I think it’s safe to say that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holds the title for most outwardly racist agency in Homeland Security. But that isn’t stopping the folks at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from giving them a run for their money.
A sophomore student at Mater Dei High School in San Diego had been suspended and told to cut his braided hair last week because it was out of compliance with the school’s dress code. He was then given an in-school suspension for “arguing and insubordination” after questioning the rule and the order, said his mother, Melissa Harden, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The incident was taken to social media and after it caused an uproar, the school’s leadership informed Harden Monday afternoon that they will allow her son to return to the school Tuesday and that he does not have to make any changes to his hair. The school also is taking the suspension off his permanent record. The student had missed a total of three school days because of the initial decision.
Harden said she did not understand why her son was being punished because the length of his curly hair has been the same since he started at Mater Dei in 2018. It wasn’t until he showed up with braids in his hair last week that he was reprimanded for his hair. “My son has the right to not cut his hair. He has beautiful hair,” Harden said.
The story picked up steam when local activist Tasha Williamson, who is running for mayor, publicly pleaded with private schools in San Diego County to stop policing black hair. She took to Facebook with this message, “Day 2.5 of a hair suspension from Mater Dei: We are launching a campaign of awareness and asking every private school in San Diego County to stop the practices of hair suspension discrimination in line with the Crown Act. Mater Dei is a private Catholic school with the Catholic Diocese of San Diego overseeing it. Catholic religion believes in Jesus Christ who adorned “locs” on his head. I could not agree more with Pope Francis when he said, ‘2020 is off to a rough start.’ I also agree in context of this hair and cultural issue that it is beyond time we acknowledge the many troubling cultural issues that happen in San Diego County.”
“We understand that this is a broader issue than braids. It is an issue of cultural sensitivity, of rules being used in discriminatory ways and the lack of professionalism to sit down and discuss the concerns to seek resolution. The end result will be to launch a campaign of awareness, inundate businesses with calls, have press conferences, protest and litigation to set precedents to limit the impacts hair has on the wearer.”
“I have contacted Senator Holly Mitchell’s office to make them aware of what is going on in Chula Vista. We are hoping to ensure that the Crown Act prevents this type of discrimination by ensuring all schools understand the disproportionate impacts this has on children from cultures where braiding is as natural as their skin. #WearYourCrowns“
Oprah Winfrey has pulled the plug on her involvement in an upcoming #MeToo Documentary featuring a woman who accused Russell Simmons of rape, The Verge reported.
The documentary was slated to appear on Apple TV+, but Oprah said she will no longer serve as executive producer of the project because she and the filmmakers are “not aligned in” their “creative vision.”
The media mogul made the announcement through a statement via Deadline and other media outlets. Her full statement reads:
“I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+. First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women. Their stories deserve to be told and heard. In my opinion, there is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering are talented filmmakers. I have great respect for their mission but given the filmmakers’ desire to premiere the film at the Sundance Film Festival before I believe it is complete, I feel it’s best to step aside. I will be working with Time’s Up to support the victims and those impacted by abuse and sexual harassment.”
Winfrey made the announcement after getting backlash from rappers like 50 Cent, The Game and Simmons himself. They accused the first Black woman to become a billionaire of targeting Black men who were accused of sex crimes, but letting their white counterparts get a pass.
RELATED: 50 Cent Criticizes Oprah For Only Going After Black Men Accused of Sex Crimes
However, as noted in her aforementioned statement, Winfrey said she still believes and supports Simmons’ accusers. Despite this, 50 Cent thanked Winfrey in an Instagram post for removing herself from the documentary.
“Alright, alright, alright Oprah we love you, thank you for responding and if you ever need me for anything I’m here,” the rapper captioned in his post of a screenshot of Deadline’s article.
Simmons also responded to Winfrey’s announcement with a long, heartfelt Instagram post to the beloved media icon. In it he says the documentary was troubling because Winfrey had “been a shining light to my family and my community. Contributing so much to my life that I couldn’t list a fraction of it …”
He went on to accept responsibility for being “guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society,” but maintained he has never forced himself on anyone.
This article was written by Isheka N. Harrison for The Moguldom Nation on January 13, 2020.
It’s safe to say no one does a drop quite like Beyoncé. From surprise albums and epic visual masterpieces to HBCU-inspired collaborations with Balmain, the megastar has mastered the art of making an entrance. And ahead of today’s pre-launch of the relaunch of Ivy Park, now powered by Adidas (the collection goes live…
Watchmen was an instant success on HBO, but now the network has announced the show will not move on to a second season.
The reason is in part that the creator, Damon Lindelof, felt that he already told the story he set out to tell, and did not want to move into a second season. The showrunner was content with the outcome of his work. However, Lindelof gave HBO permission to find another creator if the network chose to move forward with the hit show, and HBO declined, according to USA Today.
READ MORE: Unpacking the brilliance of ‘Watchmen’ … the most important show of the year
Casey Bloys, HBO’s president of programming, told USA Today that “It’s really in Damon’s thinking about what he wants to do.” Watchmen, based on a 1987 graphic novel, starred Regina King as a masked cop in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Robert Redford played the president.
“If there’s an idea that excited him about another season, another installment, maybe like a Fargo, True Detective anthology take on it, or if he wants to do something different altogether. We’re very proud of Watchmen, but what I’m most interested in is what Damon wants to do,” Bloys said.
Lindelof toyed with the idea of doing a second season but said he would only proceed if he felt he had the right motivation, according to TheWrap.
So far that motivation does not seem to be there, and again he suggested that they look for someone else to lead the show if they really wanted to do another season. Bloys put the damper on this idea.
“It would be hard to imagine doing it without Damon involved in some way,” Bloys told the newspaper.
READ MORE: The REAL story of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 depicted in ‘Watchmen’
Watchmen was based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel. In Lindelof’s hands, the drama was reimagined in Tulsa after a white supremacist attacks the police department leaving only two cops alive. Local laws are then passed that allow police to hide their identities behind masks to protect themselves. King played a cop, Angela Abar, who became known as Sister Night and she made us all proud as she fought racists.
The post HBO’s Watchmen will not move on to a second season appeared first on TheGrio.
