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Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds announced on Friday evening that he and his family tested positive for the novel coronavirus, but are now negative and recovering at home.
On what was also his birthday, the legendary songwriter and producer shared on Instagram a letter of gratitude to his fans.
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds presents the Legend Award to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis during the 2019 Soul Train Awards. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for BET)
“I would like to warmly thank everyone for all the many birthday wishes today. I feel so blessed to be able to celebrate another birthday,” Edmonds wrote. “I tested positive for the Covid19 virus, as did my family. It’s an incredibly scary thing to go through my friends.”
He added, “I’m happy to report we have now tested negative and are on our way back to full health.”
Edmonds’ news comes after an Instagram Live battle between him and Teddy Riley was abruptly postponed on Sunday, April 5. Riley later told Charlamagne Tha God that it was due to Edmonds being sick.
“There is no backout,” Riley said at the time, according to Revolt. “Nobody is backing out. Babyface is moving forward, he’s not actually 100%. He’s been sick.”
Now that the 11-time Grammy winner is on the mend, however, Babyface announced that the virtual battle is back on.
“I would like to officially accept the invitation from the legendary Swizz Beatz & Timbaland to participate with my little brother, Teddy Riley in what I’d like to call a Celebration of Black Music Excellence in – Teddy vs. Babyface,” his letter continued.
“Teddy!!! Let’s show them what Hip Hop/R&B music really means to the world!”
The music battle is now scheduled for April 18 at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.
Babyface’s faceoff with Riley has music fans salivating for what’s expected to be a massive display of R&B mega-hits, and it comes after other worthy matchups including Swizz Beatz versus Timbaland and singer Ne-Yo versus Johntá Austin, among others.
In a heartbreaking video making its rounds on social media, an ICU nurse working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic lost her composure and broke down in tears while recalling what it’s been like to see so many of her patients die under her care.
At the end of March, D’neil Schmall moved to New York specifically to help fight the deadly illness. She has been working on a rapid response team operating out of a temporary Central Park hospital dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients.
SEATTLE, WA – FEBRUARY 29: Healthcare workers transport a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
But in the emotional video, the 35-year-old medical worker opened up about the devastation she’s had to bear witness to over the last few weeks. At some points, she sobbed uncontrollably as she confessed to being “tired” of finding her patients dead.
“I just feel there is so much anyone can take,” she recalled while wiping away her tears. “I’m tired of walking into rooms, and your patients are dead. You just walk into a room, and there’s a dead body there. I’m tired of calling families and telling them that news.”
Today was by far the worst shape I’ve ever had. This video was taken after laying in my hotel floor for an hour crying. I think it’s important for ppl to see what we go threw when we get home. *******Update ******After 4-5hrs sleep We’re walking 8-11 miles in a 13-15hrs shift. 5–6 days a week. The Majority of our PPE is made out of plastic like wearing a sweat suit all day. Assignments of 10-16 patients per nurse. ******This video is completely unedited. And taken after the “worst shift” I’ve had since being here. I was only Venting. This video was cathartic. I only posted it because I feel like people should know what we’re going through here. I love my job I LOVE ❤️ what I do! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AM I LEAVING! But that doesn’t mean frontliners aren’t human and wont be emotional about this experience as well*********I turned the camera on and just started talking whatever came to mind. Im not blaming this on the 🏥 or anyone. The volume of patients is that high. All im asking is for some understanding that I personally take pride in doing a good job. A part of my selfworth is invested in taking care of others. Id rather run myself into the ground trying to do so, then sacrifice patients care. #frontline #nurselife #flattenthecurve #nurse #er #covid_19 #msnbc #todayshow #newyorknews #newyork #goodmorningamerica #frontlinersneedhelptoo* Video Copyright belongs to D’neil Schmall
Schmall who said at the onset of the clip that she had just worked her “worst day” yet, also expressed grief over fellow nurses who had lost their lives while taking care of others battling COVID-19.
“I cried the whole way home, I mean the driver was like, ‘Ma’am are you okay?” shared the former bodybuilder as she plead with viewers to show more compassion during this pandemic. “I don’t think people understand how stressful this job is. I was trained for anything in the world but this is so stressful.”
“Everyone is trying hard, everyone is trying so hard. But we got so much to do. We are humans too,” she reminded them.
She also admitted that she doesn’t feel right venting to mother or her sister, because she doesn’t want to heighten their concern for her safety, adding: “[My mom] never wanted me to come [to New York].”
“I have friends that are nurses and I’m pretty sure that they understand but they are going through the same thing,” she said. “So the end result is you end up crying in your hotel room. Or in the bathroom. There is no one to talk to.”
President Donald Trump seems inclined to let the United States Postal Service die because he believes the agency needs to increase its prices, reported The New York Times.
The COVID-19 crisis has hurt most major industries in the U.S. and the perpetually in debt postal service is no exception. They’ve asked Congress for $89 billion to stay afloat, insisting the agency will run out of money by the end of September if they don’t get a cash infusion.
Trump may not be so eager to help as he has long held the view that the postal service should charge on par with Amazon. Just last week, he rejected a cash bailout.
“They have to raise the prices on these companies who drop thousands of packages on the floor of the post office,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “They ought to do that. I’m pushing them.”
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 09: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the daily coronavirus briefing as Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia (R) looks on in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Mark Dimondstein, the president of the American Postal Workers Union which represents more than 220,000 postal workers, argued politics were at play with Trump’s reluctance to get involved.
“At the end of the day, they have an agenda,” said Dimondstein. “Raise prices, reduce worker benefits and reduce services, make it appear more profitable and set it up for sale.”
A progressive response to this pandemic is not possible without USPS.
– Vote by mail.
– More direct payments.
– Rx delivery for isolated seniors and those with disabilities.
The postal service is one of the country’s biggest employers. As of 2018, according to Data USA, the agency employs over 330,000 employees with an average salary of $50,000. While 67% of its employees are white, 21% of the agency’s employees are Black.
“At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business,” postmaster general Megan J. Brennan told The New York Times. “The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover.”
Brennan told the Times that an expected 50% drop in mail volume since the same time last year could cripple the service, resulting in a reduction of regular mail delivery. A controversial mandate to pre-fund retirement benefits has also caused problems for USPS, one of many moves viewed to cripple the agency and possibly privatize it.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DECEMBER 18: Holiday stamps are seen on mail at the U.S. Post Office sort center on December 18, 2014 in San Francisco, California. The U.S. Postal Service will process and mail over one billion cards, letters and packages during the 2014 holiday season. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The post office, already on life support, has been reeling as bulk advertisers and others have cut back on their mailings given the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Postal workers, like those in warehouse, have been testing positive for the coronavirus. It has led to a reduction in staff across the country, multiple outlets have reported.
Yet the postal service is still considered a place that African Americans can always find an opportunity to work. Public sector jobs have allowed African Americans opportunities in many areas, more so than the public sector has, with African Americans making up more than 20% of the federal workforce, according to the Associated Press.
The postal service has employed African-American workers since Reconstruction. According to Jacobin, former slave William Harvey Carney, who received a Medal of Honor for his actions in the Civil War, was a mail carrier for 30 years. Postal workers were early activists in labor unions, working directly with the NAACP to improve working conditions.
The Gwen Ifill Black Heritage Commemorative Forever Stamp is seen by distinguished guests during a Postal Service unveiling ceremony at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Michael A. McCoy)
As the coronavirus continues to decimate industries and American unemployment has reached levels more than in the Great Depression – 16.8 million Americans have filed for unemployment so far – the loss of a critical public service and its jobs could be catastrophic.
The postal service is also considered essential to voting by mail, which is likely to be utilized more given the social distancing mandates of the coronavirus. There is no way to know right now how much of an impact that will have come November, but it is a concern.
It is also essential to seniors, many of who receive disability and Social Security checks by “snail mail”. Freelancers, contractors and gig workers who often don’t have the option to be paid via direct deposit also benefit from the service.
Georgia Congressman John Lewis recently endorsed the Democratic Party presidential hopeful and Former Vice President Joe Biden. I was on the 18-minute reporters call early Tuesday evening when the congressman emphatically endorsed Biden as “a friend, a dear friend.”
The Democratic congressman then went on to praise Biden’s courage, conscience, and faith, asserting that the former VP would be a great president and lead our country to a “better place.”
Lewis, 80, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 and is currently serving his 17th term in congress. The civil rights icon has also served in leadership roles in the Georgia delegation and as the House of Representatives chief deputy whip since 1991 and senior chief deputy whip since 2003.
Respected Rep. John Lewis has passed away. Lewis announced in December 2019 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. (Photo from 2013 by Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images for U.S. Postal Service)
No one can deny Lewis’ dedication to civil rights and his place in American history. Lewis, served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and assisted in organizing the 1963 March on Washington. Lewis consistently played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement, most notably the march in Selma and the subsequent actions that led to the end of legalized racial segregation in the United States.
It is no surprise Biden sought Lewis’ endorsement for his quest for the presidency. After South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn helped deliver a historic primary win for Biden on Super Tuesday, Biden’s courting of senior Black elected officials has been a key strategy on his road to the White House.
Vice President Joe Biden is introduced by U.S. Representative James Clyburn at the CBC Spouses 17th Annual Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts at the Nuseum Museum. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images)
Black voters are indeed the backbone of the Democratic Party and I am not begrudging Biden’s strategy. Unlike the now-former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, who chose to largely circumvent Black voters as an electoral strategy, Biden actually does see the value of speaking directly to Black voters and Black elected officials.
However, Biden’s Achille’s heel seems to be his lack of understanding of the necessity in aggressively courting younger Black voters as well.
What has made the Biden blind spot so palpable was Lewis’ answer when asked specifically about including younger Black voters into the Biden electoral strategy. Lewis recalled the many efforts and sacrifices made by leaders in the civil rights struggles, as well as the blood he shed on the Edmond Pettus Bridge.
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) speaks to the crowd at the Edmund Pettus Bridge crossing reenactment marking 55th anniversary of Selma’s Bloody Sunday on March 1, 2020 in Selma, Alabama. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
He told reporters that “I would tell young people the story of Selma and Montgomery and Mississippi…If we fail to vote, we don’t count. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society. And we must use it.”
The efforts and sacrifices of Lewis should not be forgotten, but electoral data clearly illustrates the simple fact that younger Black voters are not necessarily motivated by past acts of elected and civil rights leaders.
Electoral data on local, state, and national levels shows that although younger Black voters are politically astute and have clearly defined opinions on a myriad of policy issues, by and large, Biden does not speak directly to their policy interests nor do they specifically address younger Black votes as a significant voting block.
It is apparent that older Black votes are dedicated loyalists to the Democratic Party, largely because the Republican party has chosen to cast much or most of its lot behind a white nationalist agenda. Black voters are in many ways captive to the Democratic Party, which makes their evaluation of candidates an intricately strategic endeavor.
Fayetteville State University students get off a Black Votes Matter bus at Smith Recreation Center on March 3, 2020 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Younger Black voters, however, do not appear to view themselves as captives. Many do not feel obligated to vote for “the lesser of two evils” and have stayed at home when presented with less than ideal options. Electoral results have shown a distinct autonomy when assessing the participation of young Black voters.
To merely think young Black voters will turn out to vote for Biden because John Lewis urges them to remember civil rights struggles instead of present-day, concrete policy prescriptions of the Democratic nominee is a faulty premise. Unfortunately, it is a premise for far too many candidates running for local and state offices across the nation.
Knowing that voter disenfranchisement will be rampant in a (hopefully) post-COVID-19 November election season, if Biden wants to maximize younger Black electoral participation he will need to understand the value of Congressman Lewis’ contributions and translate those struggles into specific policies that speak directly to younger Black voters.
Knowing that Biden is a friend, even a dear friend will not be enough. If Biden hopes to move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, his bags will be packed by the efforts of young Black voters. If a more specific policy agenda is not presented to young Black voters … and soon, Biden will only be moving to the annals of history as theloyal vice president to the first Black president in U.S. history.
Christina Greer is the politics editor at The Grio, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, and the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, immigration, and the pursuit of the American Dream”.
Earlier this month Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot went viral in a series of internet memes. Now the notoriously tenacious public official is making headlines once again for her unorthodox tactics to keep local residents off the street during the current stay-at-home mandate.
According to the Chicago Tribune, during a press conference Wednesday, the no-nonsense lawmaker reminded citizens to stay home and then shared an anecdote about how the day before she opted to personally drive around the city, telling people standing in crowds to be more mindful of social distancing to avoid spreading COVID-19.
“I personally drove around yesterday, and I was up on the North Side, in the 50th Ward, and I’ll continue to do that,” Lightfoot recalled. “I told people that I saw gathering in clusters not abiding by the social distancing rules to break it up. Yes. And I’ll continue to do that.
“I mean what I say: We have to protect ourselves. We have to be smart about what we’re doing in the course of this pandemic. And if it means that I drive around and check whether people are in compliance, I’m happy to do it.”
“Most people do a double-take and are like, wait, is that the mayor? And then as we roll away, you’ll hear somebody saying, ‘Hey, that was the mayor. Hey, that was Lori Lightfoot,'” she said in the interview with Connected to Chicago.
“The other night I think we literally broke up an underage drinking party. There were some young folks that were in a garage with the door up, it was a beautiful night, we pulled by and I told the driver, ‘Back up,’ rolled down the window and said, ‘Hey, you’re too close. Separate yourself. Social distancing!’” Lightfoot recalled. “And we heard one person, I won’t repeat the expletive but they said, ‘Oh,’ and you can figure it out. So we had a little fun with it.”
Christina Greer is the politics editor at The Grio, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, and the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, immigration, and the pursuit of the American Dream”.