The BBC is reporting a group of Kenyan Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by Islamist gunmen protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups, according to eyewitnesses of the attack which took place in December 2015.
The author reports:
“They told the militants ‘to kill them together or leave them alone’, a local governor told Kenyan media.
At least two people were killed in the attack, near the north-eastern village of El Wak on the Somali border.
The Somali based al-Shabab group says it carried out the attack. The group often carries out attacks in Kenya’s north-east.
The bus was traveling from the capital of Nairobi to the town of Mandera. When al-Shabab killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University College in April [2105], the militants reportedly singled out Christians and shot them, while freeing many Muslims.
Last year, a bus was attacked near Mandera by al-Shabab militants, who killed 28 non-Muslims traveling to Nairobi for the Christmas holidays.
‘The locals showed a sense of patriotism and belonging to each other,’ Mandera governor Ali Roba told Kenya’s private Daily Nation newspaper.
The militants decided to leave after the passengers’ show of unity, he added.”
Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse owner Arielle R. Johnson.
(Photo: Blacksportsonline.com)
Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse owner Arielle R. Johnson. (Photo: Blacksportsonline.com)
Erika Hardison of the Huffington Post is reporting Ariell R. Johnson has opened what may be the first black woman-owned comic book store in the country. The Temple University alum opened Amalglam Comics and Coffehouse after realizing the synergy between coffee and comics while a student. She enjoyed reading comic books while having coffee in a cool environment and decided to create a space merging her love of both interests. Coffee has always been paired with books, poetry, and even memes, so it’s great to have somewhere you can enjoy The Darkest Roast while you disappear into the latest meme or comic adventure.
Hardison writes:
“Philadelphia now has a comic book store owned by a Black woman! As the comic/nerd culture increases in popularity, black comic book writers, artists and enthusiasts are increasing in numbers and are making their own spaces.”
Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse. (Photo: Google Images)
In an article for Philly.com, Jerome Maida writes:
“Although Philadelphia has a rich tradition of quality comic-book shops – and could brag that Showcase Comics on South Street was the largest black-owned comic shop in the United States for quite some time – Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse will be the first black female-owned comic book shop to open its doors on the East Coast.
This ‘geeky’ hybrid hopes to contribute to the burgeoning Kensington section of Philadelphia. Amalgam hopes to build community around comics, coffee, and relaxing with friends, and also through hosting geeky and diversity-themed workshops, movie/TV screenings, book signings, and BYOB nights.”
Gbenga Akinnagbe will star as boxer George Lee Martin in a biopic of the controversial boxer.
(Photo: Google Images)
Gbenga Akinnagbe will star as boxer George Lee Martin in a biopic of the controversial boxer. (Photo: Google Images)
Blackfilm.com is reporting actor Gbenga Akinnagbe will portray George Lee Martin in the boxing biopic Heart Baby! The film tells the true story of Martin, a convict who became infamous in the Tennessee prison system as an unbeatable boxer. Martin famously turned down an opportunity at freedom in exchange for fighting for Team USA in the 1984 Olympic Games (and you thought HBO’s OZ was fiction).
Gbenga Akinnagbe starred in HBO’s ‘The Wire’ as Chris Partlow. (Photo: Google Images)
Heart Baby! also features Jackson Rathbone (Twilight: Breaking Dawn), Quinton Aaron(The Blind Side), Keir O’Donnell (American Sniper), Justice Leak (Insurgent), Abe Benrubi (Bosch), Michael Badalucco (Bones) and Ann Cusack (Nightcrawler). Akinnagbe starred in HBO‘s ‘The Wire’ and Fox‘s ‘The Following.’
The film will be helmed by writer/director Angela Shelton and shot in New Orleans.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Presidential candidate Donald Trump seen at the Air Pegasus West 30th Street Heliport on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart/GC Images)
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 23: Presidential candidate Donald Trump seen at the Air Pegasus West 30th Street Heliport on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart/GC Images)
It doesn’t surprise me that Donald Trump is the bandleader of this ridiculousness or that he wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country. What gets me is that so many — our friends, family and neighbors — appear to agree with him. More than a third of US want to ban all Muslims, and more than half of Republicans, 54 percent, think the same.
To date, extreme right-wing terrorists have murdered 11 and left another 26 injured in anti-abortion violence. In 2014 alone, the FBI tracked 5,479 hate crimes. But those numbers — for political reasons — are under reported by 67 percent. States with Republican-led legislatures balk at the entire notion of hate crimes and do not provide the FBI with statistics. At least 11 states do not even attach sentence enhancements to those crimes giving prosecuting attorneys no incentive to report them as such.
Since 2008, we have repeatedly been warned that homegrown violent extremists pose a bigger threat than Islamic extremists. Yet, the term “Extremist Rightwing Terrorist” barely exists in the American lexicon.
In June, a 21-year-old avowed white supremacist killed nine black parishioners at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. At the time, conservative media outlets had the nerve to argue it was about faith and not race. Shortly after the Ferguson, Mo. protest — in which an unarmed black teen was killed and the cops were not charged — five black churches in Missouri were burned down.
Unique visits to white supremacist websites tripled immediately following the election of Barack Obama. Now, those same hate groups are again being emboldened by Islamophobia.
“Demoralization has been the biggest enemy and Trump is changing all that,” said Don Black, a founder of Stormfront, a prominent white supremacist group. “He has sparked an insurgency and I don’t think it’s going to go away.”
‘American Acceptance’ is ‘American Exceptionalism’
Consider this for just a minute: The leading Republican presidential contender is an unapologetic birther. He believes, or exposes for political purposes, that President Obama — through some elaborate Manchurian Candidate-like plot — was secretly born in another country and his entire identity was fabricated. The more vile, racist, sexist, fantastical, and illogical his rhetoric gets, the higher he rises in the polls.
We have political candidates talking about killing the family members of suspected terrorists, without even a hint of irony. Don’t they understand that those proposed actions are “terrorism?”
Why is it that every time a disenfranchised white guy goes into a store and needs to find someone who speaks English, drives home listening to Rush Limbaugh and then turns on Fox News, people don’t see that as potential for radicalization?
Even as a black woman who grew up in the supposedly impoverished neighborhood where that serial rapist cop was convicted of victimizing poor black women, it’s a little hard to take the double standard given to white supremacist behavior and terrorist acts in this country.
The Rise of Mainstream Extremism
I was in Oklahoma back in 1995 when Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The reverberations were felt citywide. One hundred and sixty eight people died that day, including 16 children, as the building also housed a day care center. We struggled to understand what happened. McVeigh was called a survivalist with anti-government tendencies though he was a text book terrorist radicalized by the Gulf War and later Waco, Tx.
From casualties to recruiting tactics, the only thing separating the extremist right wing terrorism from radical Islamic terrorism, is the “DIY: How to Build a Bomb in Your Mother’s Basement” and the fact that while Isis and Al-Qaeda seek to terrorize all of us, homegrown extremists typically seek to only terrorizes some of us. American extremists are often radicalized by our own dysfunctional politics. They are being radicalized by mainstream news outlets, out in the open, and no one dares to publicly call them out for it.
Terrorists distort (insert cause) then justify their murderous agenda with the governmental construct of “war.” All of these people, whether it’s guy who stormed into Dr. George Tiller’s church and shot him dead or the “mastermind” behind the attacks in Paris, believe they are in the middle of a war. It’s always us against them. If you don’t believe me, then take a look at what’s happening now in Oregon with “Armed Protesters” taking over federal land in the name of a criminal. The refusal of most media outlets to call them terrorists speaks volumes about the rise of mainstream extremism and why Trump is so popular with GOP voters.
In this socio-political climate, with so much economic and global political unrest, we could very well end up with President Donald J. Trump. The very thought of that outcome terrorizes the hell out of me.
Devona Walker is a contributing politics writer to The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @DevonaWalker.
Legendary singer Natalie Cole dies at 65.
(Photo: Google Images)
Legendary singer Natalie Cole dies at 65. (Photo: Google Images)
ABC News is reporting Natalie Cole, the Grammy award-winning daughter of legendary singer Nat “King” Cole” has died. The Associated Press writes:
“Natalie died Thursday evening at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles due to compilations from ongoing health issues, her family said in a statement.
‘Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever,’ read the statement from her son Robert Yancy and sisters Timolin and Casey Cole.
Cole had battled drug problems and hepatitis that forced her to undergo a kidney transplant in May 2009. Cole’s older sister, Carol “Cookie” Cole, died the day she received the transplant. Their brother, Nat Kelly Cole, died in 1995.”
Cole made her recording debut in 1975 with Inseparable, winning a Grammy award for Best New Artist and one for best female R&B vocal performance for “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).”
The singer’s greatest success came with her 1991 album, Unforgettable which paid tribute to her father with reworked versions of some of his best-known songs, including “That Sunday That Summer,” ”Too Young” and “Mona Lisa.” The album sold some 14 million copies and won six Grammys, including album of the year as well record and song of the year for the title track duet.
Cole famously battled drug addiction which she discussed in her 2000 autobiographyAngel on My Shoulder: An Autobiography. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2008 and had absolutely no issues with coming out publicy about the condition of her health as soon as tested positive using the likes of this service that conducts STD testing in Las Vegas for example.
Cole was also an actress,nominated for an Emmy award in 1992 for a televised performance of her father’s songs. She was 65.
The Burton Wire (TBW) has covered many stories throughout 2015 including news from the Caribbean, the U.S., Canada, the UK and various countries in Africa. Whether it was the aftermath of too many tragic deaths, coverage of teen digital entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers as philanthropists, natural disasters, attacks on civil rights or groundbreaking health discoveries, for the last three years, TBW has endeavored to bring stories of black and brown people from the margins to the center of media coverage. Check out our top 10 most shared stories of 2015 below. Let us know which stories you enjoyed and what you’d like to see more of in 2016 on Twitter or Instagram @TheBurtonWire. We look forward to bringing you more compelling news, culture and politics in 2016. Happy New Year!
Alcorn State Braves (SWAC) will face-off against the North Carolina A&T Aggies in the inaugural Air Force Reserve Bowl on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at noon on ABC.
(Photo: Google Images)
Alcorn State and NC A&T square-off in the inaugural Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Saturday, December 19, 2015 at noon on ABC. (Photo: Google Images)
On Saturday, December 19, HBCU football will make history when the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) face-off in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl game on ABC at noon at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The North Carolina A&T Aggies will represent MEAC and the Alcorn State Braves will represent SWAC in this nationally televised game-changing historical event. What makes the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl historical? It is the first nationally televised championship football bowl game played by Division I HBCU schools. The inaugural game will kick-off the entire college bowl season, playing the first game of many to come.
The nationally televised game has been a long time coming for black college football, which debuted in 1892. The Air ForceCelebration Bowl will provide the champions of the MEAC and the SWAC, and their alumni, fans and sponsors a first-class bowl experience while continuing to celebrate the legacy, values and traditions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Events surrounding the game include a kickoff luncheon and community outreach and family events.
In March 2015, ESPN’s Jay Harris announced the newly created bowl game with MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas, MEAC Commissioner and SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp, and Ceasar C. Mitchell, president of Atlanta City Council.
Commissioner Sharp stated, “This is a great opportunity for our schools and student-athletes to compete on a national stage and showcase the talent that exists within HBCUs. And to have it during bowl season, the most exciting time in college football, is a bonus. Their sporting efforts could be enjoyed on an international scale. I’ve heard of some people from Indonesia betting or as they say Judi Online on these events.” said Sharp.
Commissioner Thomas added, “As part of the conference’s continued efforts in branding and increasing its exposure on a national platform, I am elated that champions from the MEAC and the SWAC will compete in a bowl game, during the most exciting time of the year for collegiate football. Our continued partnership with ESPN will give our coaches, student-athletes and fans an opportunity to participate in an exciting bowl game, on a national stage, which will showcase their institutions and talented football programs. Adding a national television opportunity for our champion, during this time of year, only furthers our branding and marketability.”
At a recent party, Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl Executive Director John Grant offered a historical perspective of the event with the first HBCU football game played in the snow between Biddle College (now Johnson C. Smith University) and Livingstone College on December 27, 1892, two days after Christmas.
Grant offers, “The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl is the first game of the first day of the college bowl season so we open up the college bowl season which is significant. When you think about the 123 year history of HBCU football, it speaks to the tenacity of the schools. Livingstone College and Biddle College (now Johnson C. Smith University) squared off in that game on a homemade football field and Biddle won 5-0. The women students in the textile school at Livingstone made the uniforms and the young men who were players put cleats in their dress shoes to play the game. Their determination and commitment to this game led us to this nationally televised bowl game 123 years later.”
The Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl will be played at noon on December 19 and televised on ABC. Check your local listings for channel information. Read more of TBW’s coverage of the Air Force Celebration Bowl here.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of the award-winning news site The Burton Wire (TBW). Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Wheaton College professor Dr. Larycia Hawkins has been suspended for views on Islam.
(Photo: Google Images)
Wheaton College professor Dr. Larycia Hawkins has been suspended for views on Islam. (Photo: Google Images)
Christine Hauser of The New York Times is reporting Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian institution, has disciplined a professor who put on a head scarf in solidarity with Muslims and said they worship the “same God” as Christians. Hauser writes:
“The private liberal arts college in Wheaton, Ill., said in a statement on Tuesday that Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science, had been placed on administrative leave over “significant questions regarding the theological implications” of recent remarks she made about the relationship between Christianity and Islam.
‘As they participate in various causes, it is essential that faculty and staff engage in and speak about public issues in ways that faithfully represent the College’s evangelical Statement of Faith,’ the statement said.
The college president, Philip G. Ryken, emphasized in a statement on Wednesday that Dr. Hawkins’s words, not her appearance in a scarf, were the issue. He said Wheaton had “no stated position on the wearing of head scarves as a gesture of care and concern for those in Muslim or other religious communities that may face discrimination or persecution.”
The college and Dr. Hawkins could not immediately be reached for comment. But the disciplinary move appeared to be in response to statements she made on Facebook this month that touched on the monotheistic similarities between the religions.”
Dr. Hawkins, who is tenured, is entitled to a full review over her leave status.
We wonder what role if any freedom of speech and academic freedom play at evangelical Christian colleges and universities?
OWN's 'Welcome to Sweetie Pie's' cast members (l. to r.) Jenae Wallick, Ms. Robbie Montgomery, Tim Norman, TJ and Charles Crenshaw are now in the show's ninth season (Photo Credit: Oprah Winfrey Network).
OWN’s ‘Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s’ cast members (l. to r.) Jenae Wallick, Ms. Robbie Montgomery, Tim Norman, TJ and Charles Crenshaw are now in the show’s ninth season (Photo Credit: Oprah Winfrey Network).
Oprah Winfrey Network’s (OWN) original docuseries Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s just entered its ninth season. The TV series that chronicles the family of Ike and Tina Turner Revue background singer-turned-feisty soul food restaurant proprietor “Ms. Robbie” Montgomery is now focusing on the opening of her first (fourth overall) establishment on the West Coast.
Set in Los Angeles as opposed to St. Louis, the five-year-old hit show’s story arcs will also now concentrate more on the interpersonal relationships between the down home eatery’s employees. The cast also adjusts to the Left Coast’s high maintenance lifestyle culture and dietary consciousness.
“We’re expanding the viewers’ sights on the other workers,” states Tim Norman, Ms. Robbie’s son, right hand man and Sweetie Pie’s co-owner. “It’s a culture shock for us. You can kinda imagine us [St. Louis] hillbillies out here trying to figure things out with all the gluten-free, sugar-free and salt-free world.” Packing up and migrating to California wasn’t easy for Norman and his staff.
Norman frequently found himself coaching an influx of new hires in the kitchen about adding more seasoning and ingredients to the restaurant’s staple dishes. Logistics and inspections brought along more issues off-camera, creating more hassles for Norman’s relocation.
“We had things in autopilot,” he utters with his heavy Midwestern (slightly Southern) accent and arms crossed resting on the head of a conference table. “When you move to a different city, especially the West Coast, it’s totally different with vendors, permitting processes and just being in a whole different world and different mindset out there.”
It’s customary for Norman to convince his no-nonsense former Ikette mother to support any of his ideas for the business. The towering businessman stands six-feet-five-inches and sports shaved designs flanking his mohawk, which reflects his homegrown personality. Business is always at the forefront of his mind. Norman’s vision for Sweetie Pie’s ultimately led to three St. Louis-area locations currently employing 250 people. He’s also responsible for the almost two decade-old restaurant bottling its sweet tea for selected retailers and publishing a cookbook full of Ms. Robbie’s famous recipes.
Both Norman and his 75-year-old mother are releasing new music soon. “Mom is always real slow to make these moves,” continues Norman still speaking in his hospitable twang, “so I kinda drag her along with me. She was kicking and screaming the whole way there.”
Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s is one of very few unscripted cable programs with a leading African-American family portrayed in a positive light. When the TV show originally premiered, Norman feared the show would become another melodramatic cliché featuring erratic, bottle throwing characters of color. Ongoing conversations with OWN executives and Oprah Winfrey, the network’s iconic owner, managed to keep Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s subject matter full of dignity and integrity.
“Television doesn’t always have to be about popping bottles or bouncing off in the club,” asserts Norman. “People wanna see positive things sometimes. They wanna see stories about people trying to change their lives or being helped.”
“When OWN picked the series up,” continues Norman, “it got turned into more of a family-oriented show. It’s bigger than Tim. It’s bigger than Ms. Robbie. There are other people in this thing. We gon’ keep on telling good stories, good positive stories about black people.” Norman knows just how important it is to focus on the positive having served a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
Norman never imagined that he would become instrumental in Sweetie Pie’s growth and development. Upon being released from prison, Norman enrolled in college to pursue his passions in entertainment and the arts. He made countless attempts to become a self-sufficient, reformed citizen but encountered a few obstacles.
“When I first came home from prison,” recalls Norman, “I was trying not to work in a restaurant. I was trying to do things on my own: get a job at Wal-Mart or Home Depot but nobody would hire me because of that felony.” Norman swallowed his pride, starting out at Sweetie Pie’s washing dishes, taking out trash, cooking a few dishes but admits he was nervous about waiting tables.
Those humbling experiences prompted Norman to find the missing link to Sweetie Pie’s success. “I made a decision to pull myself into that while I was still trying to explore my passions,” he continues. “I started going all around the restaurant doing every job. What I saw was we lacked a real marketing strategy, so that’s what I took on.”
Part of Norman’s outreach was to spread the word about Sweetie Pie’s to other non-black patrons. “It opened other eyes,” he says. Another remarkable effort he implemented was employing ex-felons. He is pleased to have assisted 70 percent of his employees, both men and women, becoming reformed citizens.
“I’m not afraid to take a shot,” warns the socially conscious supervisor, who doesn’t consider himself “fearless.” Norman’s staffing decisions, he adds, will continue in Los Angeles and subsequent locations. “We believe your past shouldn’t dictate your future,” he says. “We open our arms to the people that come and have backgrounds that most business people would turn away.”
A big disadvantage for Norman’s relocation is being a distant co-parent. His on-and-off again fiancée, Jenae, and the couple’s four-year-old son, TJ, both still live in St. Louis. Despite proximity, Norman is still present and active in his child’s life. “We’re missing each other,” says Norman. “It’s a hit-and-miss. Every time I’m in St. Louis, I get my son.”
In the meantime, an ambitious Norman still has major plans for Sweetie Pie’s empire. He wants the restaurant to have franchises in various American cities, hopefully becoming a successful African-American owned and operated restaurant franchise. More importantly, Norman’s primary objective for the restaurant and its byproducts is to keep family and community at the core of its business practices.
“I want to continue to open stores and employ troubled people or people with a past,” proclaims Norman. “The more people I can employ, the more families I can help.”
Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on OWN. Check local listings for time and air dates.
This post was written by Christopher A. Daniel, pop cultural critic and music editor for the Burton Wire. He is also contributing writer for Urban Lux Magazine and Blues & Soul Magazine. Follow Christopher @Journalistorian on Twitter.
, winning a Grammy award for Best New Artist and one for best female R&B vocal performance for “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love).”
which paid tribute to her father with reworked versions of some of his best-known songs, including “That Sunday That Summer,” ”Too Young” and “Mona Lisa.” The album sold some 14 million copies and won six Grammys, including album of the year as well record and song of the year for the title track duet.
. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2008 and had absolutely no issues with coming out publicy about the condition of her health as soon as tested positive using the likes of this service that conducts 
