Top Ten Black News Stories of 2023

(Baltimore, MD) It was a year when people felt less concerned about a pandemic and a return to normalcy. I can tell you there is a mood in the country where African-Americans are confident, concerned, shaking, and quietly nervous. No, the great recession didn’t have any energy, nor did the prosperity promise come true. There were glimmers of hope and yet there was this sense of foreboding we couldn’t shake.

War, as we know it isn’t confined to the places we know. In many instances, it showed up in a lot of places we didn’t know. As always, it’s tough to narrow the list to ten topics. This year is no different we had a tie at number six so we have a 6a.

If you go back to many of my list you will see I make sure to take a global view and an American view of stories with high impact. I don’t expect you to agree. It’s a part of this exercise to challenge you to re-think the year and what had an impact. Be pissed, but be smart. Those who would like to rearrange the chairs on the Titanic are coming for you. They want you to be ignorant and distracted by the moment.

10. Coup de tat’s in Africa – The overthrow of an aging dictator/presidents and unresponsive leaders is fertile ground for unrest on the continent of Africa. The latest to join this growing list of overthrows of government is Niger and Guinea.  

 Gen. Abdourahamne  Tiani, Interim Leader Niger

Adding to these overthrows was the Wagner Mercenary Group under the control of Russia Anarchist Yevgeny Prigozhin. A rough operator who had an army for you, if you were willing to pay. He came to the aid of elements in Africa that had resources (smuggled diamonds).

Prigozhin, may have over played his hand when he went after the generals of Russian President Vladimir Putin fighting in Ukraine. He called for a mobilization of his forces to march on Moscow. In the words of the series, “The Wire.” “If you come for the king, you bet not miss.”

The mercenary was killed in a plane crash on his way back to Russia.

9. Byron Allen’s  Media Empire – Allen Media Group (AMG), celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The media empire he has amassed is varied and a force to be reckoned with by the powers that be. This year he added HBCU-GO. The brainchild of my good friend, Curtis Symonds. The areas he’s moving into means he gets a unique entry into business deals he wouldn’t be considered for in the past. Allen just offered 3.5 billion dollars to buy BET. I know he is not finished. Black entrepreneurs in media have always pushed the envelope (Roland Martin, Doni Glover and many more). I challenge those who own these properties to prove they can figure out a way to create news content, make it profitable, and accessible. “Am I pipe dreaming?” 

8. HBCU Enrollment – For the last three years many of the nation’s HBCU’s have seen record enrollment. The good news, a number of schools are attracting some of the brightest students and still offer those who need a chance the opportunity to get one. In some states, the additional cash has allowed them to offer in-demand classes. The downside, the schools are bursting at the stems. Lastly, the schools are being targeted by rough elements, with a number of them reporting shootings. Things are about to get tougher.

7. Athletic Comebacks – There is always a danger when you play certain sports. Football is controlled aggression. On a Monday Night, January 2, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio the Buffalo Bills squared off against the Bengals. The national televised game was watched by millions. Bill’s Safety Damar Hamlin had a collision with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in the first half.

It appeared to be a routine play, except when Hamlin stood up he crumbled to the ground. As staff went to assist he was administered CPR. The players, the crowd and national audience was stunned. Hamlin was taken to a local hospital. The game was canceled  and the player spent a week in the cardiac unit in Cincinnati. He was released and came back to Buffalo. Hamlin became an inspiration and vowed to comeback. Hamlin presented the training staff that saved his life the 2023 ESPY’s Pat Tilman Award.

6. Stretching Stories for the Big and Small Screen – At the beginning of the year I attended a screening of “Chevalier.” An interesting take on the composer, Joseph Bologne. The mullato slave who comes of age at the end of the French Renaissance. He takes up fencing and violin. He becomes a composer in high society with Queen Marie Antoinette as his patron. When he is shunned by the aristocracy of France he becomes the darling of the French Revolution. His story is like a number of films which were released this year. Unknown heroes who got their treatment on big and small screens (Rustin, the story of Baynard Rustin.). A number of releases late in the year show promise,  American Fiction, and Origin. There are a number of movies that will gross major box office dollars such as: The Color Purple, The Equalizer 3 and Creed III.

I want to note the passing of two actors. Andre Braugher stared as Detective Frank Pemberton in the David Simons series Homicide: Life on the Streets based in Baltimore. Pemberton was a thinking mans cop. If you were in “the box” (interrogation room) with him, it was brutal.  The Shakespearean Actor was a part of the ensemble, which starred in the movie “Glory.” Many will know him as Captain Raymond Holt in the Fox/NBC police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He lost his battle with lung cancer according to his publicists.

One of the actors who portrayed a character on The Wire also died this year.

Lance Reddick, who played Captain Cedric Daniels in The Wire was a native of Baltimore. The 60-year-old appeared in more than a dozen films and shows during his 25-year acting career

 Actor Michael K. Williams played th role of OMAR, a gay drug dealer who avenged the death of his “shorty” was remembered this year by the Baltimore Orioles. When Orioles closer Felix Bautista took to the field they played the haunting whistling of “The farmer in dell.” In The Wire that let everyone know, someone was going to die. 

6a. Hip-Hop at 50 – I was there at the beginning when a group of my New York friends showed up at a party and began rapping over me remixing “Good Times.” This is circa 1978. I was not impressed, but I am not a fool and watched as rapping became a new genre. It wasn’t just rapping, it was mixing, break dancing, fashion, graffiti, and culture. The term “Hip-Hop” may have started in New York but is a worldwide phenomenon fifty years later. Don’t let anyone tell you it was readily accepted. It kicked, screamed, and pissed people off in the early days. A number of outlets have missed the point. This is a historical and necessary inflection point, “we will take what you discarded and create something new.” Now, you are welcome to insert your favorite hip- hop artist/song.

5. Urban Violence – Living in an urban area isn’t easy. Crime has been on this list many times. In the 80’s, driving the criminal activity was “CRACK.” By the nineties it was heroin with a move to lace it with Fentanyl (deadly consequences) by 2000’s.

This time there is a single component which seems to link urban crime in each city, youthful offenders. The crimes are all over the place. Carjacking’s, “purge“ like activity (Philly) breaking into stories, and gang activity (West Coast) to rob high end stories and resell to an underground market.

I know for a fact, many those who are into this type of activity live(d) in a dysfunctional home(s). Some would call this the “Crack Baby Generation.” There is a sense amongst this group no one sees them, nor cares how they function. There are no silver bullets. 

4. Racial Attacks at the Ballot Box- A Supreme Court decision to decertify a congressional map drawn by the Alabama legislature was welcomed. Allen v. Milligan case decision gave hope to plaintiffs. It ruled maps passed by the Republican legislature had to be re-drawn. The courts eventually stepped in drawing a map giving the state’s African-American population in Alabama more representation in congress.

A number of southern states with Republican majorities are having their maps challenged. This has emboldened those who want to go backward. It is scary the arguments being put forward. The idea is simple, limit the electorate. 

3. Beyoncé – No I did not see Beyoncé live, but I have seen her three-hour movie, The Renaissance, on the event. This year Beyoncé’s Worldwide Tour is the new standard (no slight to Taylor Swift). So let me give you some observations:

·         The Bee Hive is real: These die-hard fans get it. Mrs. Shawn Carter is what she exclaims. “I’m a boss!!!.”

·         The remainder of the audience has always been in her corner, but their enthusiasm is different. They’ll tell you, “I see myself in her.” This drills down on one’s authentic self, uncompromised, and they see a glass half empty with future possibilities.

·         So let’s add a new tittle, Documentarian. She’s not the first to do it, but has mastered the ability to take you around the world.

I won’t get any brownie points for this but, there was cultist-like attitude about those who were there for the concert. You know all the words, the choreography, and the songs move you. Lastly, I expect “B” to challenge herself with a new project which might not be music.

2. Assault on Minority Business and Marginalization of anything Black – If you haven’t heard of the Fearless Fund get ready to be incensed by a court case which could end all help to minority businesses. There is a legal attempt to stop the Fearless Fund from running the Strivers Grant Contest in the Small Business Administration. The grant holds a contest which awards $20,000 to businesses that are at least 51% owned by Black women, among other requirements. Based in Atlanta, it’s given opportunity to women own businesses especially the Black ones.

Edward Blum, the conservative activist behind the two college admissions cases which struck down Affirmative Action in college admissions, has several pending lawsuits targeting private-sector DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs based on the ruling in admissions. Blum and his cohorts are raising millions of dollars to target the SBA.

“What does Edward Blum have to fear?” said CBC Chair, Congressman Steve Horsford (D) Nevada. The numbers from the Venture Capitalist, a group which tracks investment, sheds light on what’s at stake. In 2018, this group showed  $130 billon dollars was given to new American businesses. Of that total only 2.2 percent was given to female companies and less than 1% was given to women color according to Forbes Magazine and the Fearless Fund.

This demonization is real. If somehow the SCOTUS can revisit this issue there is a likelihood it could translate to groups who are currently marginalized and choke off funding underserved communities.

So let me cut to the chase. What I heard from the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Chairman, Congressman Horsford did not give me confidence at the CBC’s approach. I believe CBC which has had a clarion call since its beginning to improve Black Business in America needs shock therapy.

1. Sickle Cell Treatment – I learn of this disease from my mom’s friend who lost two very young children to sickle cell. Recently, the promise of CRISPR was made real. The treatment, called exa-cel and made by the companies Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics, edits a gene involved in red blood cell shape and function. The doctors who created CRISPR won the Noble Peace Prize. This new therapy will reshape some of medicines daunting challenges. I know there were a number of medical problems which could have leaped-frogged sickle cell disease. Early therapies showed promise in trials and now Black families have hope.  

Charles F. Robinson, III

C3 Media

 

Person of the Year 2023

This year there are a pair of individuals who deserve this award, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the mother/daughter duo were Atlanta election workers. They were accused of voter election fraud in 2016 by Rudi Giuliani. This year they sued the former Mayor of New York. Giuliani admitted he lied in the civil suit.

Fear of Knowing

(Washington, DC) The call to come was too great for those of us who showed up 20 years, where else would you want to be –The Million Man March. We’re older now with more years of experience. We heeded Minister Louis Farrakhan’s call to go back to our neighborhoods, atone for past mistakes, and find purpose in our communities, churches, and neighborhoods. This was different, it wasn’t just a call to action but, rather a provocative statement; "Justice of Else."

Like the mood 20 years ago things are happening beyond the control of Black Men/Women. Some will suggest it began with the killing of Trayvon Martin and the release of the vigilante accused of his murder. It intensified with Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri. Eric Garners cry for help “I Can’t Breathe” in New York at the hands of police. The death of Black people just seem to intensify with Freddy Gray’s death (and the subsequent Baltimore Uprising) and Sandra Bland's questionable death while in custody. We’re still awaiting the outcome of Tamir Rice case in Cleveland. I’m not conspiracy theorist, however the facts and the circumstances seem to bare out the need for the movement of “Black Lives Matter.”

“Little Brother make sure you make way for people who want to sit down,” said a man to a pair of young Brothers who rode the DC Metro on the way to the March. “The Minister, wants us to be respectful today.” The young men in their late teens seemed more preoccupied with their “gear” and tunes. The Cleveland man in dread-locks turned to his friend reminiscing about the March and its aftermath. “I had to leave DC, there weren’t jobs and the cost of living was cheaper in Cleveland. Hell, to live here now, you’d have to have a regular job and be a part of the criminal element. Here’s our stop.”

The mass of humanity heading from Union Station to the Mall seem to come in waves. There was no sign of potential problems the Capitol Police alluded to prior to the March. People came with purpose. Like the hundreds of Howard University students who took to the street to make known their discontent or the hundreds of members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity who wore dark suits along with ties and bow ties. I saw men and women bring their children. Purposeful, members of the Nation of Islam (NOI) dressed in their traditional gear (bow ties for men/long skirts for women and head covers).

I noted a number of non-traditional attendees who seemed at home with this group. A Latino couple who were there to witness the event, white reporters who flowed through the crowd hoping to capture what was happening, and supporters of every ethnicity took up space on the Mall.

While this wasn’t a march for Men only the large contingent of women who showed up expressed concern they have for their sons and men in their lives. The death of young Black men on American streets  has become epidemic.

While death at the hands of police was a focus at this event, statistics show a number of those killings are being done by those in the same age group with no abatement. It is unfortunate, manifested in the women left in their wake. From the mothers who weep at their funerals to the women who bear their children grow up not knowing their fathers. These women were in attendance.

At 82, this likely be one of the last major addresses Minister Louis Farrakhan will make to gathering of this size (estimated crowd 850 – an under-count). As a disciple of Elijah Muhammad, he made good on his vision that Black people would follow a leader who would bring Islam to the west. The Minister is one of the few who has a link to Muhammad and Malcolm X. It gives him credibility,

continuity, and courage to face a disgruntled population looking for answers. His name evokes fear in many quarters and he uses it to his advantage. On the ground he gets points from rappers to gang bangers. His so call “street cred” is unquestioned.

“Hey, I didn’t hear a lot about the March this go round,” was often uttered in my presence as I told people I was heading to DC. Like much of the media landscape things have change from 20 years ago. There was not an abundance of cell phones; Black radio was on the cusp of coming into its own; BET had barely penetrated Urban America; the Internet as we know it today was in its infancy; and the term social network didn’t exist.

The “full court press” of then gave way to an underground network which produce the first march. It was Texted, Tweeted, Snapchatted, Periscoped, and Facebooked around the globe. If you read the “Final Call” or any Black news outlet you knew, if you were plugged into “Black Twitter” you knew, and if you listen to “Black Talk Radio” you knew. Certain “Chocolate Cities” were very much aware.

However, if you expected traditional networks i.e. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX etc…you didn’t even know it was happening. Who missed the boat, Hip-Hop Radio (more concerned about Drake, Rhianna, Little Wayne, and Nicki Minaj),

BET/TV One (condensed the day into hour specials), and Black Comedy (it’s hard to be funny when this is serious business). The fact is this event was in DC gave it over to the one entity with the “cohunes” to bring it you live – CSPAN. Close to a million people showed up, that is power.

The array of speakers which lead up to keynote were by their presence was protest. I took note of my fraternity Brother DC Councilmen Vincent Orange. He spoke of District residents continued disfranchisement. “We have no vote in Congress…we don’t have the right to vote for President…sign our petition to give us that right,” implored Orange.

Native speakers reminded the crowd of the evils of the Europeans “who stole our land” plundered our wealth only to be corralled on reservations that one speaker described as “concentration camps.”

Sharing the stage with America’s indigenous people were Spanish speaking migrants who addressed the crowd in English and their native tongue. They implored the crowd to think of their share experiences and work together on common causes. One speaker noted that their combined strength would far out way what those who are trying to demonize there undocumented status and thwart them politically.

The arrival of the Minister on this stage is a testament to his staying power and his “beloved” stature. Age has a way of making you evolve. Time has also had an effect on the members of NOI. I’ve known various members, whom I call friends, and witness there transformation. They are global in their perspective, they are technologically savvy, and their enduring commitment of Black people and their plight is unwavering.  They are introspective as the movement which began with racial solidarity has evolved to embrace science, philosophy, technology, and business acumen. They will not be “pigeon holed” by critics.

There were nine demands outlined by the March organizers. They included justice for Blacks, Native Americans, Mexican-Latinos, Women, Poor, the Incarcerated, and Veterans. There was a demand for an end to police brutality. There was also quid pro request for land to pay for the years of non-payment (think reparations). These requests aren’t new. Historically, NOI has asked for similar things in the past. It is the “or else” portion that implies a threat that even he (Farrakhan) can’t predict nor control.

Minister Farrakhan acknowledged the Black Lives Matter movement and their calls for change. He chastised traditional Black leaders for their unwillingness to give way to the next generation and their way of confrontation.

This is part of the Fear of Knowing. Knowing the unpredictability of the crowd. They may love you, they may come when you call, and they may listen to your pleas but controlling the outcome isn’t within your power. This is also an audience whose attention span is less than a half an hour (two hour speeches go over their head). I watched for more than an hour on the mall and what stood out for me were the number of people focused on taking selfies and not the message. A number of young people who were brought by older folks were repeatedly asked to stop what they were doing and listen.

Women were a big focus of his address and he pointed to those who would demean them by calling them the “B-word.” He got personal when he talked about abortion and the circumstances surrounding his own birth. “My mother tried to end my life twice in womb (via a coat hanger)…then she said I leave it in god’s hands,” according to the NOI Leader. He urge the woman to protect that sacred area by putting their hands over their “wombs.”

One of the sharpest criticism was leveled at HBCU’s and their training of the next generation. “We must train our young people not just for jobs,” he implored. I get this but, blasting institutions which trained and hired Black scholars when it wasn’t popular is not solution. It feeds into a conservative narrative that there isn’t a need for these institutions. When you have the mike, you get to make your argument. I don’t have to agree. It was strange at the end when he called for HBCU Presidents to meet with him the next day to discuss what to do with land he expected from a “reparations” movement.

I get what my friend Richard Muhammad posted on his Facebook page about the critics of Minister Farrakhan. He was invited to speak at the 50^th Anniversary of the March on Washington and then dis-invited. “The result was the Million Man March in the face of detractors and an unhealthy dose of Negro Egoism and Hater-Ade. Anyone tearful for not speaking or getting their moment in the sun on 10-10-15 should do a simple thing: Call your own march and do your own thing.”

Was it worth attending? Yes. Was the message pointed? Somewhat. The NOI has recognized it has to embrace those of Latino heritage and Native populations. Those who needed to hear this message weren’t there, the mass of Black folk who are struggling in communities across the country.Others included the young men who are slaughtering each other the streets. The fact traditional Civil Rights have a difficult time accepting him in their community is a travesty because they represent a missed opportunity. You don’t have agree but, listening is a starting point.