Little Richard, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and music icon, dies at 87

Little Richard, the pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll whose music career spanned seven decades, has died at the age of 87, according to his son.

Daniel Penniman confirmed the news of his father’s Saturday morning death, Rolling Stone reports. The cause of death is unknown at this time.

Every thing that rock and roll became notorious for — flamboyance, sexual androgyny, reckless on stage abandon — was borne by Little Richard in the 1950s. His hits like “Tutti Fruitti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Lucille” became music standards, thanks to his powerful singing voice and his virtuoso piano playing.

READ MORE: Andre Harrell, founder of Uptown Records, is dead at 59

Born Richard Penniman, Dec. 5, 1932, Little Richard was raised in the church in his native Macon, GA. He left home at the age of 13 due to his father’s disapproving of his love of secular music and accusing him of being a homosexual. From there he stayed with a local family, befriended Otis Redding and signed a record deal in 1951 after winning a local talent show.

Musical guest Little Richard during a performance on The Tonight Show on June 6, 1994 — (Photo by: Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

The contract did not lead to hits, and Richard was washing dishes a few years later. However, he hit pay dirt after sending a demo of “Tutti Fruitt” to Specialty Records in Chicago. The song became a smash in 1955.

Little Richard set the music business on fire the next few years with a string of hits like “Long Tall Sally” and “Rit It Up.”

READ MORE: Gospel singer Troy Sneed, 52, dies from the coronavirus

Richard retired at the height of his success in 1958, vowing only to perform gospel music after dreams and premonitions of his demise. He became an ordained minister and released spiritual albums until returning to secular music in 1964.

Although he’d never again reach the high-charting success of the 1950s, he influence on artists from members of The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix, Elton John and Prince had secured his place in music history.

Little Richard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s inaugural 1986 class.

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Online pages emerge in support of Ahmaud Arbery murder suspects

When the white father and son involved in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery on Feb. 23 in Brunswick, Georgia, were finally arrested Thursday, many around the world rejoiced at the thought of finally receiving the desired justice.

At the same time, white supremacists and supporters of the suspects around the country had a completely different reaction to begin fundraising for Gregory and Travis McMichael via multiple GoFundMe campaigns, and joining a Facebook Group titled “Justice For Gregory and Travis McMichael,” which saw its membership grow from under 10,000 to over 90,000 on Friday alone, with over 10,000 new posts.

READ MORE: Ahmaud Arbery video reminds us Black people still get lynched, even today

Color of Change, a non-profit civil rights advocacy organization that is the nation’s largest online racial justice group, initially sounded the alarm on the GoFundMe pages, which the organization said at one point had sprouted in the dozens. The group provided theGrio with a number of screenshots of the pages.

(Screenshot provided by Color of Change)

History shows white supremacists and supporters of those who have killed innocent, unarmed Black Americans are quick to use new technology to help lobby their causes, as with the case of former New York Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo who killed Eric Garner in a deadly chokehold on Staten Island in 2014.

A GoFundMe campaign for the Pantaleo has raised nearly $180,000 as of this morning.

Just as they did with Pantaleo, white supremacists vaulted into action to also support the McMichaels, launching numerous GoFundMe campaigns to raise funds for the murderous racist duo that remain in jail.

READ MORE: Court docs say Ahmaud Arbery had previous connection with of the men who shot him

Eventually, a majority of those fundraising pages were removed by GoFundMe. In a statement to theGrio, the company’s director of North America Communications Bobby Whithorne said, “I can confirm the campaigns violate GoFundMe’s terms of service and they have been removed from the platform.”

In a statement provided to theGrio, Scott Roberts, Color of Change Senior Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns, said: “When we noticed dozens of GoFundMe pages were started up to support the white supremacists who murdered Ahmaud Arbery in cold blood, we immediately took action to demand accountability from a company with core values of helping people.

“Color Of Change has a longstanding campaign to hold companies accountable for supporting and enabling white supremacist groups,” he added.

“This is a move towards justice, but there’s a long history of these kinds of campaigns being created to support the murderers of Black people including helping raise over $200,000 for the officer who killed Eric Garner last year. We need Rob Solomon, the Chairman of GoFundMe, to act swiftly to stop these kinds of fundraisers from being published in the first place.”

theGrio also reached out to Facebook about the “Justice For Gregory and Travis McMichael” and received the following response: “We are looking into this group and will circle back.”

The investigation of the murder of Arbery took another turn this week as it has been revealed that at least one of the shooters and Arbery may have known each other.

(Photo: Twitter)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Greg McMichael previously investigated the 25-year-old. Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill recused himself from the case due to a conflict of interest, in a letter sent to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

He wrote that his son, a prosecutor in the Brunswick DA’s office, and McMichael, then an investigator in that same office, “both helped with the previous prosecution of (Ahmaud) Arbery.”

Barnhill claimed that he only became aware of this previous association “three or four weeks” earlier. He made no mention as to why he waited to come forward with this information but accused others of spreading lies about him and the McMichaels.

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California banker’s neighbor charged for murdering ‘beloved’ father of four in front of his home

A California man has been charged with murder in the slaying of his former neighbor, a 43-year-old father of four who had moved his family out of the Bay Area neighborhood.

Miles Armstead, a highly regarded banker in the Bay Area, was outside the Oakland house he was preparing to sell when Jamal Thomas, 44, allegedly shot him dead on May 1. Armstead was listing the home to evade the neighborhood and keep his children and expecting wife away from Thomas.

Thomas, who was evicted from his own residence and had been accused of making threats to Armstead and his family, was charged with eight felony accounts related to the slaying on Thursday, The Mercury News reports.

READ MORE: California housing crisis: Oakland moms evicted by deputies

Thomas was found and arrested hours after the homicide at an Oakland hotel. He is being held without bail.

In addition to murder, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged Thomas with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Thomas, who Armstead called a “chronic nuisance in the neighborhood,” according to the East Bay Times, was previously arrested in February after threatening to burn down Armstead’s house. He pled not guilty after being charged for making criminal threats, but was released on his own recognizance.

Jamal Thomas, 43, was charged in fatal shooting of Oakland, Calif., neighbor.

Following the release, Thomas was later accused of throwing objects through the Armstead family’s windows on two separate occasions. He is suspected of throwing a rock in March that almost hit Armstead in the head. In April, Thomas allegedly threw a brick that almost hit his pregnant wife.

READ MORE: The largest Black-owned bank in the U.S. is rolling out new ways to #BankBlack

These string of incidents caused Armstead, who was a wealth management banker at Fremont Bank, to move his family out of the house.

Armstead frequently returned to the house for remodeling projects in preparation to sell. That’s when Thomas allegedly shot Armstead multiple times in front of the house.

Fremont Bank has set up a GoFundMe page for Armstead’s family, where people have donated nearly $42,000 as of Saturday morning. The goal is to raise $50,000 for Armstead’s family. The bank described him as “a beloved member of our Fremont Bank family.”

“Because so many of you are asking what you can do, Fremont Bank set up this GoFundMe account to accept donations for his family,” the post read. “Any amount that you can contribute will be appreciated in supporting Miles’ family as they navigate their lives without Miles.”

Thomas was arraigned on Friday. The motive for the slaying is unclear.

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Andre Harrell, Founder of Uptown Records, Has Died

The man behind Uptown Records, the New York City based label that launched the careers of acts like Diddy, Jodeci, Mary J, Blige, and Heavy D has died at 59-years-old.

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Wanda Durant Shares the Importance of Putting Yourself First and Giving Back as a Mother

Many people know Wanda Durant, inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist, affectionately as “the Real MVP.” What many do not know is her story.

As a single mother who set her sons on pathways to success, “Mama Durant” now helps others do the same through the Wanda Durant The Real MVP Foundation. In a sit-down interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE Digital & Events Editor Lydia T. Blanco, Durant shared her journey of self-rediscovery, the importance of mental wellness, and advice for parents in the time of COVID-19.

Having raised two sons–Anthony and Kevin Durant (basketball superstar and provider of her now-famous nickname)–as a single mother, Wanda Durant knows what it is like to sacrifice, go without, and show up for children relentlessly. She also knows how to adapt once there’s an empty nest. Now, she’s highly regarded for her no-nonsense parenting advice.

During the conversation, Wanda Durant spoke candidly about the challenges she faced as a young mother and lessons she learned about herself along the way. With sons over the age of 30, she offered sound advice to those still parenting young and adult children.

This Mother’s Day, Durant wants to encourage women who are parents and guardians to take a moment to themselves and celebrate all that they have accomplished in relation to motherhood and their personal journeys.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while families are home together, Wanda Durant touched on the importance of creating healthy bonds that promote mental wellness. The Wanda Durant The Real MVP Foundation focuses on education and empowering children and their families. During the pandemic, she and her team have made it a priority to support students by providing them with an online curriculum to make remote learning accessible.

Do you see why she’s the real MVP? And she’s not the only one. There are countless mothers who have laid it all down for their children who are being celebrated for their selfless commitment.

At BLACK ENTERPRISE, we celebrate you all. Happy Mother’s Day!

 

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