Yahoo Movies On The Vine: Why do we know these men’s names?
After the last two weeks of this newsletter — talking about burnout and the fear of what post-pandemic life and getting “back to normal” means — I was determined to inject some joy into this thing.
Well, that ain’t happening.
First came video of Virginia police officers aggressively and abhorrently pulling over Caron Nazario. And then Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
I don’t know man. I’m tired. I’m sad. I don’t know what else to say (again). It’s been another exhausting week.
I really wanted to be joyful this week y’all. I didn’t want to have to know these men’s names.
I will take solace in having this newsletter, in building what has previously proven to be an engaged and thoughtful community of folks from across Kansas City and beyond. So write to me, maybe? Share your thoughts and feelings, whatever they may be. I don’t know say right now, but who knows, maybe we can provide each other some sense of catharsis?
Email me: cewilliams@kcstar.com
DM me: @trey3williams
Around the block
Black, women candidates left out again: KU Athletics hiring part of troubling pattern
The University of Kansas recently conducted a search for, and hired a new director of athletics after Jeff Long resigned amid a storm of criticism for failing to fully vet football coach Les Miles — who left his job after credible allegations surfaced of inappropriate behavior with women employees at his former job in Louisiana — before hiring him.
The man KU hired is named Travis Goff. He is white.
There’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but The Star editorial board explains why it’s troubling...
In its 110-year-plus history, KU has never hired a woman to run its athletics department. This is highly frustrating, but it is not unusual. The University of Missouri in Columbia has never had a woman athletic director, either. Nor has Kansas State University.
According to NCAA data, no school in the Big 12 Conference currently employs a woman as athletic director. It’s men, all the way down...
There are no Black athletic directors in the Big 12, either. No Black person, and no woman of any race, has ever served as an AD at KU.
If that alone isn’t enough to AT LEAST pique your interest, it goes on:
Why is this important? Why does this sorry record need to change?
Almost half of the athletes at Division 1 universities are women. In the Big 12, more than 2,800 women compete in basketball, soccer, softball and other sports. Yet the resources for women’s teams often pale in comparison with those for men, a situation a woman AD would more clearly understand...
The lack of Black ADs in local schools is equally ridiculous. More Black student-athletes play Division 1 football than white ones. Black basketball players outnumber white players in Division 1 by a margin of more than 2 to 1.
Black athletes, by any measure, are primarily responsible for the torrent of cash pouring into athletics departments across the country. That money, in turn, pays for other sports.
In case you missed it...
Levi Harrington’s 1882 lynching memorialized with soil collection, funeral procession
Parks board votes to rename three Kansas City streets to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Kansas bill banning transgender students from girls’ sports heads to governor’s desk
Hawley, Marshall two of six senators who oppose bill to curb anti-Asian hate crimes
From BBQ sauce to bath salts: New Kansas City shop showcases Black-owned businesses
Here’s some joy.
Brian Roberts, a manufacturing supervisor at Honeywell during the day, has opened a little general store focused on Black-centric products and businesses. Just supporting them alone was not enough for him.
He wanted to champion the ones with the highest quality products from across the country and make them easily available to consumers in Kansas City.
The Black Pantry started in a pop-up trailer, first setting up on a cold November afternoon at Made Mobb in the Crossroads. In December, he parked the trailer in front of Made in KC Marketplace on the festively decorated Country Club Plaza, as well as Ruby’s Jean Juicery on Troost Avenue and Fetch in the West Bottoms.
“It’s along the lines of a general store — staples, cosmetics, daily essentials, soaps, oral hygiene, vitamins, hair products, pancake mixes, popcorn, jams, candles,” Roberts said. “We want to support and advance and do business with Black-owned businesses across the country.”
Honestly I can’t wait to check out Brian’s spot. I hear he’s got barbecue sauce from Smokey By Nature in Olathe; herbal bath salt from Butter Love by L.C. in St. Louis; candles from Ani + Co in Brooklyn, New York; granola snacks from Oh-Mazing in Washington, D.C.; raw honey from Zach & Zoe Sweet Bee Farm in New York and New Jersey; cocktail mixes from Hella Cocktail Co. in New York; and pancake mixes from Vicky Cakes in Dallas.
Black Pantry is having its grand opening Saturday. It’s on Martini Corner at 325 W. 31st St.
Beyond the block
Ex-officer charged with 2nd-degree manslaughter in Daunte Wright killing
Kim Potter, the ex-Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop was arrested — she’s since been released after posting bail — and charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Potter resigned from the force this week after the shooting, which now-former police chief Tim Gannon said was the result of Potter mixing up her Taser with her gun. Gannon also resigned following the shooting.
Some details from CNN:
In Minnesota, second-degree manslaughter applies when authorities allege a person causes someone’s death by “culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.”
Someone convicted of this charge would face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000. CNN has sought comment from Potter’s attorney, Earl Gray.
Then-Police Chief Tim Gannon said Wright’s death appeared to be the result of Potter mistaking her gun for her Taser as Wright resisted arrest. However, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension examined Potter’s duty belt and found her handgun is holstered on the right side of her belt, while the Taser is on the left side, according to a news release from Orput’s office.
Citing a criminal complaint, the release said the Taser is yellow with a black grip and is set in a straight-draw position, “meaning Potter would have to use her left hand to pull the Taser out of its holster.”...
Protests, some violent, have taken place each night in and around Brooklyn Center. Wright’s family had called for charges against the officer. Fencing and barricades are in place around Potter’s home, where two police officers and two police vehicles were seen in her driveway Wednesday.
More than 3,000 Minnesota National Guard members have now been activated in the Twin Cities area, according to a tweet from Operation Safety Net (OSN). OSN also tweeted 79 people were arrested Tuesday night.
Read up on this...
‘He was ours’: Daunte Wright’s grief-stricken loved ones grapple with a life cut short
Brooklyn Center mayor, a Liberian refugee, faces defining moment in Daunte Wright shooting
Black Army Officer Pepper-Sprayed in Traffic Stop Accuses Officers of Assault
Hideki Matsuyama Wins 2021 Masters, Becomes 1st Japanese Men’s Major Champion
I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again: if Tiger ain’t involved, golf just isn’t for me. That said, this was a big moment over the weekend.
I’ll let someone more in the know, tell it. Ben Dooley of The New York Times wrote:
Hideki Matsuyama has never been a fan of the spotlight. Even as he rose to become Japan’s most successful male golfer, he did his best to avoid the attention lavished on the every move of other Japanese athletes who have shined on the global stage.
But with his win on Sunday at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., the glare will now be inescapable. His victory, the first by a Japanese man in one of golf’s major championships, is the fulfillment of a long-held ambition for the country, and it guarantees that he will be feted as a national hero, with the adoration and scrutiny that follows.
And check this out from friend of The Star Wright Thompson: The burden of being Hideki Matsuyama was lifted at the Masters
For the culture
DMX, a Profound Vessel for Pain
The world, it seemed had been preparing for DMX to leave us since the news of the iconic rapper being rushed to the hospital broke. We still weren’t ready.
I know, we brought up DMX in last week’s newsletter, well get over it. We’re doing it again. The man, in the course of two raucous years — 1998 and 1999, came out the gate with three back-to-back platinum records that debuted at No. 1 on the charts.
He rapped and growled and barked about faith, addiction, mental health, and the struggle to overcome it all.
The rapper, who died Friday, had no imitators because there was no way to falsify the life that forged him. He was a colossus, a fire-starter and a healer....
Even though DMX’s time at the top of the genre was relatively brief, just a few ferocious years, he was never erased from its collective memory. That’s partly because the tumult of his personal life constantly landed him in the spotlight — he was arrested dozens of times, for charges including drug possession, aggravated assault, driving without a license and tax evasion. He rescued stray dogs, and tattooed a tribute to one of his dogs, Boomer, across the whole of his back, but also pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges.
But he remained a subject of sympathy: DMX was a wild man, and a broken one, too. Physically abused by his mother as a child, he spent significant stretches of time in group homes. He took to crime young, specializing in robbery. Many of the stories contained in his 2002 book, “E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX,” are matter of fact and harrowing.
Check this out while you’re at it...
Lena Waithe Faces Backlash Over Scenes of Graphic, Racist Violence in ‘Them’
Hank Azaria apologizes for playing Apu on ‘The Simpsons’ for three decades
Daniel Dae Kim spoke up to ‘Lost’ producers about Asian stereotypes
Boulevard launches “Tip Your Cap” beer in partnership with Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Kansas City’s favorite beer partnered with another Cowtown staple, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, to honor the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues with a special brew.
Boulevard will donate a portion of the proceeds from the beer to the museum
“We’re honored to team up with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on this collaboration,” said Bobby Dykstra, vice president of sales at Boulevard parent company Duvel Moortgat USA in a press release. “The Negro Leagues play an important role in our nation’s history and the museum is a treasured attraction for the Kansas City community.”
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum said:
“The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is proud to partner with Boulevard Brewing Company on this special and fun promotion that honors the Negro Leagues and supports the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. We’re excited to see fans around the country raise their cans and ‘tip their caps’ in a fitting salute to America’s unsung baseball heroes who overcame tremendous social adversity to play ball.”
Until next week...
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