Author: Madelyn Gee, DI

Madelyn Gee was a Digital Intern with Black News Alerts

The Virginia Theological Seminary announced last Thursday that they are provided reparations in a big way. What We Know: In a statement released by the seminary, it states that “Virginia Theological Seminary recognizes that enslaved persons worked on the campus, and that even after slavery ended, VTS participated in segregation. VTS recognizes that we must start to repair the material consequences of our sin in the past.” The $1.7 million dollar endowment fund will be allocated with “key stakeholders” for purposes including “the particular needs of any descendants of enslaved persons that worked at the Seminary” and “the work of…

Read More

Journalist Tamron Hall is the new daytime TV host of her self-titled show and started it off with a bang by revealing what truly went down while she was at NBC. What We Know: Hall previously hosted Today’s Take with Al Roker. After NBC News cancelled Today’s Take in 2017 in order to create the Megyn Kelly hour instead (which has since been cancelled as well), Hall was shocked. “I go into work one day. I left fired. ‘Demoted’ I guess is what they called it. I called it fired…Inside, I was falling apart. I had worked since I was 14,”…

Read More

40-year old Tatiana Denson , who previously ran for Florida House of Representatives, faced a new challenge when she arrived at PNC Bank last August. What We Know: Denson was at the Tampa location of the bank to open a business checking account for her newest venture, Tatiana Denson Brands, a talent management agency she started that almost took her out financially. “That business checking account was more than just a business checking out. It was going to be the economic step I needed for me to get to the next level,” Denson stated. However, the branch manager she met with…

Read More

The attorneys of actress Felicity Huffman are asking for no prison time for the $15,000 she paid to have her eldest daughter’s SAT exam answers corrected to raise the score. What We Know: The college consultant she worked with, Rick Singer, has pleaded guilty to four felonies for accepting payments from these wealthy parents to either get their children into college as “athletic recruits” or cheat to improve their ACT or SAT scores. Huffman pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. This recent request was included in the 161-page sentencing memo filed…

Read More

Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown posted an Instagram story Monday showcasing a letter from Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock. What We Know: In the letter, Mayock stated that “…as you know, you did not participate in the Raiders’ walk through on August 22,” the letter begins. “Your absence from practice was unexcused. Accordingly, you are hereby fined $13,950 pursuant to Article 42, Section 1(a)(viii) of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Raiders’ Club Discipline Schedule.” He continued by stating “You were previously fined $40,000 for missing Raiders’ preseason training camp on August 18. Please be advised that should you continue…

Read More

Seventeen years later, the famous “Bad Boys” duo, featuring actors Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, are finally back! What We Know: The first trailer for the third installment of the “Bad Boys” series, “Bad Boys For Life”, was released Wednesday. The trailer showcases Lawrence’s character Marcus Burnett finally ready to retire from the excitement of fighting Miami crime, but Smith’s character Michael Lowrey enlists him for one last mission. The movie has been “in production” since 2008, so fans have been eagerly awaiting the first official trailer. The movie series is wildly popular, with the original “Bad Boys” released in…

Read More

Stunning actress Lupita Nyong’o, famous for her roles in hits like “Us” and “Black Panther”, shined on the October cover of magazine “Vanity Fair.” What We Know: Serving looks in Gucci, Jimmy Choo and jewelry from Tiffany & Co., Nyong’o discussed topics like her keeping her private life private and even upcoming projects including “Star Wars” and a television adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. She has been all over the world in her 36 years of life, with her being born in Mexico City and spending the first few months of her life there before her family moved to New…

Read More

Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin announced last Tuesday that graduates of Birmingham City Schools will have the opportunity to attend college in the state — with no tuition. What We Know: A part of the the city’s Birmingham Promise initiative, it guarantees college tuition for all of the city’s public high school graduates who are accepted to an in-state, public, two or four-year college. The initiative also provides high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to receive credit hours for completing apprenticeships at local businesses, while earning a guaranteed minimum wage of $15 per hour. “For the last six years…

Read More

During an in-store taping of the Netflix series “Queer Eye” last week, two Old Navy employees of color at the store in Philadelphia said that they and other workers of color were kept in the background while their white employees from other stores were brought in to be featured prominently. What We Know: Monae Alvarado, an employee of the Center City location since February 2018, stated in a now-viral Facebook post — first reported by Philadelphia Magazine — that she and most of her colleagues worked overnight last Tuesday to get the store ready before the taping of “Queer Eye.” When she…

Read More

Japan downgraded the country of South Korea’s trade status Wednesday, furthering hurting relations between the two. What We Know: This downgrade now forces Japanese manufacturers to apply for approval for each technology-related contract for South Korean export instead of the simpler checks granted to preferential trade partners (like for example the U.S.). Due to this decision, South Korea has also downgraded Tokyo’s trade status, which will take effect next month. The capital of South Korea, Seoul, has also canceled a deal to share military intelligence with Japan. South Korea has accused Japan of weaponizing trade due to a separate dispute…

Read More