Stacy BrownMedia

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia
When the National Football League invited Rihanna to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl, the 9-time Grammy winner and Fenty business mogul took a knee.
Reportedly, the pop princess not only said, “No,” but her words were more like, “Hell no.”
Rihanna said she’s showing solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and NFL players who have been protesting racial disparities and police violence against blacks and other minorities by kneeling dur...

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
In South Carolina sports lore, no program is more revered by African Americans than the South Carolina State University Bulldogs. And, not many coaches are as beloved as Oliver “Buddy” Pough.
When the Bulldogs face Delaware State on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, it’s quite possibly the last homecoming game for Pough, who’s not expected to return to the sidelines next year.
“Well, we haven’t officially called it q...

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has launched a global news feature series on the history, contemporary realities and implications of the transatlantic slave trade. This is Part 5 in the ongoing series.
(Read the entire series: Slavery Part 1, Slavery Part 2, Slavery Part 3, Slavery Part 4, Slavery Part 5)
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others. Rather than to be ...

Since Bill Cosby was sentenced to prison more than 20 days ago, tabloid stories have run the gamut of speculation, innuendo and outright sensationalism.
No, both his publicists and jail officials say, he wasn’t attacked with a chicken patty or a hot dog.
No, he didn’t get pushed or fall down a flight of stairs — there aren’t any stairs to fall down where Cosby is being held — and he hasn’t asked that talk show queen Wendy Williams come visit him.
Most of all, the biggest tabloid story that’s ...

BREAKING EXCLUSIVE TO NNPA NEWSWIRE!
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor
Former Republican Party National Chairman Michael Steele goes on the record with NNPA Newswire and it turns out there are more resisters inside the White House – a high-level group of Republican resisters to President Donald Trump — not a single individual, but a large and still growing group.
In an NNPA Newswire exclusive, Steele said the damning New York Times op-ed by a senior Trump administration official wa...

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
Aretha Franklin, arguably the greatest voice in music history, has died.
The Queen of Soul was 76.
“She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin,” said longtime friend Roger Friedman, who also covered the Queen of Soul for decades and originally broke the story about her cancer fight on showbiz411.com.
“Her legacy is larger than life,” Friedman said. “It’s not just that ‘Rolling Stone’ called her the No. 1 singer of all time, or that ...

Many in the legal profession are now making their voices heard in opposition of the sexual assault conviction of comedian Bill Cosby.
While many observers, particularly those who relied on reporting by mainstream media, wrote off the trial and verdict in April as a win for the #MeToo movement, several lawyers and legal experts said Cosby was a victim of a flawed and prejudiced legal system.
John Davis, an international lawyer who lives in the south of France and writes about gender issues, ca...

President Trump lashed out at one of his favorite American manufacturers on Tuesday, criticizing Harley-Davidson over its plans to move some of its motorcycle production abroad and threatening it with punitive taxes in return.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the president accused the Wisconsin-based company of having “surrendered” in Mr. Trump’s trade war with Europe. He told Republican lawmakers at a White House meeting that the move amounted to a betrayal, saying, “I’ve been very good to ...

If President Donald Trump’s previous Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is any indication, his latest pick of Brett Kavanaugh will do the civil rights community no favors, many lamented after Monday night’s announcement of the president’s high court nominee.
Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, was among those calling on the Senate to reject Kavanaugh, 53, who currently serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“Judge Kavanaugh has a ...

By StacyM.Brown
SPIRIT correspondent
Bill Cosby’s conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April was a “travesty of justice,” and politically motivated, according to the comedian’s former attorney who is finally breaking his silence about the controversial trial.
Tom Mesereau, the famed defense attorney who successfully represented actor Robert Blake during his 2004 murder trial and pop icon Michael Jackson during his 2005 child molestation trial, said the Montgomery Count...

By Stacy M. Brown / For the Pocono Record
Gary Kresge has been a fixture in the region’s art scene for more than 30 years.
He grew up in Stroudsburg and became well-known for his landscapes — which are housed in many private and corporate collections — that include only the essential details in order for the viewer to access an organic experience.
Now, his family is painting a brave picture for the famed artist who, since 2014, has battled Frontotemporal Dementia or Degeneration (FTD) — or Pi...

President Trump lashed out at one of his favorite American manufacturers on Tuesday, criticizing Harley-Davidson over its plans to move some of its motorcycle production abroad and threatening it with punitive taxes in return.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the president accused the Wisconsin-based company of having “surrendered” in Mr. Trump’s trade war with Europe. He told Republican lawmakers at a White House meeting that the move amounted to a betrayal, saying, “I’ve been very good to ...

By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor)
To many hip-hop fans, historians and to his peers, Chuck D is considered one of the most influential lyricists in contemporary music.
In describing the Queens, New York City-born artist in the biography pages of his new book, “Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History,” the publisher notes that Chuck D helped paved the way for political, social, and culturally conscious hip-hop, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the ground-brea...

In 1986, Janet Jackson had a No. 1 song all about being in “Control.” Now, her family is worried that she’s losing just that — and they blame it on her brother, Randy.
At least twice last week, the 52-year-old singer called Malibu, Calif., police to express concern that she couldn’t reach estranged husband, Wissam Al Mana, and that she feared for the safety of their son, 1-year-old Eissa, who was with Al Mana at a hotel.
“There was no evidence of any crime. The baby was fine, so there was no ...