By NewsOne

Ayesha Curry, the wife of Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, was very vocal throughout the entire NBA Finals. Now that LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have won the 2016 title, Cavs fans are wasting no time mocking Ayesha. Brandon Lamp, the creator of Lamp Apparel, designed a t-shirt inspired by the film Friday that reads “Bye Ayesha.” He decided to create the shirt after a heated Game 6 prompted Ayesha to take to Twitter and go on a rant about the NBA. “I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money… Or ratings in not sure which. I won’t be silent. Just saw it live sry,” she posted and later deleted. The shirts, which are priced at $25, saw a surge in sales after the final game of the series. “It came out of nowhere and we whipped them up in 30 minutes,” said Lamp. “Once Cleveland won, it went crazy. The orders have been non-stop.” Read more.

Rapper Troy Ave Avoids Murder Charge

Brooklyn-bred rapper Troy Ave, real name Ronald Collins, avoided a murder charge in relation to a shooting at a T.I. concert in NYC. Although Collins won’t be charged with murder, he has been hit with five other felonies that can possibly put him behind bars for decades. According to court documents, Collins was charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of attempted second-degree murder. His bodyguard Ronald McPhatter was killed during the incident, but the firearm that caused his death was not the one Collins fired. “The video does not show everything nor explain what happened in the VIP room before Troy came running out, as a victim, after he was shot,” said his attorney Scott Leemon. Leemon is expected to ask the judge to release Collins on bail during his next hearing, which is slated to take place this week. Read more.

Pittsburgh News Anchor Fired After Racist Facebook Post

A Pittsburgh news anchor has been terminated from her job after posting a racist message on her Facebook page. Wendy Bell, who formerly worked for WTAE, posted a statement in March saying that unidentified suspects during a shooting were probably Black. “You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday. … They are young black men, likely in their teens or in their early 20s,” she posted. “They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before.” After receiving backlash, Bell, who worked at the station for 18 years, issued an apology and stated that her comments “could be viewed as racist.” The apology wasn’t enough to salvage her job. After the station let her go, she is now filing a lawsuit claiming that she was fired because she is White. “Had Ms. Bell written the same comments about white criminal suspects or had her race not have been white, Defendant would not have fired her, much less disciplined her,” said her attorney. She is asking to return to work and to be compensated for emotional and mental damages and the back pay for the period of time that she was jobless. Read more.

TV Series about Michael Jackson’s Final Days in Development

A book written about the late singer Michael Jackson’s final days will be adapted into a television series. Filmmaker J.J. Abrams is teaming up with talk show host Tavis Smiley, the co-author of Before You Judge Me: The Triumph and Tragedy of Michael Jackson’s Last Days, to bring the memoir to television. The book, written by Smiley and David Ritz, delves into Jackson’s final months. The television series will be created under Warner Bros. Television and Smiley and Abrams will serve as executive producers. There is no word on which network the series will be featured on, or when it will be released. Read more.

Zoe Saldana Claps Back at Nina Simone Biopic Critics

Actress Zoe Saldana is clapping back at those who criticized her for playing the role of Nina Simone. Many people accused her of doing blackface by darkening her skin and using a prosthetic nose for the role. “I’m black the way I know how to be. You have no idea who I am. I am black. I’m raising black men. Don’t you ever think you can look at me and address me with such disdain,” said Saldana. “Nina looks like half my family! But if you think the [prosthetic] nose I wore was unattractive then maybe you need to ask yourself, ‘What do you consider beautiful? Do you consider a thinner nose beautiful, so the wider you get, the more insulted you become?” Saldana said that the focus should be on the opportunity to have the story of the legendary singer told on a large platform. “The fact that we’re talking about her, that Nina Simone is trending? We f*ing won. For so many years, nobody knew who the fk she was. She is essential to our American history. As a woman first, and only then as everything else … Let it be the first movie,” she said.

By Breanna Edwards, The Root

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made history, becoming the first team to win the NBA title after overcoming a 3-1 deficit, the Associated Press reports.

This title also marks the first time in 52 years that the city of Cleveland has seen one of its teams win a professional sports championship.

At the end of the much anticipated Game 7 Sunday, Cleveland snatched victory from the Golden State Warriors, with the scoreboard reading 93-89. According to the AP, as the final seconds ticked off, some 18,000 Cleveland fans cried, hugged, screamed and celebrated history by linking arms and belting out the words to Queen’s We Are the Champions.

Following the game, fans poured out into the street to begin partying. According to the AP, a few climbed on top of a fire truck and a bus, and up trees and light poles. Police reported some arrests, and a car reportedly had its windshield smashed, however, according to the wire, there were no major issues as fans celebrated the end of a drought that was peppered with so many close calls.

“Our fans, they ride or die, no matter what’s been going on, no matter the Browns, the Indians, the Cavs, and all other sports teams,” Cavs star LeBron James, who walked away from the game as MVP said, according to the AP. “They continue to support us. And for us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it. They deserve it. And it was for them.

“It’s going to be the biggest party Cleveland has ever seen,” he added.

According to the AP, on Wednesday, Cleveland will host a parade to celebrate the big victory.

By Michael Arceneaux, The Root

In the coming weeks and months and, surely, the years after President Barack Obama actually leaves office, much time will be spent examining his political legacy from all angles. Already, writers like me are examining the Obama record on LGBT issues, while others concentrate on his record on the economy, foreign policy and the environment. And although there are certainly some areas worthy of critique and debate—namely his record on deportation and tackling issues that directly speak to the plight of black people living in America—some have started to critique Obama for essentially not being a racism-solving unicorn.

Late last year, Issac J. Bailey wrote an essay titled, “Why Obama Must Reach Out to Angry Whites” for Politico. In it, Bailey, who is black, argued that in the wake of the political ascension of Donald Trump, it is up to Obama to solve lingering racial divisions in America. One assumes that a laugh track played in the background the entire time Bailey was writing, but that remains unconfirmed.

That said, Bailey claimed, “There is only one person who can unite the country again, and he works in the White House. Yes, President Barack Obama—ironically, the man who is the personification of the fear Trump is exploiting—is the one in the best position to quell the anger being stirred up.”

If you remember correctly, Obama’s historic presidential campaign was marked as the launch of post-racial America. White people predominantly said this while the black people they don’t speak to regularly, or ever, rolled their eyes and went about their days. It’s clear now which party won that argument.

Still, Bailey went on to write: “What he needs to do is use the power of the office in a different way, one that matches the ruthless effectiveness of a demagogue with a private jet. Obama needs to go on a listening tour of white America—to connect, in person, with Americans he has either been unable or unwilling to reach during his seven years in office.”

Bailey proceeds to then offer his own anecdotal evidence of how this strategy works, though, spoiler alert: Bailey is not the first black president of the United States; thus, his comparison is inherently flawed.

Exactly one week later, another piece like Bailey’s surfaced. This one was titled, “Ending racism should be Obama’s life mission as he exits presidency.” Here, Leonard Greene, another black man, proceeds to make the same mistake as Bailey. Greene writes, “If Obama is really serious about attacking America’s original sin, he should immediately abandon any thoughts about creating some kind of post-presidency global foundation.”

So what should Obama do?

Greene says, “Instead, the nation’s first black president should dedicate the rest of his life to working exclusively on trying to heal the racial divide.

To quote Eeyore, “Oh bother.”

I have read more recent pieces about Obama’s role in fighting American racism. Some make the attempt at being nuanced; others make me temporarily admire the functionally illiterate. To any black writer with a keyboard and a few bills to pay, don’t be the Negro who puts the onus of stopping racism on its victims. Do not be that melanin-rich person who spreads falsehoods—particularly in mainstream outlets, of all places.

Perhaps it’s films like The Help that have convinced some that black people can magically say a few nice words and help some well-meaning white person see the error of his or her ways in 90 minutes, but that’s not how racism works in reality. President Obama cannot simply greet angry white men who harbor deep racial resentment toward him and all those who look like him and dramatically alter their state of mind with a conversation. Likewise, to ask Obama to suspend an all-encompassing global foundation to try and “bippity boppity boo” bigotry away is to wish an incurable migraine on that man for the rest of his life.

It’s one thing to argue that perhaps Obama could have said more about the racism that impacted his presidency, but Obama cannot cure racism itself. If that were the case, his administration might have gone far smoother than it actually did. If that were the case, Donald Trump would not be this election’s Republican nominee for president. These things happened because racism existed long before Obama or any other of its victims also presently living and breathing.

Victims are not responsible for the acts of their perpetrators. I imagine there will be more pieces like this surfacing in the future arguing otherwise. They’ll still be wrong, incredibly silly and totally a waste of any thinking person’s time.

By Associated Press

The Associated Press analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Congress and the National Conference of State Legislatures to determine the extent to which the nation’s thousands of lawmakers match the demographics of its hundreds of millions of residents. The result: Non-Hispanic whites make up a little over 60 percent of the U.S. population, but still hold more than 80 percent of all congressional and state legislative seats.

Among major minority groups:

Blacks are the least underrepresented but still face sizable gaps in some places. In Mississippi and Louisiana, about one-third of the population is black. Yet each state has a single black member of Congress and a disproportionately small number in their state legislatures.
More than half the states still have no lawmakers with Asian or Pacific Islander heritage, and just four states have any in Congress.
Hispanics comprise more than 17 percent of the U.S. population, yet they are fewer than 7 percent in Congress and fewer than 4 percent of state legislators. The gaps in representation exist even in California, New Mexico and Texas, with the largest Latino populations.

(This data is part of Divided America, AP’s ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society.)

By Charles Sims Jr., Special to The New Tri-State Defender

A popular corporate strategy known as “de-risking” involves buying out employee pensions. By shrinking the size of a pension plan, the company can reduce the associated risks and costs and limit the impact of future retirement obligations on current financial performance.

About half of workers with pensions can now choose to take their money in a lump sum at the time they retire. Moreover, 47 percent of corporate pension plans surveyed by benefits consultant Aon Hewitt planned on making lump-sum offers to vested former employees in 2015 or had done so in recent years.

What’s good for a corporation’s bottom line may or may not be in the best interests of plan participants and their families. For most workers, there are clear mathematical and psychological advantages to keeping the pension. Even so, the lump sum could provide financial flexibility that could benefit some individuals.

Crunch the numbers

A lump-sum payout transfers the risks from the pension plan sponsor to the participant. Individuals who opt for a lump sum must then manage that money and determine for themselves how much risk to take in the financial markets.

The lump-sum amount is the discounted present value of an employee’s future pension, set by an IRS formula based on current bond interest rates and average life expectancies. Often the amount is not enough to replace the pension income given up, unless the investor can tolerate exposure to stock market risk and is able to achieve decent returns over time.

A pension’s lifetime income may be more valuable for women than for men because women tend to live longer, but gender is not considered when calculating lump sums. In their buyout offers, companies may not include the value of subsidies for early retirement or spousal benefits, the latter of which could be a major disadvantage for married couples.

Window of opportunity

A lump-sum payment might make sense for a person in poor health or someone with little cash in the bank for emergencies. Someone who is able to live comfortably on other sources of retirement income might also benefit from a buyout offer, especially if the funds are rolled into a traditional IRA. Pension payments end when the plan participant (or a surviving spouse) dies, but funds held in an IRA could be preserved and passed down to heirs.

Pension payments (monthly or lump sum) are taxed in the year in which they are received, and cashing out a pension before age 59½ may trigger a 10 percent federal tax penalty. Rolling the lump sum into an IRA enables a worker to postpone taxes until withdrawals are taken later in retirement. IRA distributions are also taxed as ordinary income, and withdrawals taken prior to age 59½ may be subject to the 10 percent federal tax penalty, with certain exceptions. Annual minimum distributions are required starting in the year the account owner reaches age 70½.

It’s also important to consider the health of the company’s pension. The “funded status” is a measure of pension plan assets and liabilities that must be reported annually; a plan funded at 80 percent or less may be struggling. Most pensions are backstopped by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, but retirees could lose a portion of the “promised” benefits if their plan fails.

The prospect of a large check might be tempting, but cashing in a pension could have costly repercussions for your retirement. It’s important to have a long-term perspective and an understanding of the trade-offs when a lump-sum option is on the table.

(Charles Sims Jr., CMFC, LUTCF, is President/CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.com.)

By Thomas C. Sheffield

Desensitized to gun violence? When will it end? How many more times will our regularly scheduled program have to be interrupted with a special report of a mass shooting? We have become desensitized to the many violent crimes in the past 10 years.

According to the American Psychological Association, gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the U. S. Guns kill almost 30,000 people and cause 60,000 injuries each year. The time for waking up to the reports of gun violence on the news is over. Gun violence does not bring value to our society of to future generations.

According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, gun-related deaths in the state of Tennessee rose from 943 in 2006 to 1,020 in 2014. I refuse to believe we cannot stop this trend. Consider the decline in the amount of vehicle-related deaths in that same time period. In 2006, 1,284 people died in vehicle-related accidents. This dropped to 963 deaths in 2014. The change is in large part due to the mandatory seat belt laws and the “Click It or Ticket” campaign. There was a debate that the seat belt law invaded privacy when it was signed into law in 1986.

I refuse to rest on the belief of our country’s greatness and our patriotism. Our patriotism should not be shown solely in the times we pull together when there is a great tragedy. We are great because we are willing to do things that no one else will do. Now is the time for the citizens to speak up and take action. We are world leaders in thought and deeds but this leadership does carry a huge responsibility. We must balance personal responsibility with public policy and elect those wise enough to know the difference. Voting not only brings value to our lives but value to the lives of those yet born. And it is sustainable.

It is time to reign in our leaders and their willingness to allow the gun lobby to dictate the gun laws in our lands. If you are fed up with the epidemic of gun violence in our community, but you have not yet contacted your elected representatives to make your voice heard, now is the time. It is shameful that the gun lobby has priority over so many of our politicians who are supposed to represent us. We need to contact the leaders of our state. Gov. Bill Haslam’s office can be reached at 615-741-2001. All Tennessee state legislators may be reached at 1-800-449-8366. Please visit capitol.tn.gov for a listing of your state representatives. It is an election year and it is time for them to hear from you.

(Thomas C. Sheffield owns Nashville-based Thom Sustainable Consultants. Contact him at thomsustainableconsulting@gmail.com. Visit thomsustainableconsulting.com. Follow @tcsheff.)

By Keith Young, The Root

It’s been exactly one year since Dylann Roof decided to make himself infamous by walking into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church–less than five minutes from where I’m sitting now–to, according to prosecutors, commit murder, get his racist merit badge and join the ranks of the worst people from South Carolina ever.

He accepted the kindness of people attending Bible study and prayed with them before, authorities charge, he killed nine of them and ran away like a coward. All for some misbegotten plan that he cooked up in his head to start a race war.

Roof seems to have inhabited some dark corner of the world where hate-filled little men go to stew in their own vitriol and ass-backward beliefs about whatever specific groups they either distrust, flat-out hate or blame for making their world such a horrible place. Whether I like it or not, it’s their right to go online, to a bar, a shack in the woods or any other place to do so, but unfortunately, every now and then, the Dylann Roofs of the world decide to put words into action, and now nine families, a church, a town, a state and a nation have had to deal with the fallout.

Almost a year before Roof’s alleged actions at Mother Emanuel, another angry young man, Elliot Rodger, shot and stabbed his way through an area near the University of California, Santa Barbara, killing six and injuring 14. Rodger left behind YouTube videos and manifestos to illustrate his motives in the most frightening ways possible. Unlike Dylann Roof, Rodger’s hatred was mostly focused on women and his lack of success with them. To wage this “war on women,” little Elliot Rodgers went out and purchased a Glock 34 and a pair of Sig Sauer P226 pistols, then took out his rage on a group of innocent people. All before killing himself like a coward.

That brings us to Omar Mateen, whose deeds are fresh in our minds. In what seems be a strange mix of self-hated, religious-based homophobia and extremist Islamic beliefs, Mateen killed 49 patrons of Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. He started shooting people simply because they were either homosexual, allied with the LGBTQ community or were just dancing before last call.

The really messed up part is that mass shootings will happen again. I don’t know when or how soon, but something akin to this will occur at some point. The same questions will be asked. The same expressions of sorrow and concern will be made. The nation’s leaders will opine on the state of things and what can be done to prevent this from happening again and the public will forget about it all within a few months.

One of the few certainties about these incidents is that they have two frightening commonalities: an angry young man and guns. No matter where you are, a young man who feels wronged and possesses a gun is a recipe for disaster. The stamped metal of an Kalashnikov, the plastic polymer of an AR-15 or the 2 pounds worth of steel that makes up most handguns have forever made small, angry men feel big.

Sadly, in the United States, which fancies itself a “developed” nation, these angry, little men have utilized their Second Amendment rights to wage an assault on those who have drawn their ire. And the next mass shooting will be another reminder that, while we will never run out of angry, young men, we have failed in preventing them from arming themselves.

As a gun owner, I find myself running through various scenarios on how to regulate an industry with constitutional protection and tons of money to lobby politicians to limit gun control. I’m honestly fresh out of ideas on how to force the government and the gun industry into supporting stricter gun measures. What would it take to scare America into saying, “OK, we need to seriously rethink the kind of guns we allow on the streets”?

Last November, actor Wendell Pierce tweeted, “If every Black male 18-35 applied for a conceal & carry permit, and then joined NRA in one day; there would be gun control laws in a second.”

Sure, it sounds insane, but I bet it would work. Although, I would never join the National Rifle Association, I wonder if gun regulations would change. I can’t help but ponder how those who are staunchly opposed to gun control would spin their new views given the NRA’s history with the Black Panther Party.

Whether or not we pass stricter gun control, America has a serious problem, and on any given day, we could find ourselves trapped in a nightmare like the folks at Mother Emanuel, Pulse or U.C., Santa Barbara just because some angry, little man got a gun and decided to make some twisted statement.

By NewsOne

Attrell Cordes, also known as “Prince Be” of the 90s R&B group P.M. Dawn, has died at the age of 46, according to PEOPLE magazine.

The singer died Friday of renal kidney disease at a hospital in his home state of New Jersey.

Known for his signature voice, Cordes helped P.M. Dawn become a No. 1-charting group in the 1990s. The group made its debut more than two decades ago with the hit song Set Adrift On Memory Bliss in 1991. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and solidified the group’s place in music history.

Other hits included Paper Doll, Looking Through Patient Eyes and I’d Die Without You, which was featured on the soundtrack for the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang.

According to People, he is survived by his wife Mary and their three children, Christian, Mia & Brando

By TSD Newsroom

MEMPHIS, TENN. – The stage is set June 17-19 for a bevy of artists and entertainers to perform their eclectic musical styles at the Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival on the grounds of the historic Robert R. Church Park on “world-famous” Beale Street during Father’s Day Weekend.

This is the 24th year that Juneteenth is being celebrated in Memphis. The long-running festival is a mainstay and a cultural delight for celebrants seeking historic information about Juneteenth and an opportunity to revel in the park.

“Memphis has a rich musical history and a plethora of talented artists and musicians. That’s why it is important that we continue to celebrate the Juneteenth Urban Music Festival,” said Telisa Franklin, Juneteenth’s CEO and president.

A number of activities are scheduled for the more than 40,000 visitors expected to attend the festival this year. There will be plenty of entertainment, food, games, vendors, a car show, rides and bouncers for the children. This year’s title sponsor is Ford Motor Company, The 2016 Ford Experience Tour.

National recording artist Tony Terry will headline the music festival. Terry is an R & B singer whose first single, “She’s Fly,” peaked at number 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. He’s charted as well with a number of other releases.

This year a Memphis Juneteenth Job and Career Fair will take place at Golden Gate Cathedral, 3240 James Rd., and serve as the official kick off Tuesday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Job seekers are encouraged to bring their resume and dress for success.

On Thursday, June 16, the youth will strut their stuff at the Memphis Juneteenth Youth Evening of Stars pre-show to the Juneteenth Urban Music Awards at the Crowne Plaza East Hotel, 2625 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tickets are $10.

The awards show will start at 7:30 p.m. and feature international recording artist Melvia “Chick” Rodgers and live performances by “Big Baby” Tameka Goodman, JROQSOL, Cortney Richardson, Delvin Crutcher, J. Lake, Ashton London, and Shenéa the Songstress.

Channel 24 on-air personality Yvette Whiteside and life coach Dr. Sid will host the show.

General tickets are $10; premiere, $25. Tickets can be purchased at That’s Love Banquet Hall, 2988 Old Austin Peay; Uncle Lou’s Chicken, 3633 Millbranch Rd.; and McClain Motors, 1505 Elvis Presley Blvd. Tickets also can be purchased on Juneteenth’s website atwww.memphisjuneteenth.com.

On Friday, June 17, artists and entertainers will sing, dance and woo the thousands of festivalgoers all-day long at the park.

There will be something special for men on Saturday, June 18: The first annual 1,000 Fathers March. Hosted by Lifeline to Success and a number of sponsors, men are encouraged to participate in an effort to stamp out crime through the power of relationships. Registration starts at 9 a.m. at FedExForum, 191 Beale St. The march will start at 10 a.m.

Gospel music is an integral part of Juneteenth. On Sunday, June 19, the last day of the festival, “Praise in the Park” will commence at noon. It is an all-day worship experience that crosses color lines and embodies “One God, One Love, One City.”

Churches and faith-based groups throughout Memphis are invited to worship in the park and bring with them a message of hope, faith, reconciliation, unity and praise. Innovation Church, pastored by the Rev. Marron D. Thomas Sr., will headline this year’s “Praise in the Park.”

Innovation Church has two worship opportunities. The Main Campus is located at 3925 Overton Crossing and the Trezevant Campus is located at 3350 Trezevant Ave., both in the Frayser community. The pastor founded the church three years ago.

“Music unites us as a human race and helps to cast our worries aside,” said Franklin. “We have too much in common to allow the problems we face in society to drive us apart. Praise in the Park is the conduit that pulls us together – blacks, whites and other ethnicities.”