State Champ Radio Current Events
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Baseball legend Reggie Jackson recalled the shocking instances of racism that he endured in Alabama during an interview.
On Thursday (June 20), Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was being interviewed by the Fox Sports broadcast crew covering the game between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama honoring Negro League Baseball. Alex Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees star player, asked Jackson what it was like being back there. Jackson, who’d go on to greatness as a power-hitting fielder for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, started with the minor-league Birmingham A’s who played at Rickwood in 1967.
“Alex, when people ask me a question like that, it’s like, coming back here is not easy,” Jackson replied. “The racism that I played here, when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled — fortunately, I had a manager and I had players on the team that helped me get through it. But I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.” The crew went quiet
as Jackson continued: “People said to me today — I spoke and they said, ‘You think you’re a better person, you think you won when you played here and conquered?’ I said, you know, I would never want to do it again.”
“I walked into restaurants and they would point at me and say, the n—– can’t eat here. I would go to a hotel and they say, the n—– can’t stay here,” the legend known as “Mr. October” said, the emotions from that time vivid in his face. “I walked into restaurants and they would point at me and say, the n—– can’t eat here. I would go to a hotel and they say, the n—– can’t stay here. We went to Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome-home dinner, and they pointed me out with the N-word. ‘He can’t come in here.’ Finley marched the whole team out, finally they let me in there, he said, ‘We’re going to go the diner and eat hamburgers. We’ll go where we’re wanted.” Reggie Jackson would go on to thank his Birmingham A’s manager, Johnny McNamara, and teammates Rollie Fingers, Dave Duncan, and Joe Rudi who with his wife Sharon gave Jackson a place to stay – until racists threatened to “burn our apartment complex down unless I got out.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a panel discussion with Quavo at an event honoring Takeoff in Atlanta, Georgia.
On Tuesday (June 18), Vice President Kamala Harris joined Quavo for an event honoring the life of the late Migos member Takeoff in Atlanta, Georgia. The inaugural Rocker Foundation Summit was also attended by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens who declared it “Takeoff Day” on what would’ve been his 30th birthday. The event was held at the Carter Center and included a “fireside chat” between the rapper and Vice President Harris among other discussions throughout the day.
The chat was moderated by Gregory Jackson, Jr., the Special Assistant to the President and Deputy of The Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and follows a landmark meeting between the two last year.
“I’m a victim — [but] I got a second chance,” Quavo said during the talk which focused on community violence intervention and the importance of youth support systems. “When I saw [Takeoff] laying there, I felt like I saw me laying there. So when I’m doing something like the Rocket Foundation, I just wanted to uplift his legacy and keep his name alive. That’s why we are here.” At one point, Vice President Harris addressed Quavo and the panel: “To translate that pain and grief into something that is about creating strength and empowerment in the community — including our young — is pretty extraordinary. You have chosen to use your celebrity and the gifts you have as an artist to talk about and actually work on with action. You are an incredible leader — a national leader on this.”
Ms. Davenport, also known as “Mama Rocket”, was overcome with emotion as she got to address those gathered, expressing how “incredibly proud” she was. “I miss my son everyday and wish he was still here on this earth.” Programs launched by the Rocket Foundation include the Sparks Grant program, an initiative aiding community organizations fighting gun violence. The program will direct $100,000 in funding toward their efforts. “I feel like a lot of people just announce foundations and keep it moving for nonprofit purposes or even financial issues,” Quavo said. “But I’m on the ground. I’m actually working. We’re getting things done. We’re getting results. We’re raising real money. We’re going down into the real communities where the problem has been an issue.”
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It feels like just a few months ago that Nelly and Ashanti announced their engagement along with Ashanti’s pregnancy—and that’s because it was, in fact, just a few months ago. The “Hot In Here” rapper and the “Rock Wit U” singer announced their engagement in April of this year, which is why some might find it surprising that the celebrity couple was actually married—in December of last year.
That’s right, documents obtained by PEOPLE show Nelly and Ashanti actually jumped the broom on Dec. 27, 2023.
Yeah—y’all got some ‘splaining to do.
Nah, it makes sense that the couple might have wanted to keep their marriage out of the public eye while it was happening. Even iconic R&B and rap artists have a right to privacy when they really need to exercise it. And considering that the 49-year-old and the 43-year-old first started dating in the early 2000s before breaking up in 2013 and rekindling that flame a full decade later, it would make sense if they just wanted to sit back and enjoy their union post-limelight.
Anyway, when Ashanti recently sat down for an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she still didn’t talk about her marriage that already happened, but she did discuss the “beautiful, intimate moment” when Nelly proposed to her, and she talked a lot about celebrating Mother’s Day for the first time.
From PEOPLE:
In May, Ashanti celebrated her first Mother’s Day as an expecting mother, sharing the festivities on Instagram. In the photos, she posed with Nelly and other family members cradling her bump and smiling.
“This Mother’s Day was so special,” Ashanti captioned the post. “Having our families together as we are about to embark on such an incredible journey was amazing. Wishing all of the amazing Moms and Moms to be a beautiful Mother’s Day…!!!! 😆😆😆😆❤️🙏🏽🥳 #grateful 🙏🏽🥰”
She added: “Yeah yeah I know I’m late… it was so much food I got distracted 🤣🤣 Ps… I only had 1 plate tho 🤣🤣👀”
Congratulations to Nelly and Ashanti on your marriage and your soon-to-come bundle of joy! We wish you continued happiness.
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The intense heat that has struck Saudi Arabia during the holy pilgrimage period for Muslims has reportedly claimed over 1,000 lives.
On Thursday (June 20), reports from various sources declared that 1,081 people have died during the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The high heat – which topped out at 51.8 degrees Celsius or 125 degrees Fahrenheit at the Grand Mosque in Mecca – experienced in the Middle Eastern nation was cited as the primary reason for the deaths, with the total coming from reports compiled by various countries that the pilgrims had come from within the past few days.
According to reports, 1.8 million made the pilgrimage this year, with 1.6 million people visiting from foreign countries. The disclosure comes days after Saudi officials declared that this year’s season was a “success.” Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel expressed “particular satisfaction with the fact that there were no outbreaks or other public health threats despite the significant number of pilgrims and the challenges posed by high temperatures.”
Jordan’s official news agency stated on Wednesday (June 19), that there were burial permits issued for 41 pilgrims from the country. Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry said the day before that at least 35 citizens of that country had perished. Egyptians accounted for the largest number of casualties from the group with 658 reported deceased, according to one diplomatic source. It is believed 630 of them were unregistered with the Saudi authorities, which prevented them from accessing the numerous air-conditioned spaces in the city of Mecca and along the pilgrimage route to cool down.
They have set up an “operations room” to address calls from distressed relatives and have personnel in Mecca to assist with bringing the dead back to Egypt. India, Russia, Pakistan and Senegal have also reported some of their citizens dying on this season’s hajj. The hajj is a requirement of every Muslim if they are able, although in recent years the rising heat has posed difficulties for older pilgrims with health issues like high blood pressure. Climate change has been a concern as the lunar calendar that Islam follows has placed the time for the pilgrimage during the hottest times of the year. Saudi Arabia has worked to provide advanced cooling systems in light of that for all undertaking the hajj.
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Source: Brad Barket / Getty / Everybody Hates Chris
Lifelong fans of Everybody Hate Chris rejoice: the show is returning, but it will look and sound slightly different.
Variety exclusively reports the 2000s hit comedic sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which is loosely based on the childhood of comedian/actor Chris Rock, is coming to Comedy Central, but this time as a cartoon.
The website also notes that Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, and Chris Rock will all reprise their roles in the animated show, but other OGs, Tyler James Williams, Imani Hakim, and Vincent Martella, will not be involved, and understandably so, they are much older now.
Fans will be happy to know that Rock, who served as an executive producer and the hilarious narrator in the live-action sitcom, will do the same for the animated series.
“I’m very excited to introduce the world to another funny side of my childhood,” Rock said.
Arnold and Crews will also reprise their roles as young Chris’ parents, Julius and Rochelle.
A description of Julius on Variety describes him as “a gentle giant with a relentless work ethic, and cheap. He grew up dirt poor, so he knows the cost of everything down to the penny. He works two jobs to support the family, and on his days off, he takes on a third job.”
As for Rochelle, she “is smart, strong-willed, and has a nurturing spirit, but she can also be hot-headed, especially when it comes to her kids. She tolerates zero nonsense, so she quits more jobs in a month than most people do in a lifetime.”
Both characters went to gain cult status in pop culture because of their approach to parenting, especially Julius, for being so notoriously cheap.
The New Cast Members
As mentioned earlier, the new show will feature new cast members in the roles of young Chris, his siblings, and his best friend.
Per Variety:
Tim Johnson Jr. (“Saturdays”) will play young Chris, “a nerd who wants to be cool but he’s outshined by his younger brother, tortured by his little sister, and foiled by his cheapskate dad.” Ozioma Akagha (“Delilah”) will voice Tonya, “Chris’ feisty baby sister, with the face of an angel and the heart of a demon, who gets along with her middle brother Drew but leaps at any chance to get Chris in trouble.” Terrence Little Gardenhigh (“Danger Force”) is the voice “Drew,” the “golden child of the family who is the epitome of Black Excellence: handsome, athletic, a ladies man, taller and cooler than his older brother Chris.” Gunnar Sizemore (“Kung Fu Panda”) will play Greg, Chris’s only friend at school “who is girl-obsessed, status conscious and raised by a single dad.”
Thankfully, you don’t have to wait too long to watch Everybody Hates Chris; it will premiere on Comedy Central later this year and also on Paramount+.
We just hope it won’t be another Good Times situation.
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A new advertisement campaign by President Joe Biden for the month of June is focusing on Donald Trump in contrast as a “convicted criminal”.
According to reports, the election campaign for President Joe Biden has made a major purchase for advertising time on television for June, to the tune of $50 million. The new commercial, entitled “Character Matters,” is set to run in advance of the anticipated first debate between the president and former President Donald Trump who is referred to as a “convicted criminal” by the narrator. The commercial will reference Trump’s recent conviction in the election interference “hush money” case last month along with the civil fraud case loss in New York City in February that saw him and the Trump Organization liable for close to $450 million.
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“In the courtroom, we see Donald Trump for who he is,” the narration in the ad begins, showing a montage of Trump in the courtroom. ”He’s been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, and he committed financial fraud. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s been working, lowering health care costs, and making big corporations pay their fair share. This election is between a convicted criminal who is only out for himself, and a president who is fighting for your families.” The commercial will run on general market television and other services in key battleground states such as Michigan, as well as national cable. The Biden campaign also announced ad buys in Black and Latino media along with those “critical channels across television, radio, print, and online” serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Trump has been vocal about calling the verdicts and the cases still pending against him politically motivated, with his legal team appealing. His election campaign team has also moved to make buys for commercial time, reportedly snapping up $39,000 worth of time on stations in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, and Nebraska. Other funding, estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, that would normally be on hand has been going towards paying for his legal defense fees. The first debate between President Biden and Trump is set to air on June 27.
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Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
Recently, the campaign for President Joe Biden released an ad highlighting the fact that his presumed opponent in the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump, is a felon now that his hush money trial resulted in him being convicted of a whopping 34 felonies.
Meanwhile, the New York Times is getting dragged up and down the internet for making the somewhat common media mistake of using equivocating language in a headline for something the publication could have just stated straight out.
“Biden Campaign Ad Paints Trump as a Felon,” the NYT’s headline read.
The issue with the chosen headline was obvious—Donald Trump is a felon. If Trump is such a yuge felon that if he had 33 felonies expunged from his record, he would still be a felon. The pro-Biden ad couldn’t “paint” Trump as a felon any more than it could paint Trump as a man whose skin looks like it faded after it was painted bright orange.
To be fair, the media is often accused of trying to “paint” Trump as a racist despite the fact that Trump does the best job of that simply by providing the media with the words that come out of his own mouth. Still, when it comes to the Times‘ misguided headline, which, frankly, should have been caught by an experienced editor and revamped before it was published, there’s a clear degree of rich, white privilege at play here. A regular-degular felon convicted of a blue-collar crime wouldn’t be afforded the luxury of headlines that would go out of their way to “paint” them as anything less than the felon they are. It wouldn’t even be a thought to call them anything else. It should be the same for Trump or any other member of the most privileged class in America who also happens to be a convicted felon.
Anyway, the Times eventually caught on to the backlash and changed the headline to something more appropriate: “Biden Campaign Ad Calls Attention to Trump’s Felon Status.” But by the time the change was made, it was too late. The internet had already gotten ahold of the original article title, and the dragging had already commenced.
It’s OK to call Trump what he is. A bigot. A compulsive liar. A would-be election thief…
A felon. We can definitely call him a felon. We can call him that 34 times, in fact.
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Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty / Fat Joe
Fat Joe reenergized the tired debate about whether Chris Brown is on the same level as the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
In a recent IG Live session, Joey Crack discussed Chris Brown and Michael Jackson. The Bronx rapper made the hottest of takes, claiming that the infamous Rihanna incident keeps Brown from being mentioned in the same breath as Jackson.
The Terror Squad general argued to those watching that it’s been 20 years since Brown physically assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna, claiming that it was time to let it go and that Breezy is the best singer/dancer/performer since Michael Jackson.
Fat Joe took things even further when he used disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly to prove his point, trying to make the tired and ridiculous separate the artist from their egregious actions argument.
Now, to his credit, Chris Brown has shut down the MJ comparisons while still paying homage to the “Thriller” singer. In a 2022 interview with Big Boy, he acknowledged that he draws inspiration from MJ heavily but has also added his own flair to his talent to pave his own path in the music industry.
Social Media Calls C A P on Fat Joe’s Chris Brown Hot Take
Fat Joe’s comments, of course, sparked debate, with many Breezy fans agreeing with him, while other fans of music claim Usher is above Brown, and MJ fans feel no one compares.
“We would still only call Michael Jackson Michael Jackson, actually. And, if we have to decide, Usher would be the only logical heir apparent. Hope this helps,” one person on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Apple Music’s Rap Life host Low Key added, “Does he have a ‘Confessions’….?,” referring to Usher’s iconic 2004 album.
He has a point.
The gallery below shows more reactions to Fat Joe caping for Chris Brown as a GOAT.
1. Lol, well played
3. A thread where points were made.
4. Then there’s that
7. He said what ?
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Source: Win McNamee / Getty / Tim Scott
One thing Republicans are good at is lying, and Donald Trump’s surrogate, Senator Tim Scott, put on a master class during a recent interview on ABC, but the host was not having it.
Master of shucking and jiving, Tim Scott of South Carolina, really wants to be that one African American that Trump proudly points to when making the argument he is not racist.
The potential a** kisser, oops, we mean VP pick for Trump’s presidential campaign, is out here running his huge gums, lying on behalf of the GOP, trying to paint this picture that America is somehow a much more violent place under President Joe Biden’s leadership.
During a recent interview on ABC News on Sunday, June 16, Scott claims violent crime is up after Karl’s question about the Supreme Court’s latest dumb decision to strike down a ban on bump stocks.
Host Jonathan Karl said aht, aht, aht and hit the South Carolina senator with a community note in real-time.
“We trust and believe and respect the decision of the Supreme Court,” Scott said. “What we need to focus on, Jon, is the violence that we’re seeing across this nation. Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime.”
Karl quickly let Scott know his information was not accurate.
“Actually, Senator, as you probably know, the latest stats on violent crime and on the murder rate, they’re actually down this past year,” Karl said.
Scott was not done lying, stating, “Under Joe Biden, neighborhoods like the ones I grew up in have never been ravaged [more].”
Social media has also been cooking Tim Cook, and deservingly so. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. A very pitiful man
3. Indeed it does
4. Facts matter
5. Mhhmmmmm
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Source: Astrida Valigorsky / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion is on her record-breaking Hot Girl Summer tour alongside GloRilla, having the time of her life. Still, sadly, some hater/haters out there dropped a sexually explicit deepfake video on X that she had to address.
The Houston rapper became the latest female celebrity to be targeted with a sexually explicit deepfake video that made its rounds on Elon Musk’s messy platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a post on her personal X account, the rapper, born Megan Pete, wrote, “It’s really sick how all go out of the way to hurt me when you see me winning. Yall going too far, Fake ass shit. Just know today was your last day playing with me and I mean it.”
According to NBC News, Thee Stallions management, Roc Nation, declined to comment on the situation at the time.
X claims it was actively working to remove the doctored video that used deepfake technology to put the “Cobra” rapper’s face on another woman’s body. NBC News reports that it was able to view 18 separate posts featuring the deepfake video, including one that featured a side-by-side comparison with the original video.
The news website states several posts had “more than 30,000 views apiece.”
A History of Online Harassment Towards Megan Thee Stallion
The deepfake porn videos are just the latest round of online harassment Megan Thee Stallion has endured after she was shot by Tory Lanez in 2020.
Despite his fans, whom he hilariously calls umbrellas, and Hip-Hop pundits like DJ Akademiks claiming Thee Stallion was lying about the situation, the court sided with Pete and found Lanez guilty, sentencing him to ten years in prison.
One of those pundits proudly claimed she was the reason the numbers on the video went up.
That same blogger should be worried because Megan Thee Stallion’s legal team has previously been on record saying it would be “exploring all legal options” regarding spreading misinformation about Megan Thee Stallion.
