Black employees at an IKEA store in Atlanta declined to show up to work after the manager tried to honor Juneteenth by presenting a menu that included fried chicken, watermelon, mac and cheese and collard greens.The employees described the move as "racially insensitive" and urged management "to do more to educate themselves on Black culture," CBS News reported."You cannot say serving watermelon on Juneteenth is a soul food menu when you don't even know the history -- they used to feed slaves watermelon during the slavery time," one employee said. "It caused a lot of people to be upset. People actually wanted to quit. People weren't coming back to work." In a statement to CBS46, IKEA said "the meal was intended to be served to co-workers as an internal celebration, not customers." The company first presented the menu in an email sent to employees on Friday. “To honor the perseverance of Black Americans and acknowledge the progress yet to be made, we observe Juneteenth on Saturday, June 19, 2021,” the company said in the email obtained by TMZ. “Look out for a special menu on Saturday which will include: fried chicken, watermelon, mac n cheese, potato salad, collard greens, candied yams.” The manager responded in another email after 33 people called out from work."I truly apologize if the menu came off as subjective," the manager said. "It was created with the best of intentions by a few of our coworkers who believed they were representing their culture and tradition with these foods of celebration."According to the employees, however, the menu was created without any input from Black employees."None of the coworkers who sat down to create the menu -- nobody was Black," one employee said.The company continues to assert that "there were Black co-workers involved in the creation of the menu.""Out of respect for their privacy, we cannot go into more detail, and we take this as an important learning and shared responsibility," IKEA stated. While the menu was later adjusted, the employees said that didn't solve the problem."They just delayed the menu by a day, thinking that everybody who was upset stayed home on Juneteenth and wouldn't notice on Sunday, which just added insult to injury," one person said.Collard greens, cornbread, mashed potatoes and meatloaf were still included on the revised menu."I'm just frankly disappointed in the learning process -- you shouldn't learn after you have insulted all of your Black employees," one customer...
Shaun King is trending again on Twitter after Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, accused him of raising money without her consent.Frustrated with how she believes King is using the death of her son for his own financial gain, Samaria took to Instagram to tell her side of the story.“Why do you think its so important to tell folks we had a conversation? Well we talked and everything that was said was very toxic and uncomfortable for me to hear that you raised additional money and then say you did not want to bother me,” the caption read.“Personally, I don’t know how you sleep at night. I never gave you permission to raise nothing. Along with the United States, you robbed me of the death of my son...As a white man acting Black, you are an imposter and can not be trusted,” the post added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Samaria Rice (@sam_i_am815)Samaria goes on to say that “God will deal with you white man."In a recent interview with The Cut, Samaria again detailed that she feels King and other high-profile activists are making a living “hustling Black death.” “They should not be standing on the front line like this was they child,” she said."You supposed to be uplifting the family, the community, teaching us how to love on each other, not bickering and fighting about who gon’ get the next case or who gon’ be on TV next. It’s a mess,” she continued. As Blavity previously reported, Samaria has been critical of the actions of several prominent activists. Along with Lisa Simpson, the mother of Richard Risher, they penned a joint letter against notable figures such as Tamika Mallory, King, Benjamin Crump, Lee Merritt, Patrisse Cullors, Melina Abdullah and the Black Lives Matter Global Network with a list of their demands.The two mothers allege that King and others have “exploited” Tamir and neglected to offer financial assistance to Simpson who was living in a motel. In the letter, the mothers said the activists and attorneys were attempting to capitalize and profit from the death of their sons.“We never hired them to be the representatives in the fight for justice for our dead loved ones murdered by the police. The ‘activists’ have events in our cities and have not given us anything substantial for using our loved ones' images and names on their flyers," the two mothers wrote."The attorneys in our fight are also misleading the impacted families,” the letter continued. "We don't want or need y'all parading in the streets accumulating donations, platforms, movie deals, etc. off the death of our loved...
Singer Macy Gray is calling for the American flag to be redesigned. The 53-year-old said the flag should “represent all Americans” in an op-ed titled “For Juneteenth, America needs a new flag that all of us can honor.”The op-ed was published on MarketWatch on Thursday, ahead of the Juneteenth holiday. Gray says this country is overdue for a new American flag.“The Confederate battle flag, which was crafted as a symbol of opposition to the abolishment of slavery, is just recently tired. We don’t see it much anymore. However, on the 6th, when the stormers rained on the nation’s most precious hut, waving Old Glory — the memo was received: the American flag is its replacement,” Gray wrote.Gray goes on to address President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress. She informs them that the American flag “has been hijacked” and is similar to the Confederate flag in which it is “tattered, dated, divisive and incorrect.” The singer argues the flag doesn’t represent the nation and no longer represents freedom or democracy.The Grammy Award-winning singer criticized the color of the stripes on the American flag. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the white stripes embody purity and innocence. Gray says America is great and beautiful, however, “Pure it ain’t. It is broken and in pieces.”Putting her money where her mouth is, the singer designed her own version of an updated American flag.OPINION: "Sixty-two years later, in 2021, we have changed and it’s time for a reset, a transformation. One that represents all states and all of us," writes singer Macy Gray. https://t.co/VTezKfjxdr— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) June 18, 2021“What if the stripes were OFF-white? What if there were 52 stars to include D.C. and Puerto Rico? What if the stars were the colors of ALL of us — your skin tone and mine — like the melanin scale? The blue square represents vigilance and perseverance, and the red stripes stand for valor. America is all of those things. So, what if those elements on the flag remained? What if the flag looked like this?” Gray wrote as a proposal for a new flag.She then went on to educate readers on how the flag came to be and why it’s so outdated. In the op-ed, she stated, “In 1959, 17-year-old Bob Heft designed the current flag for a school project when there were only 48 states.”At that time both Alaska and Hawaii were petitioning for statehood. Heft had a hunch that both states would get approved, so he created a new flag, the one that the U.S. uses today. She argues that America has changed since 1959 and it’s time that the American flag reflects that...
Michael B. Jordan has agreed to change the name of his new rum brand after facing accusations of cultural appropriation, The Guardian reports.The actor issued an apology on Instagram Stories on Tuesday, saying that he didn't intend to offend anybody when he named his brand J’Ouvert, a title which refers to a festival celebrating Caribbean culture.“I just wanna say on behalf of myself & my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on. Last few days has been a lot of listening," the 34-year-old wrote. "We are in the process of renaming. We sincerely apologize & look forward to introducing a brand we can all be proud of.”According to Yahoo, the package on the brand initially stated that the name is "derived from the Antillean Creole French term meaning 'daybreak.'""J'OUVERT originated in the pre-dawn streets of Trinidad, as celebration of emancipation combined with Carnival season to serve as the festival informal commencements. Crafted on those same islands, J’OUVERT Rum is a tribute to the party start," the note on the package stated. Critics, however, said the Los Angeles native has no connection to the tradition and he doesn't understand the context of the annual celebration held in the Caribbean islands, as well as worldwide. A Change.org petition which sought to prevent the Black Panther from trademarking of J'Ouvert has collected more than 12,000 signatures so far. "The word J'Ouvert heralds the annual Indigenous festivities of T&T's beloved Carnival, which began in the 1800s and is still practiced globally by people in and from the Caribbean," the petition states. "We are a people rich in culture, history and love. It's time we love ourselves enough to stop the sale of our culture to foreign entities that do not respect or value our global contributions, and who do not support and uphold our countries in respectful, long-lasting, tangible and verifiable ways." A third party, which has trademarked the name, stated that J'Ouvert "has no meaning in a foreign language."Nicki Minaj, who comes from Trinidad and Tobago, went to Instagram on Tuesday to relay some advice for Jordan."I’m sure MBJ didn’t intentionally do anything he thought Caribbean ppl would find offensive— but now that you are aware, change the name & continue to flourish & prosper," the singer wrote. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barbie (@nickiminaj)
Minaj shared a screenshot from another social media user who provided more context on the meaning of J'Ouvert. According to the brief history lesson, the term is a "broken down version of the French Jour Ouvert, the morning time referred to as day open."Definitions.net explains J'Ouvert as having been formed by enslaved people who were banned from French masquerade parties:"Banned from the masquerade balls of the French, the slaves would stage their own mini-carnivals in their backyards — using their own rituals and folklore, but also imitating and sometimes mocking their masters’ behavior at the masquerade balls," a description of the celebration read. "The origins of street parties associated with J'ouvert coincide with the emancipation from slavery in 1838.""Some theorize that some J'ouvert traditions are carried forward in remembrance of civil disturbances in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when the people smeared themselves with oil or paint to avoid being recognized," it...
Simone Manuel was quick to get a rude Twitter user together after he compared her physicality to that of a male athlete.The Olympic gold medal winner had time Monday and used it to address sexist-fueled ignorance that was spewed at her on Twitter. One user replied to Manuel’s Sunday's 50-meter freestyle victory by comparing her to Philadelphia 76ers player Dwight Howard.“Congratulations…… First glance I thought this was Dwight Howard,” the Tweet read.
Congratulations…… First glance I thought this was Dwight Howard 😂 https://t.co/tXy6kARY8x— 🔴 Ben Simmons a HOF ⚫️ (@KingsRealmATL) June 21, 2021Manuel, who keeps a low profile and said she usually strays from responding to derogatory commentary, responded to the post. “I usually don’t respond to things like this but we gotta stop calling Black women manly. Have a blessed day,” Manuel...
Juneteenth, the celebration of the belated liberation of enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, became a federal holiday last week after legislation was passed with almost unanimous consent in Congress. For millions of people around the country, this was their introduction to the holiday. For many Black folks, federal status was a cause to celebrate even harder and an inspiration for more work to be done to address the racism that continues to persist in the country. And for a few misguided souls, this was an opportunity to spout some ignorant nonsense that the rest of us should condemn and then ignore. So, without further ado, here are the five worst takes made by political figures about...
Chris Brown has been named the suspect in an assault investigation after a woman accused him of slapping her last week. Authorities responded to a call Friday morning following an argument at a residence in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday, NBC News reported.According to the police report, “The victim advised that she and the suspect argued, and the suspect struck her.”TMZ reported that the alleged victim, whose name has not been released, told police Brown smacked her. Further investigation of the incident will be moved to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office where Brown may be charged with a misdemeanor."We have not been referred a case yet in this matter," the attorney's office said on Tuesday in a statement.No arrests have been made following the incident, New York Daily News reported. In 2009, the Grammy-winning singer was arrested for hitting then-girlfriend and singer Rihanna, of whom graphic images of the incident later went viral. In court, Brown pleaded guilty and after being charged with felony assault, he completed his probation in 2015. Only a year later, a woman accused Brown of punching her in the face, then taking her phone at a club in Las Vegas. The incident is among a list of assaults Brown has been accused of committing throughout his career, Rolling Stone reported. In 2017, nearly a decade after the assault on Rihanna, Brown came forward about the incident in his documentary, Chris Brown: Welcome to my Life. In it, he discusses his career and the details leading to their altercation in his car. Brown said at one point he punched her, ultimately busting her lip. "That's going to haunt me forever," he said in the film, recalling the pictures police released of Rihanna. The same year, Brown's former girlfriend Karrueche Tran was granted a five-year restraining order against him over similar accusations. According to USA Today, the model showed the court text messages and voicemails in which the then-28-year-old singer threatened her life. She also mentioned at the time Brown had been physically abusive during their relationship. Last month police were called to break up a party where Brown was celebrating his 32nd birthday at his home in Los Angeles. According to TMZ, authorities arrived at his residence where there were an estimated 400 to 500...
Rapper T-Pain revealed that he experienced a four-year depression after previous comments made by singer-songwriter Usher about his use of auto-tune.In a clip for Netflix’s newly released seriesThis is Pop, T-Pain, whose real name is Faheem Rasheed Najm, said Usher told him he was ruining modern music by using auto-tune, Entertainment Weekly reported. He said he realized later that the comments contributed to this struggle with his mental health. I hate how the world did T-Pain. pic.twitter.com/6Ib9dzHTjY— FKA Carly Beth (@LoggingInIsBad) June 21, 2021"Usher was my friend," T-Pain said. "I really respect Usher. And he was like, 'Man. I'm gonna tell you something, man. You kinda f**cked up music for real singers.'"T-Pain said he didn’t know what Usher truly meant at the time and "thought he was joking at first, but then he was like, 'Yeah man you really f**ked up music for real singers.'" T-Pain said Usher’s comments made him ponder whether he had ruined the music industry, but in his defense said his choice to use auto-tune was a decision he made only for himself. “I'm like, 'But I used it, I didn't tell everybody else to start using it,'" T-Pain said he told Usher. Usher has not made a comment regarding the incident after the release of the clip. In 2014 for NPR's All Things Considered podcast, T-Pain said he was okay with been ridiculed and the growing criticism around his decision to use auto-tune, People reported. "People thought I was using it to sound good. But I was just using it to sound different," he said. "And it turned into a whole stifling thing because it was what I did. You know what I'm saying? It's what I do. And this is my style. I'm not gonna change my style because other people are starting to overuse it. Like, that's just weird."T-Pain dominated the industry with his use of auto-tune, starting with his 2005 hit “I’m Sprung'' featured on his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga. According to USA Today, the song made the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His sophomore album in 2007, Epiphany, would reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.Earlier this month 35-year-old recently appeared on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast where he discussed how he discovered auto-tune and the origins of his hit song, "I'm ‘N Luv (Wit a Stripper)," as Blavity previously reported. The This is Pop series is an eight-part exploration into pop-music. It also feature stories from Chuck D, Babyface and Boyz II Men, according to Entertainment Weekly. It is now streaming on...
Rachel Lindsay, who made history as the first Black woman in The Bachelorette, penned an op-ed for New York Magazine exposing the toxic environment while on the set of the show.One of the contributing factors to Lindsay’s decision to end her relationship with the franchise was the controversial interview that Chris Harrison, former host of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, conducted with Rachael Kirkconnell, a contestant on The Bachelor.Photos surfaced from 2018 of Kirkconnel involved in an Old South slave plantation-themed fraternity formal. Harrison's interview was seen as a defense of Kirkconnell’s racist behavior with the former host calling out what he described as the “woke police.”Because of the blowback, Harrison was fired on June 8 after being the host of the franchise since 2002.“I knew my relationship with The Bachelor was over in February 2021, when Chris Harrison, the host and face of the franchise, showed his true self on national television,” Lindsay wrote of Harrison's interview.“We had only seen Chris Harrison perform as a host; this was like catching him with a hot mic,” she continued.Harrison's call for "compassion" for Kirkconnell's racists acts confirmed for Lindsay her feelings of tokenism.“I was a token until I made sure I wasn’t,” she shared."I thought I could change The Bachelor franchise from within. Until I realized I was their token." Here, read @TheRachLindsay's @NYMag cover story, as told to @AllisonPDavis
https://t.co/7vxjkVeudZ— Vulture (@vulture) June 21, 2021Lindsay also recalled how the entire franchise is built upon racial undertones that made her vision of creating positive change as a contestant that much more strenuous.“I was a token until I made sure I wasn’t,” she wrote."The franchise has spent 19 years cultivating a toxic audience. They have constantly given it a product it wants: a Midwestern/Southern white, blond, light-eyed Christian," Lindsay added.“Not all viewers are like that. My Higher Learning [podcast] co-host and I have divided it — there is a Bachelor Nation, and there is a Bachelor Klan. Bachelor Klan is hateful, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic. They are afraid of change. They are afraid to be uncomfortable. They are afraid when they get called out,” she continued."I had to be a good Black girl, an exceptional Black girl. I had to be someone the viewer could accept. And I was a token until I made sure I wasn’t," she writes.As time went on, Lindsay felt that it became more difficult to deal with the racism during her time on the show. She said the racist behavior of her fellow contestants made being a part of the series almost impossible."In May 2020, things grew untenable," she said. "A video of former Bachelorette Hannah Brown saying the N-word surfaced. I talked to her privately. I publicly held her accountable. It became a news story around the time of George Floyd’s murder. I started to get depressed watching what was happening to my community,” she argued.“I couldn’t take three steps without crying. Protesting was the only thing that gave me relief. That June, I said I would begin to 'disassociate' from the franchise if it didn’t make meaningful changes," she added.Although Lindsay is happy with the messaging of the article, she does take issue with the title (Oops, I Blew Up The Bachelor) which she describes as “clickbait.”"While it was a very collaborative experience, they decided to misrepresent me with the headline that was chosen for the cover," she explained.As Lindsay dissolves her relationship with the franchise, she says, she’ll “uplift and support” Michelle Young, who was tapped to be the next Black Bachelorette. “To the franchise, I am no longer a figurehead,” she writes. “I am no longer a spot-filler. I am no longer the face of what is...
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by society’s placing of heteronormative standards on what constitutes a romantic relationship.When I reflect on my formative years, I can vividly recall seeing healthy, happy relationships in the media and around me -- but they were all heterosexual. While I had always dreamed of having my own whirlwind, fairytale romance like Aladdin and Jasmine, Moesha and Q, or even Whitley and Dwayne, there were no same-gender-loving couples for me to idolize. Many of my friends could look at the television screens and immediately see themselves represented. I didn’t have that luxury. What would compound these feelings was the incessant interrogation from my extended family on whether or not I was seeing any young ladies or my thoughts on how attractive popular, mainstream Black women were. I realized early on that I wouldn’t -- and couldn’t -- subscribe to this rigid form of romance that only encompasses love for one group of people and I also realized that I deserved the fairytale romance that I rarely saw as representative of Black, gay men. As a recovering people pleaser, I can honestly say that the majority of my life has consisted of me looking for approval or even permission to live and date freely. While I knew that I envisioned this idyllic future where I’d meet my Prince Charming and be swept off my feet in an all-Black hellcat with iced-out rims, I suppressed that. I drowned in heteronormativity and as a result, drowned my dreams because I felt as if it wasn’t permissible to be candid about what and who I truly wanted. Even when I realized that I had no intention of pursuing women romantically and that I knew exactly what love looked like to me, I had no idea how to voice that in fear of homophobia rearing its ugly head.Oftentimes, people who identify as heterosexual and govern their love lives as such can operate in such a bubble of entitlement, imposing this on those of us who do not. These inappropriate intrusions can be subtle, like the questioning laid upon children on whether or not they have a girlfriend or boyfriend. They can also be more pointed, taking the form of random bible scriptures being pitted against you to dictate why you must adhere to its instructions on what love is. Homophobia is so entrenched in the Black community that it’s almost become the norm to assume that relationships between two straight people are the only ways that true love can manifest. We could have discourse around this for years but truthfully, it starts with folks minding the business that pays them.What business is it to anyone, who I love? What business is it to anyone, who I decide to marry? Outside of said person, who I decide to love and build a life with should be no one’s concern but mine. It’s incredibly exhausting to scroll down my timeline to see literal essay-length comments on why same-gender-loving individuals in the Black community will be the single cause of its degradation as we know it. I’ve seen photos of beautiful same-sex Black couples post photos of their families and homophobic trolls have camped out in the comments section condemning them as if they wrote the bible themselves. It’s not only crass and tasteless but it adds more than enough ammunition as to why waiting for anyone’s permission to live my dream, fairytale romantic story is null and void. The only permission that I’m now waiting on is that of myself.A few years shy of entering into my third decade of life, I’ve learned to strip myself of everyone else's notions of the life I should live. When I was younger, it was so easy to let other’s perceptions dictate the life that I had planned for myself and what happiness would look like for me but that’s all in the past. While I had waited years for external approval and permission to accept myself for who I am, I am now seeking it from myself. The act of deconstructing all of this internalized homophobia to make room for the love I deserve and yearn for is a lifelong journey that I’m finally glad to be...
John Legend is standing up for his wife Chrissy Teigen after she faced accusations from fashion designer Michael Costello who went to Instagram last week to say that he was bullied by the model years ago, causing him to become suicidal.Responding to a tweet from reporter Taylor Lorenz, Legend said Teigen apologized for hurtful comments she made publicly, but she never sent insensitive directive messages. "Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened," Legend said on Twitter Friday.Chrissy apologized for her public tweets, but after her apology, Mr Costello fabricated a DM exchange between them. This exchange was made up, completely fake, never happened. Receipts below: https://t.co/Toh2rjTXNS— John Legend (@johnlegend) June 18, 2021The drama erupted last week after Teigen wrote a Medium post in which she acknowledged that she hurt many people when she first started using social media."I was insecure, immature and in a world where I thought I needed to impress strangers to be accepted," the 35-year-old wrote. "If there was a pop culture pile-on, I took to Twitter to try to gain attention and show off what I at the time believed was a crude, clever, harmless quip. I thought it made me cool and relatable if I poked fun at celebrities."Costello later went to Instagram and pointed to an incident from 2014, Page Six reported. In the social media post, which is now deleted, the designer said his reputation was ruined by a "photoshopped comment floating around the internet which has now been proven to be false by Instagram and since taken down.”Costello said the fake image made it appear as if he used a racial slur. The 38-year-old said Teigen then “told me that my career was over and that all my doors will be shut from there on.” The designer posted screengrabs allegedly showing a direct message thread with Teigen in which she said, “Racist people like you deserve to suffer and die. You might as well be dead. Your career is over, just watch.”“I didn’t see the point of living,” Costello wrote on Instagram. “There was no way I can ever escape from being the target of the powerful elites in Hollywood. I am not okay. I may never be okay, but today, I am choosing to speak my truth.”According to Business Insider, inconsistencies were noted in Costello's DM screenshots. The Insider report states that Teigen's account in the screenshot was missing a verified checkmark and it featured blue and purple messages, a design implemented in the last year.In a statement to People Costello's team said Teigen is "desperately trying to prove the DMs are fake." "Beyond the DMs and the public comments Chrissy Teigen left on Michael Costello's Instagram for the world to see, there are emails and documents unreleased to the public which confirms Chrissy Teigen has gone beyond social media to blacklist Michael Costello offline, making him endure over seven years of suffering - mentally and financially," the fashion designer's team stated.Legend continued to assert that the allegations about the messages are false. "Honestly I don't know why anyone would fake DMs to insert themselves in this narrative, but that's what happened," the artist tweeted. "I encourage everyone who breathlessly spread this lie to keep that same energy when they correct the...
Rapper, singer-songwriter Lizzo supported Black-owned businesses for Juneteenth in the absolute best way possible by spreading her wealth. In a recent jubilant TikTok video that she posted to her Instagram, the 33-year-old shared her weekend adventures of supporting Black businesses across Los Angeles, Buzzfeed...
