Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
By now, most of you have probably read the story of what happened to Black Duke women’s volleyball starter Rachel Richardson, who had to play while being called “ni**ger from the stands at a game against Brigham Young University (BYU) in their stadium, according to her report.
The initial social media report came from her godmother, Lesa Pamplin.
Richardson issued a statement.
Her dad, Marvin Richardson, who is Deputy Director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, spoke out.
BYU issued a statement that was less than satisfactory, covered here at Daily Kos by Lauren Sue:
'If you would have met her you would have loved her': This is how BYU reacts to racial slurs at game
Black sportscasters and journalists have weighed in on the incident. Shalise Manza Young wrote:
While Duke volleyball player Rachel Richardson endured racist abuse from BYU fans, authorities were far too slow to react
If you haven’t seen, Duke women’s volleyball was playing an opening-season tournament at BYU last weekend in Provo, Utah. After a Friday afternoon match against Washington State, Duke played the host school in a nighttime match in the Cougars’ on-campus arena. According to a family member, Richardson, one of four Black players on the Duke roster and the only one of the four who is a starter, was called the N-word every time she served the ball by a BYU fan, and also allegedly threatened by a white man who told her to “watch her back” when she went to the team bus. It is unclear whether or not these were different people.
The only response in the moment was that a police officer was stationed near Duke’s bench. Officials knew what was happening. Players knew what was happening. Coaches for both teams knew what was happening. And aside from a police officer being stationed near the Duke bench, not a damn thing was done. The match, which went four sets, a 3-1 BYU win, proceeded like all was fine, and that speaks volumes.
The fan was not booted as abuse rained on Richardson and her Black teammates. (The school reportedly banned the fan from all BYU athletic events the following day). Officials did not stop the match. The BYU staff did nothing. Perhaps worst of all, Duke’s coaches seemingly did nothing to protect their own players from harm, like pulling their team off the court until the offender was removed or leaving the arena and retreating to the locker room in protest.
Sportscaster Stephan A. Smith, who is well known for being outspoken had this to say.
Journalist Michael Harriot examined this incident as part of the larger issue of institutionalized racism.
While most of the outrage was directed at BYU, there are other people who have criticized Duke as well. Duke’s United Black Athletes have spoken out.
While the attention has been focused on Richardson, I didn’t see the names of any of the other black players on Duke’s team mentioned. They are Millie Muir, Christina Barrow, and Ngozi Iloh.
I hope all of them are getting support, from somewhere, given the volleyball coaching staff doesn’t have anyone Black listed on staff.
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NEWS ROUND UP BY DOPPER0189, BLACK KOS MANAGING EDITOR
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Artificial intelligence disrupted the music industry this week when a major recording label signed—and then quickly dropped—a “robot rapper” who casually dropped the N-word in their lyrics.
Many Black artists felt the decision to sign the AI rapper in the first place was a racist slap in the face.
“Real talk, anybody who was involved with research, development, and signing this artist at Capitol music should have their resignation submitted or their jobs terminated,” rock singer Ali Adkins of Ali A and the Agency in Phoenix told The Daily Beast. “Because that just means you don’t get 50 fucks about the music. You just care about making a [dollar].”
FN Meka, the rapping robot, was created in 2019 by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, two non-Black men who are co-founders of the virtual reality record label Factory New, according to XXL Magazine.
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Tabitha Brown is refusing to dim her light for others’ approval.
The social media star, beloved for her infectious charm, made clear that she has no intention of compromising her authentic self for money or ratings in a video posted to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The video also served as an announcement that Food Network has rescheduled her new vegan cooking challenge series “It’s CompliPlated,” from its primetime evening airtime.
The series, originally slotted for Thursdays at 9 p.m., will now air on Tuesdays at 1 p.m., Brown revealed after alluding to pressures from outside sources to portray an altered version of herself on-screen — despite gaining a following in recent years by encouraging viewers to unapologetically embrace themselves and their roots.
“I know I’ve said this so many times before, but for whatever reason, people just don’t seem to believe me, okay?” Brown, 43, began. “There is not a company, there is not a network, there is not a person, place or thing that is going to change who I am.”
The vegan foodie, actress, fashion designer and best-selling author from North Carolina denounced the notion of abandoning the genuine, kind-hearted and proudly Black personality that her millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram and other platforms have grown to love her for.
“If you don’t like my personality, if you don’t like everything that makes Tab, Tab, don’t work with me,” Brown said. “Because I’m not going to change. I’m not going to shift a little bit for your audience. I’m not going to talk a little bit different for your comfort.”
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Throughout their careers, people constantly told Serena and her sister Venus that they weren’t allowed to do certain things. They were told that they had no business winning the most coveted tournaments in the game. Each time someone told Serena “no,” she went and proved them wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The most visceral example of this might be 2001 Indian Wells, perhaps the ugliest moment in recent tennis history. Serena won her first US Open in 1999, and Venus won both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000. As they became more dominant, players and commentators had talked about how not only was their father Richard a bad influence, but also started circulating the unsubstantiated rumor that when the sisters played one another, they would decide in advance who would win. At Indian Wells, a major tournament, Venus was supposed to play Serena in the semifinals but pulled out at the last minute because of an injury. The audience, upset at the walkover and wound up by the rumors of match-fixing, booed at the Williams family in the stands, some calling them racist slurs.
“They deny, but with less than the normal conviction, even anger, one would expect in the face of such serious issues. How about pounding on the table and saying it ain’t so? How about some tears, some anger?” LA Times columnist Bill Dwyre wrote at the time, explaining how he and the tennis community didn’t believe Venus’s injury was real and that the family was acting suspiciously.
Because of the way they were treated and because of the racist attacks, Serena and Venus boycotted the tournament — despite its high payout and elite status — for more than a decade. At the time, tennis insiders and former players, including the great Martina Navratilova, continually dismissed the idea of racism against the sisters and insinuated that the backlash Serena and Venus received was their family’s fault.
Not every attack against Serena and Venus erupted on such a grand scale. It often took the form of commentators critiquing their bodies, or the way they behaved and how they were too bold when they said they wanted to be the best. They were often described as being fat and lazy or distracted by things other than tennis.
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WHO hails west African country as first in world to stamp out Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma
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Togo has been praised by the World Health Organization for becoming the first country in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases.
The WHO presented the west African country with an outstanding achievement award this week for eliminating Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma in just 11 years.
“Togo has achieved a major feat,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “This achievement is an example for the rest of Africa and shows what is possible when health is made a priority.”
The country eliminated Guinea worm in 2011, then became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to stamp out lymphatic filariasis, in 2017, and sleeping sickness, in 2020. This year, it successfully eliminated trachoma.
Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbé, said: “Health is a priority that we have placed at the heart of our development policies.”
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 20 preventable, treatable conditions that are often left out of health budgets and global funding priorities.
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Adenekan Ayomide had been attending the University of Abuja for two years when the lecturers went on strike in February. The 27-year-old undergraduate student hoped he would return to school quickly but immediately took a job as a taxi driver to pay bills.
Unfortunately for him, the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities has now clocked six months and Ayomide’s hopes of returning to classes anytime soon grow thin.
“Nobody is talking about school again,” said Ayomide, who said he is working more than one job and the budget he had for getting through university now looks unrealistic.
University strikes are common in Nigeria, which has more than 100 public universities and an estimated 2.5 million students, according to Nigeria’s National Universities Commission. The universities here have recorded at least 15 strikes covering a cumulative period of four years since 2000.
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