Category: African-American

Essence Magazine:

Taking her talents to Tik Tok, Lizzo shared some receipts with people who consistently hate on her body. The takeaway: she loves her body and doesn’t care if you don’t.

The singer, who is known for openly embracing her curves, debunked the myth that full-figured women don’t exercise. In a series of video clips, she shares her various workout methods which including cycling, squats and jumping rope.

“So I’ve been working out consistently for the last five years,” Lizzo says in her narration of the video, “and it may come as a surprise to some of y’all that I’m not working out to have your ideal body type. I’m working out to have my ideal body type. And you know what type that is? None of your f–king business. Because I am beautiful, I am strong, I do my job and I stay on my job.”

Preach, sis!

Lizzo is 100% that BITCH and she did not stutter y’all better put respect on her namepic.twitter.com/dB9oo9vVvZ

— K I E R A (@quackquackhoes) June 10, 2020

Lizzo then went on to put the body shamers, who assume she’s unhealthy because of her weight, in their place. “So next time you want to come to somebody and judge them — whether they drink kale smoothies or eat McDonalds or work out or not work out — how ’bout you look at your own f–king self and worry about your own goddamn body. Because health is not just determined on what you look like on the outside. Health is also what happens on the inside, and a lot of y’all need to do a f–king cleanse for your insides. Namaste, have a great day.”

Lizzo exudes confidence not only on social media, but through her music. Songs like “Truth Hurts” and “Soulmate” talk about her decision to love herself unconditionally and not needing permission from the outside world to do so. In her ESSENCE digital cover story interview, Lizzo doubled down on herdecision to embrace the parts of herself that mainstream society has deemedimperfect.

 “I love creating shapes with my body,” she said. “I love normalizing the dimples in my butt or the lumps in my thighs or my back fat or my stretch marks. I love normalizing my Black-ass elbows. I think it’s beautiful.”

We stan an unapologetic queen!

The post Lizzo Claps Back At Her Body-Shamers In A New Workout Video appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Nearly two weeks ago, as companies within the fashion and beauty industries began to get called out for their silence while protestors took to the streets to fight racial inequality and injustice, Aurora James took to Instagram to challenge those brands. She charged them to commit to buying 15 percent of their products from Black owned businesses. She specifically called on Target, Saks, Net-A-Porter, and Sephora amongst other companies to make what she called the 15% Pledge.

“So many of your businesses are built on Black spending power…This is the least you can do for us. We represent 15% of the population and we need to represent 15% of your shelf space,” James wrote.

Today, Sephora announced that it is making the footwear designer’s pledge. The retailer is committing to all three stages of the pledge which includes auditing in order to take stock of where they currently are in representation, looking at their existing shelves, boardrooms and receipts, taking inventory of how many Black-Owned businesses they are buying from and how many Black women are in their C-Suite. The stages also include taking ownership and planning to hold themselves accountable to the pledge, and taking direct action with a planned strategy while updating the community along the way.

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We’re joining @15percentpledge and @aurorajames. We recognize how important it is to represent Black businesses and communities, and we must do better. So, we’re starting now.

A post shared by Sephora (@sephora) on Jun 10, 2020 at 10:02am PDT

“We were inspired to make the 15% Pledge because we believe it’s the right thing to do, for our clients, our industry and for our community,” says Artemis Patrick, EVP and CMO Sephora. “Ultimately, this commitment is about more than the prestige products on our shelves, it starts with a long-term plan diversifying our supply chain and building a system that creates a better platform for Black-owned brands to grow, while ensuring Black voices help shape our industry. We recognize we can do better and this pledge builds on our ongoing work to use our resources to drive meaningful and long-term change for Sephora and our industry.”

The company outlined several steps of the plan, including “building capacity for businesses through partnerships with funders and the VC community, bringing all of Sephora’s knowledge freely to the table so aspiring founders can start on the right foot, incubating companies to thrive and ensure long-term success, and evolving Sephora’s own programs, including their Accelerate program,” which was started to help more female founders get access to funding and successful launches.

Today the program includes nine Black-owned brands out of 50, and will shift next year to focus on women of color and create an advisory group that will serve as a counsel for the retailer.

Sephora explicitly said that making this pledge means taking on more Black-owned brand partners. And while a rep for the company explained that it is still in the planning stages for the advisory group, James has already agreed to participate. Additionally, Sephora will be looking to include founders of Black-owned prestige brands to the counsel—the final list will be shared with the community once established.

The company had also been called out by consumers just days ago on Sharon Chuter’s Pull Up For Change campaign, which challenged beauty brands to be transparent about how many—or how few—Black employees they have in corporate and leadership positions.

Campaign followers had a lot to say after Sephora revealed that it has 14 percent Black representation across the United States, and six percent in leadership including on the store level, at distribution centers and in its corporate office.

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@sephora Pulled up! Data includes stores – 14% black representation across the USA and 6% in leadership including store and warehouse.#pulluporshutup

A post shared by PULL UP OR SHUT UP! (@pullupforchange) on Jun 7, 2020 at 2:03pm PDT

“Would love to see these numbers six months from now to see if they really back up what they say,” wrote one follower. “Everyone wants to do better and accepts the accountability but let’s see what it looks like in a couple of months. And I won’t even give them a year ‘cause it doesn’t take that long for these changes.”

This pledge looks like Sephora’s way of saying challenge accepted. So we’re looking forward to seeing what changes we’ll see in the coming months, and whether or not the retailer can influence other industry giants to join them.

The post Sephora Pledges 15 Percent Of Shelf Space To Black-Owned Brands appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Branden Michael Wolfe, a 23-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota is facing charges in connection with the fires that were set to Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct during early protests two weeks ago following the police-involved killing of George Floyd.

According to WCCO, Wolfe is facing charges of aiding and abetting arson.

Wolf, according to investigators, was taken into custody while wearing body armor and a law enforcement duty belt and wielding a baton—items he is accused of taking from the precinct—as he attempted to get into a home improvement store in St. Paul.

The emblem from the front-facing of the Third Police Precinct is tossed into a fire on May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As unrest continues after the death of George Floyd police abandoned the precinct building, allowing protesters to set fire to it. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Employees at the store say that Wolfe was working as a security guard, but had been fired earlier in the day on May 28 for referencing social media posts talking about stealing items from the Third Precinct.

Officials also recovered other items, including a police radio and a riot helmet from Wolfe’s apartment.

Wolfe reportedly admitted to being inside the Third Precinct the night of the fires, as well as pushing a wooden barrel into the flames, knowingly feeding the fire. He also admitted to taking items from the precinct.

The post 23-Year-Old Arrested In Connection With Fire At Minneapolis Police Station appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

In honor of Pride Month, Emil Wilbekin, an accomplished media professional and former ESSENCE Editor-at-Large, launched a virtual Black Gay Leadership Forum through his organization NATIVE SON. The day-long event is meant to create fellowship among Black gay men who have been uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The digital forum will host the top 100 Black gay leaders, business executives, activists, entrepreneurs, media, and academics – a first of its kind event.

Wilbekin spoke to ESSENCE about the importance of the forum and why it’s so needed at a time like this. “Myself and a lot of my brothers from the NATIVE community have been living in isolation,” he says. “We also are very aware that in the Black gay community that mental health is a big challenge. So we’re living in very stressful and traumatic times.”

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For Us, By Us, Including Us @gileadsciences #BlackGayLeaders #OurVoice #OurStory #OurPower #NativeSon.

A post shared by Native Son (@nativesonnow) on Jun 10, 2020 at 6:45am PDT

Additionally, Wilbekin says, Black gay men living with HIV or AIDS are worried about contracting the coronavirus. “A lot of them don’t have healthcare,” he says. “So they’re [thinking], ‘if I get sick, have to go to the hospital and I’m already HIV positive, what does that look like?’”

Luckily, Wilbekin and his team have tapped some of the best and brightest in healthcare to answer some of these pressing questions. Representatives from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, Gilead Sciences and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals are joining in on the discussion to dissect Black health in the age COVID-19.

Wilbekin also believes there’s an opportunity for Black gay men to be more included in the current conversations about racial inequality and social justice. “If you look back at the history of when there has been civil and social unrest in this country, Black gay men have been at the forefront,” he says. “Think about Bayard Rustin, who worked with Dr. King and organized the March on Washington in 1963. There’s James Baldwin, who was a big part of the civil rights movement. I think about Essex Hemphill and Joseph Beam during the AIDS crisis, and 2014 in Ferguson with Black Lives Matter, and how to DeRay McKesson and Darnell Moore we’re out on the front lines. For me, this is a time for Black gay men to step up because that is what our ancestors have done. And also, this is a time for us to be heard.”

While Wilbekin believes strides have been made for Black gay men in the pop culture and political arenas, he thinks having a safe space for Black gay men to uplift each other is paramount. “A lot of the work that NATIVE SON does is about creating a community for ourselves, to empower ourselves, to affirm ourselves,” he says. “And then we can go into the world and make change.”

To get involved with or support NATIVE SON, visit their newly launched website and follow them on Instagram.

The post Emil Wilbekin’s NATIVE SON Launches Black Gay Leadership Forum appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Stephen Miller is many things — Trump’s senior advisor, a far-right conservative, an anti-immigrationist, and known white supremacist. What he is not, is the best person to write a speech on race relations in the United States. And yet, on Tuesday, Twitter blew up after reports started swirling that Trump’s chief speechwriter would be penning a national address on just that. 

Since Miller entered the White House in January of 2017, politicians and concerned Americans alike, have vocally expressed their trepidations about the former Breitbert editor being so close to the President of the United States. Miller authored the White House policy of separating children from their parents at American borders. He also worked with other administration officials to crack down on sanctuary cities. Miller’s public views on white nationalism put him at the center of a Southern Poverty Law Center exposé. And getting him removed from his post has become a legitimate passion for Sen. Kamala Harris.

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 02:Senior Advisor to the President for Policy Stephen Miller talks to reporters about President Donald Trump’s support for creating a ‘merit-based immigration system’ in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House August 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation into law placing new sanctions on Russia and reducing his ability to lift the sanctions on Moscow.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The White House has yet to confirm a race relations speech or Miller’s involvement if one is planned, but when ESSENCE reached out to the Director of Specialty Media to confirm reports, we were told that more info would be forthcoming. Even so, just the idea of Miller authoring such a speech had Twitter running amuck. 

“The second biggest White Supremecist [sic] in the administration is writing a speech on race relations with People of Color?” Author and media commentator Malcolm Nance tweeted. “Surely he will plagiarize 1930s Nuremberg’s greatest hits. The numbers 14 & 88 will feature promenently [sic],” he continued, referencing the Nazi war criminals trials in Germany and the symbolic numbers used by white supremacists.  

The second biggest White Supremecist in the administration is writing a speech on race relations with People of Color?Surely he will plagiarize 1930s Nuremberg’s greatest hits. The numbers 14 & 88 will feature promenently https://t.co/n5EcqR98pK

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) June 9, 2020

Trump critic and outspoken Republican Ana Navarro responded to the news saying, “Why…Was David Duke not available?” drawing a direct line between Miller’s views and that of the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Why…Was David Duke not available? https://t.co/tHcfzBBHBD

— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) June 9, 2020

Another Twitter user chimed in, “You don’t take race relations seriously if you get a white nationalist to prepare a speech about it.” And Valerie Jarrett, the former senior advisor to President Barack Obama simply wrote, “The less said the better…”

The less said the better…

— Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) June 9, 2020

Though details of a race relations speech have not been confirmed, The Dallas Morning News reports that Trump does plan to visit Dallas for a fundraising dinner on Thursday and discuss “holistic revitalization and recovery.” Ahead of that event he expects to sit down with faith leaders, law enforcement officials and small business owners to discuss “solutions to historic economic, health, and justice disparities in American communities.”

The post Known White Supremacist Stephen Miller Rumored To Be Writing Trump Speech On Race Relations appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

Republicans in the Senate are apparently looking to put forward their own ideas for police reform as protesters across all 50 states and DC (as well as across the rest of the globe) demand action following the police-involved killing of George Floyd. And, to address the problem, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has turned to the chamber’s only Black Republican, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to assist in the creation of legislation.

According to the Washington Post, McConnell (R-Ky.) said that he tapped Scott to lead due to his experience “dealing with this discrimination that persists…”

“The best way is to listen to one of our own who has had these experiences,” McConnell added.

As the Post notes, Scott himself has been targeted, even on Capitol Hill, where he was once questioned if he was in fact a legislator, as he relayed in a 2016 Senate speech.

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 08: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate, including (L-R) Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), to announce new legislation to end excessive use of force by police across the country and make it easier to identify, track, and prosecute police misconduct at the U.S. Capitol June 08, 2020 in Washington, DC. The legislation is being introduced following the recent deaths of unarmed African-Americans in police custody, including George Floyd, and the nationwide demonstrations demanding an overhaul of law enforcement.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In 2015, Scott sponsored a bill following the police shooting of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back and killed while fleeing police in South Carolina, requiring states to keep a database of officer-involved deadly shootings of a civilian, at the risk of losing federal grant funding. According to the Post, Scott’s plan is expected to include this initiative.

The proposal is also expected to call for more training for officers, as well as a national police commission to help determine best practices for law enforcement, according to the Post.

“I think it’s important for this nation to take a very powerful stand and position that says we’re listening, we’re hearing and we’re reacting; we’re responding in a positive, constructive manner that doesn’t create a binary choice between supporting law enforcement and supporting communities of color,” Scott told reporters. “I think you can actually do both.”

The announcement comes a day after House and Senate Democrats pushed their own “Justice in Policing” Act, banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

The post Senate Republicans, Led By Tim Scott, To Push Forward Police Reform Proposal  appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

It’s no secret that black fashion has historically influenced the fashion industry yet, many creators of color are left ignored and under-funded. To make it as an established industry insider, while being black, is a systematic power struggle where only a few sit at the helm. However in 2020, black creatives are more powerful than ever.

Still having obvious social barriers to work through, there is a sense of noticeable self worth and power the creators of this current decade carry. Perhaps, capitalist structures are realizing that the black dollar and input can make or break your business. And with that realization, more and more creatives are demanding what they deserve.

As ESSENCE embarks on its 50th year anniversary, we curated a list of 50 Black creators in fashion you should know.

*This was originally published on February 29, 2020*

The post 50 Black Creators In Fashion You Should Know appeared first on Essence.

Essence Magazine:

It’s never a good time to watch a racist movie on a streaming platform, especially now, as the country is protesting against racism and calling to defund the police. 

Still HBO Max, the famed cable network’s new streaming service was recently under fire for offering Gone with the Wind, NBC News reports. While some fans of the black-and-white Academy Award-winning film may see it as a nostalgic look at the Civil War, others see it for what it truly is: a film that downplayed the atrocities of slavery while celebrating the Confederacy.

Gone won 10 out of 13 awards during the 1940s Oscars, including one for Hattie McDaniel for Best Supporting Actress as she played Mammy opposite Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara. The actress became the first Black person to ever win an Oscar, but she wasn’t even allowed to sit in the awards due to racism at the time.

On Tuesday, the platform announced that the 1939 film would be removed from HBO Max, but will eventually return “with a discussion of its historical context,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”

A day before HBO Max decided to temporarily pull the plug on Gone, 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley, wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, calling for the “Hollywood classic” to be removed from the lineup.

“The movie had the very best talents in Hollywood at that time working together to sentimentalize a history that never was,” Ridley wrote. “And it continues to give cover to those who falsely claim that clinging to the iconography of the plantation era is a matter of ‘heritage, not hate.’”

Given the country’s social unrest, Ridley, who won an Oscar for 12, asked for a respectful amount of time to pass before re-introducing Gone and to pair it with other films that provide a “complete picture of what slavery and the Confederacy truly were.”

The post HBO Max Temporarily Pulls The Plug On ‘Gone With The Wind’ appeared first on Essence.