.
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Draymond Green’s visit to Israel draws criticism: ‘Horribly offensive’
If you do not follow sports I should tell you Draymond Green is on the same basketball team as Stephen Curry and was ‘memed’ after his hilarious reactions to Fergie’s horrific rendition of the national anthem.
Warriors All-Star Draymond Green, who along with his teammates has expressed disinterest in visiting the White House, is receiving criticism for his trip to Israel where he met President Reuven Rivlin and fired guns at a border police training center.
Or Shkedy@OrshkedyDraymond Green(@Money23Green) was a guest today of the Israeli SWAT Dep.
Part of Green’s trip was sponsored by the Friends of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).
“You got played,” Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King chided Green, according to the JTA. “Flashing a toothy grin w/ a sniper rifle in Israel on a trip (organized) by Friends of the IDF is so horribly offensive. They’ve recently slaughtered unarmed Palestinians w/ those rifles.”
Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation, piled on.
“Why reject Donald Trump and accept the invitation of Rivlin?” Zirin wrote. “It is, frankly, shocking to see Draymond Green smiling and shooting guns in their company. These counterterrorism border police units are part of a military that shot and killed Palestinians who were protesting at the border in May, less than two months ago.”
“I’m confident that if he had been briefed, he would not have gone,” Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill told the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Maybe, maybe not. Green is, among other things, intellectually curious. According to the Jerusalem Post, Green visited “several historical sites around the country.” He also played basketball at a sports center donated by FIDF supporters from Michigan, according to CBN.
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Papa John’s founder resigns as chairman after using a racial slur on a call
He was undergoing an exercise on how to handle controversial situations when he made the comment.
Papa John’s founder John Schnatter resigned as board chairman from the pizza company after he apologized for using a racial slur on a conference call that was set up to teach Schnatter how to not say offensive things.
This is the latest in the fallout for Schantter, who faced increasing pressure after he admitted using the n-word and described a scene of violence against African Americans on a conference call in May.
Forbes first reported the call, which was set up to help take Schnatter through a “role-playing exercise” to help him deal with racially sensitive situations. Schantter stepped down as CEO from Papa John’s last year, after he blamed NFL leadership for failing to stop anthem protests, which he said had driven down the chain’s sales.
Read more: Papa John’s Founder Drops N-Word During Sensitivity Training Call
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At least 200 dead, thousands still sheltering after Japan floods
TOKYO — More than 7,000 people were still in evacuation shelters and many more were struggling with basic needs Thursday after severe flooding and landslides last week in western Japan that caused at least 200 deaths. The disastrously heavy rainfall caused damage over a widespread area, with most of the deaths in and around Hiroshima. Power and water outages were common, and damage to roads and railway tracks disrupted deliveries of food and relief supplies.
Water shortages were even affecting some of the evacuation centers, which are usually priority destinations for relief supplies.
Takao Kusunoki, an evacuee staying at a junior high school in Ehime, said he has not been able to take a bath for four days now, and could only clean himself with a wet towel. “I’m so sweaty, and I want to take a bath as soon as possible,” he told the Mainichi newspaper. “We need our water system restored.”
Floodwaters have subsided in most places but left behind massive debris including broken trees, furniture and mangled cars that still need to be moved out of the way.
Disrupted distribution systems are keeping lives in the disaster zone difficult. Convenience stores are open shorter hours, and dozens of outlets of major chains such as Family Mart, 7-Eleven and Lawson were closed due to delayed deliveries, supply shortages or flooding in Hiroshima, Okayama and Ehime. McDonald’s said five outlets in Hiroshima and another in Ehime were without water.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a disaster response meeting Thursday recalled seeing “horrendous” damage during his visit the previous day to Kurashiki city, where a river broke through its embankment and flooded a wide area.
“After seeing that, I even feel more strongly about doing whatever it takes so that the people who were affected could live safely again as soon as possible,” said Abe, who had canceled a trip to Europe and the Middle East to respond to the disaster.
Abe said the government obtained temporary housing for people whose homes were damaged or lost so they could move in and be more comfortable.
More than 700 houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 23,000 were flooded, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters 200 deaths had been confirmed and another person was found without vital signs. Suga said 21 people are missing and about 40 others are still out of contact with their families.
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Diddy says ‘Black Panther’ was a ‘cruel experiment’
The star wasn’t as impressed by the movie as everyone else.
Diddy has called Black Panther a “cruel experiment”, despite the acclaim the movie has received for improving representation in Hollywood.
The Marvel movie featured a predominantly black cast, including Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, and more.
While the film’s representative nature has been widely applauded, Diddy wasn’t as impressed with it. “Black Panther was a cruel experiment,” he told Variety. “We live in 2018 and it’s the first time that the film industry gave us a fair playing field on a worldwide blockbuster, and the hundreds of millions it takes to make it,” he said.
“When Adidas invests in Kanye and it’s done properly, you have the right results,” he continued. “When Live Nation invests in artists and puts them in arenas the same way U2 would be, you have the right results. Black Panther, Black-ish, fashion; it’s all about access. If you’re blocked out of the resources, you can’t compete. And that’s my whole thing – to be able to come and compete.”
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