Reverend Al Sharpton.
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Al B. Sure is visiting the politicians on Capitol Hill with the Reverend Al Sharpton to advocate for organ donor recipients and a new wellness plan for communities of color.
On Tuesday (Dec. 5), the renowned R&B star Al B. Sure arrived at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers to push for more coverage through Medicare to prevent coverage cutbacks and provide blood testing that can detect rejection of an organ transplant in a new body. Born Albert Joseph Brown III, Al B. Sure is also the executive chairman of the Health Equity in Transplantation Coalition (HETC).
Al B. Sure, also known as Albert Joseph Brown, came to lead the coalition due to his own experience as an organ donor recipient last October. The singer fell ill during a recording session in Houston, Texas, and wound up in a coma lasting three months. “They were going to send me to hospice,” he said of the experience to the New York Daily News. “It was a fatal situation. There was no way out of it.”
Further testing by doctors determined it was his liver, and he got the lifesaving transplant. But he still undergoes blood tests to ensure his body continues to accept the organ. Those tests, while costing less than dialysis treatments, aren’t covered by Medicare after a decision made in March by a private Medicare administrator, citing improper billing. According to the HETC, Black and Latino patients make up 40% of those who are organ transplant recipients and half of the 100,000 on the transplant waiting list.
Al B. Sure joined the coalition after sharing his road to recovery through social media last year. “We’re trying to provide something specifically to the culture … equity and testing,” the Mount Vernon, New York, native said. Sure enlisted the help of Reverend Al Sharpton to work with the committee. “Black, Hispanic, Latino, and underserved communities were given a lifeline with these non-invasive tests,” the civil rights activist said in a statement. “It’s time we reverse this decision and allow transplant recipients access to more and better tools – not less.”
The cause has also attracted an unexpected ally – former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Al B. Sure is expected to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus Wednesday (Dec. 6), to gain further support. “I can write love songs all day and have No.1 hit records,” Sure said. “But this is the real work.”
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Tamar Braxton, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and the mothers of Shaquille O’Neal & and Stephen Curry have new shows as TV One has unveiled its 2024 lineup.
TV One Networks has released the slate of programming set to air on its network in 2024, featuring some of the most notable personalities in entertainment, sports, and politics. The new programs will join the recurring staples of TV One such as the Urban One Honors which will be held and aired for the tenth year, Unsung, and Uncensored to name a few. ”The upcoming year will shepherd in two milestones for our networks,” TV One and Cleo TV President Michelle Rice said in a press statement. “TV One will turn 20 and Cleo TV turns 5.”
The list of new shows for TV One announced began with Raising Fame, hosted by Lucille O’Neal, the mother of NBA champion center and Inside The NBA analyst Shaquille O’Neal, and Sonya Curry, the mother of NBA superstar and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. The series will take a look at the journey of extraordinary figures through the eyes of their families, who will appear to share candid stories about their paths to success. Magic Johnson and his mother, Lil’ Nas X and his father, Billy Porter and his mother, Nicki Minaj and her mother, Patrick Mahomes and his father, and Usher and his mother will appear in episodes throughout the season.
Reality show personalities Tamar and Evelyn Braxton will pair up for their own show, In The Kitchen With Tamar and Evelyn Braxton which features them concocting sumptuous dishes for all occasions including the holidays. The Reverend Al Sharpton will be the focus of a new series that will cover his life story from his days of growing up in Brooklyn to establishing himself as a powerful grassroots activist on his way to becoming a well-known and respected advocate for social justice in the nation.
Lastly, Hip-Hop icon Doug E. Fresh will host Collab, a show that will feature an undiscovered artist working with a legend from the Hip-Hop and R&B genres. Collab will allow viewers to look at the working relationship between the new artist and the seasoned veteran to get an idea of the process of being established in the music industry as well as to see what it takes to make a successful record.
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The funeral of Tyre Nichols was held in Memphis, and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks along with the Rev. Al Sharpton calling on officials to deliver justice.
The funeral service was held on Wednesday (Feb. 1st) at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, with hundreds attending. Nichols’ family was front and center, mourning the 29-year-old who died three days after being beaten to death by police officers during a traffic stop on January 7th. Other attendees included the families of those who also lost their loved ones to police brutality, including the family members of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, and Eric Garner who were there with officials from the city. Director Spike Lee was also in attendance along with Nichols family attorney Ben Crump.
Members of Nichols’ family took the podium to share their love for him. His mother, RowVaughn Wells spoke tearfully about her son. “Tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable,” she said. “I guess now his assignment is done. He’s been taken home.”
Vice President Harris spoke at the podium, first honoring Tyre Nichols’ parents before calling out the violence and police brutality that was the source of Nichols’ death. “This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety,” she said. “Was he not also entitled to the right to be safe? Tyre Nichols should’ve been safe.” Harris continued by demanding that Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, created to increase accountability for misconduct by law enforcement nationwide, in addition to banning acts of excessive force such as chokeholds. “Joe Biden will sign it and we will not delay, and we will not be denied,” she said as Ms. Wells wept and clapped. “It is nonnegotiable.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, forcefully calling out the five Black police officers involved in Nichols’ death. “In the city that Dr. King lost his life, not far away from that balcony, you beat a brother to death,” he said. “There’s nothing more insulting and offensive to those of us that fight to open doors than you walked through…and act like the folks we had to fight for to get you through them doors.”
He also called for an end to qualified immunity and echoed Harris’ calls for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to be passed. “Why do we want the George Floyd in Policing Act passed?” Sharpton asked. “You’d have to think twice before you beat Tyre Nichols. You’d think twice before you shoot someone unarmed.”
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