Federal judge orders Trump to release migrant children due to COVID-19

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release migrant children held in government family detention centers due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The minors must be released to the care of their parents by mid-July, but only if the parents are discharged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), CNN reports. 

U.S. Judge Dolly Gee of the federal district court in Los Angeles set a July 17 deadline for the release of all children who have been in ICE custody for more than 20 days, per CBS News. 

In cases where the parent(s) can not be released, the children must be placed in the care of “available suitable sponsors or other available COVID-free non-congregate settings” provided their parents or guardians consent to being separated from them. 

READ MORE: Tomi Lahren: Watching migrant children being tear-gassed ‘was the highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend’

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“Given the severity of the outbreak in the counties in which FRCs are located and the Independent Monitor and Dr. Wise’s observations of non-compliance or spotty compliance with masking and social distancing rules, renewed and more vigorous efforts must be undertaken to transfer (children) residing at the FRCs to non-congregate settings,” Gee wrote in her order.

She cited “unevenly implemented written protocols,” and the first coronavirus cases at three Family Residential Centers (FRCs). Several employees at one Texas facility reportedly have COVID-19, and 11 detainees have contracted the virus at a center in Kansas, NBC News reports.

“The FRCs are on ‘fire’ and there is no more time for half measures,” the judge continued.

“The court is not surprised that COVID-19 has arrived” she added.

Judge Gee oversees the government’s compliance with the Flores Settlement Agreement, which sets limits on the length of time children can be held by ICE.

READ MORE: Trump to end federal support for coronavirus testing locations

(Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)

The Trump administration will surely have much to say about the judge’s decision in the coming days. 

Will the president release the detained migrant kids and their parents together, or maintain the cruel family separation policy? 

Meanwhile, Peter Schey, the lead attorney from the Flores Settlement, praised Judge Gee’s order. 

“We are grateful that the federal court has again stepped into this crisis and ordered the release of all minors to relatives in the U.S. in the next three weeks as long as the parent detained with the child wants their child released,” Schey wrote in a statement.

“Some detained parents facing deportation brought their children to this country to save them from rampant and unchecked violence in their home countries and would prefer to see them released to relatives here rather than being deported along with the parent to countries where children face harm, and sometimes death.”

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Darius Leonard kicked out Chipotle for talking about Black Lives Matter

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard put a South Carolina Chipotle on blast after he and his friends were allegedly kicked out of the eatery for talking about Black Lives Matter. 

Leonard, 24, detailed the incident in an Instagram video on Thursday, saying he was recently eating at a Chipotle in Florence with four friends when a white customer accused him of being verbally abusive, PEOPLE reports.  

The irate customer took his grievance to management. Moments later, Leonard said a manager approached him and his non-white friends and served up a “terrible attitude.”

The athlete said the manager was “very disrespectful” and threatened to call the police. 

READ MORE: Rudy Gay opens up about being racially profiled, NBA return

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@chipotle in Florence SC

A post shared by Darius Shaquille Leonard (@mr_highflyer10) on Jun 25, 2020 at 1:52pm PDT

“That’s what being Black in America is right now,” Leonard said in his IG video, noting that that he and his crew were kicked out of the restaurant. 

“Us not even doing anything wrong, going out to eat with your family, just trying to spend a little bit of quality time, and you can’t even enjoying eating anymore,” he added. 

In a statement to the Indianapolis Star, Chipotle said they are “investigating the incident” and confirmed that the manager has been suspended. 

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind and we have suspended our manager while we conduct a thorough investigation,” Brian Niccol, chairman and CEO of Chipotle, told the outlet. “I’ve personally reached out to Darius and I’m committed to ensuring the appropriate action is taken once the investigation concludes.”

Leonard further addressed the incident on ESPN’s First Take on Friday. 

“When you think about being a Black male now in America, and to hear that they want to involve the police — the first thing that went in my mind was I have a wife and a kid,” he said. 

“If the police is involved, you’re thinking you’re not making it home. For me to have to sit there and think that my life is in jeopardy just because I’m sitting there eating with my family, not causing no problem, is scary,” he added.

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Aaron Hernandez’s alleged prison lover to break silence in TV special

Aaron Hernandez’s alleged jailhouse lover is set to speak out in an upcoming special about the disgraced NFL star. 

Kyle Kennedy claims he was Hernandez’s secret prison bae, and the last person to see the New England Patriot alive. Kennedy will take inquiring minds inside their relationship in the upcoming REELZ special set to air on Sunday, July 5. 

“That was my right-hand man. We used to do everything together,” Kennedy says in the special titled Aaron Hernandez: Jailhouse Lover Tells All, PEOPLE reports. 

In 2017, Hernandez committed suicide in prison. He was 27. An earlier report published on theGRIO noted that he was found hanging in his cell at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., according to the Boston Globe.

READ MORE: Ex-Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez reportedly sexually abused, beaten as a child

“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit,” said a statement at the time. “Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bedsheet that he attached to his cell window. Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items.”

Hernandez’s suicide occurred five days after he was acquitted of murdering two men in Boston in 2012. However, the former athlete was still serving a life without parole sentence for murdering Odin L. Lloyd in 2013.

A 2019 Netflix docuseries explored Hernandez’s dysfunctional life and questions about his sexuality. His fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, told ABC’s Good Morning America that she never had any indication that he might be gay or bisexual, or that he might be trying to figure out his sexuality.

“If he did feel that way or if he felt the urge … I wish that I was told,” said Jenkins-Hernandez, 30, as she fought back tears. “I wish that he would have told me because I would not have loved him any differently. I would have understood. It’s not shameful. I don’t think anybody should feel shameful for who they are inside, regardless of who they love. I think it’s a beautiful thing. I just— I wish I was able to tell him that.”

READ MORE: Family of Aaron Hernandez’s victim reportedly being harassed in wake of Netflix doc

(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, Pool, File)

In the upcoming REELZ special, Kennedy claims he and Hernandez would “lock in to either cook food or smoke, get high, listen to music, just chill when we didn’t want to be around other people.”

“We used to write letters back and forth to each other all day,” he said, adding “We sold drugs every day, we did drugs every day.”

Hear more from Kennedy about their bond when Aaron Hernandez: Jailhouse Lover Tells All airs July 5 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on REELZ. 

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Eazy-E’s daughters beef over Megan Thee Stallion’s new single ‘Girls In The Hood’

It looks like the release of Megan Thee Stallion’s new single, “Girls In The Hood”, which samples Eazy-E’s iconic debut single “Boyz In The Hood” has unexpectedly led to a public war of words between the hip hop legend’s daughters.

The 25-year-old rapper’s new song officially dropped on Friday, but prior to its arrival Eazy-E’s daughters Ebie Wright, 28, and ReeMarkable (Henree Wright), 27 took to social media to square off about whether the Houston native should have ever been allowed access to the sample.

Megan Thee Stallion (Credit: Megan Thee Stallion)

READ MORE: Megan Thee Stallion, Beyoncé’s ‘Savage’ remix reaches No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

The drama began after ReeMarkable took to her Instagram to share that she was “bothered” that Megan was given the green light to rap over her father’s legendary track.

She started off by acknowledging, “as long as y’all paying homage to my father, I f–k with that a 100 percent.” However, she then went on to explain that she took issue with “the people in the background that press the ‘ok’ button” for artists to sample her father’s work when his own children haven’t been allowed the same grace.

“He’s got kids that you won’t write s–t off for…I’ve got siblings that want to do so much in the likeness of my father, but we can’t, unless we want to get some papers thrown on our table. Cease and desist. Someone tell me how we stop that. Because we want our daddy legacy.”

READ MORE: Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé make chart history

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HOTTIES GIRLS IN THE HOOD IS OUT NOWWWW GO RUN IT TF UP what’s your favorite line from the song #girlsinthehood

A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Jun 26, 2020 at 8:55am PDT

While some believed she made valid points, the video prompted ReeMarkable’s half-sister, Ebie, to respond on Instagram stating, “That girl that’s speaking out on it, Ree? You guys have got to stop getting me confused with this girl. I don’t know her, my father didn’t know her.”

The N.W.A. leader, born Eric Wright, passed away in 1995 when both women were young children. But there appears to be some dissent about who has the right to stake a claim to his legacy.

“It’s really strange to me that every single time something that has to do with my dad comes up, she’s the first one running to the Internet to speak up as if she’s the spokesperson for my father or my family,” Ebie continued.

“It’s really, really f–king weird…the only person who has been fighting, and is still fighting to this day for my father’s estate and to make things right, is me. Literally me and my mother, Tracy Jernagin.”

The harsh critique seemingly confused ReeMarkable, who said in a follow-up Instagram video, “I’m your sister. We ain’t family, we blood. That’s what it is. But I’ll always be your sister baby girl…Stop with the jealous s–t.”

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So tired of the bullshit games we gotta keep playing , I’m done being quite ! We want involvement when it come to our daddy , tired of my sister crying about the unfairness . I’m fed the fuck up … WE EAT OFF NOTHING MY DADDY LEFT BEHIND. What ever y’all see Us have we hustled to get . Shit too lame we get papers thrown at us but others don’t . We just wanna be apart of the legacy too …

A post shared by ReeMarkable (@iamreemarkable) on Jun 25, 2020 at 11:32am PDT

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Everybody talk that BIG SH*T on the internet but ain’t NOBODY making REAL moves in REAL LIFE !!!! Ain’t nobody PRESSING TOMICA WOODS (who already stole my mom’s @tracyjernagin story in Straight Outta Compton) or my father’s ESTATE BUT ME !!!!! I can’t keep letting ya’ll front ! All these “family members” ain’t built like ME and MY DADDY !!!! Just wanna ride off his name .. f*ck that and f*ck all y’all that’s with this fake sh*t . THIS IS MY REAL LIFE !!!!! Been through so much the last 25 years … I’ll be damned if I keep letting some girl my father didn’t even know keep JUMPING on this internet trynna tell MY STORY !!!!!! And don’t even be telling it properly because she didn’t experience the sh*t ! DOCUMENTARY coming soon !!! 4 part series … you will all know the real and what WE had to deal with and are still going through till this day !!! STOP GIVING THESE PEOPLE PLATFORMS WITHOUT FACT CHECKING ! Ain’t no clout sh*t happening when it comes to Eric “Eazy-E” Wright if I have anything to do with it !!!! People gotta stay in their place !!! Disrespectful a**es . Y’all wanna know how to change sh*t ????? Get off the internet frontin and come see his REAL DAUGHTER who’s been fighting to fix his legacy since March 26th 1995 ! #WeWantEbie #RealOne @ejking21 let Meg know I’m ready for the record #ahhhhh

A post shared by Ebie (@ebie) on Jun 25, 2020 at 2:18pm PDT

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The past 10 years this girl has been delusional. ebie you gotta grow up . We got bigger things to handle . Stop with the jealous shit . I’m sparing you. I’m being kind cause I was raised right . And I don’t beef on the internet . I was raised in the streets & that’s not how we handle people . We don’t do this cap Ass shit you on. NO BODY GIVES AF ABOUT WHAT YOU TRYIN TO DO!!!! They laughing at you . love you though imma pray for you . I promise I wasn’t going to go hard on you . And I’m not going back and forth on ig. Bang my line . Been saying that since day one BIG SIS OH AND I FUCKIN LOVE @theestallion …. don’t misconstrue my words .

A post shared by ReeMarkable (@iamreemarkable) on Jun 25, 2020 at 4:21pm PDT

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Symone Sanders on how Black voters can combat voter suppression

With just four months left until Election Day, political strategist Symone Sanders and other notable figures in the political arena are sounding the alarm on the efforts to suppress the Black vote.

Partnering with My Black Is Beautiful‘s #HowWeWin initiative to raise awareness on how voters can combat voter disenfranchisement and suppression, Sanders says it is crucial that Black voters arm themselves with the information needed to ensure that they are both registered to vote and are able to effectively cast their ballot on Nov. 3.

READ MORE: NY Liberty Juneteenth panel discusses equality, power of voting

“You have to educate yourselves about who is on the ballot this November. So, yes, obviously, we’ve got a presidential election. I want to make sure y’all go to the polls and make their voices heard in that,” Sanders told theGrio.

“But there are other folks on the ballot,” she added. “There are Senate races. There are congressional seats that are up. There are state legislative races. There are judges and some places judges are elected county commissioners.”

Given how high the political stakes are, Sanders and other prominent voices in politics like Tamika Mallory and Angela Rye have teamed up with My Black Is Beautiful to get out the vote, particularly given the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most recently in states like Georgia, polling sites in predominantly Black and Brown districts were met with long lines of voters who waited hours to cast their ballots and a shortage of voting machines.

“It is a travesty that people across this country are having to sit in line for hours in the rain. I saw that video of that woman who was sitting in line for hours in a chair outside of a polling place. It was raining and she had her baby in the rain, but she was determined to vote,” Sanders said. “Those are things that should not be happening in the United States of America in 2020.”

(Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for Girlboss Rally NYC 2018)

Some states have also experienced a significant reduction in the number of polling precincts — something Sanders doesn’t think is by accident.

“The reality is that oftentimes it seems somehow polling places just always seem to end up closing in African-American and Latino communities in this country. There just happens to not be enough polls and poll workers available to work the polls,” Sanders said.

There are various ways in which voters of color across the country are disenfranchised, Sanders pointed out, including state laws requiring certain kinds of IDs and red tape around casting absentee ballots and voting by mail, which has been expanded in some states due to concerns over COVID-19.

What’s more, President Donald Trump and Republican leaders have warned of so-called vote-by-mail fraud, despite studies showing it is extremely rare.

READ MORE: LeBron James forms voting rights group to protect the Black vote

“Donald Trump himself, Mike Pence, the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, and many folks in the Trump administration, they voted by mail not just this year, but over the course of a number of years,” Sanders pointed out. “Why? Because the voting by mail is a tool that is available to everyone in this country.”

To ensure that Black voters are armored with the right information and able to cast their votes successfully this November, Sanders offered some useful tips.

A man holds a sign referencing the Georgia primary election. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

“If you’re a first-time voter or somebody that voted before but you haven’t really voted in the last couple elections, the first thing you need to do is check and see if you are registered. You can go to IWillVote.com,” Sanders said.

“It takes less than three minutes. You put in your name and your address and they can tell you if you’re registered to vote or not. And if you are not registered to vote, you can click on ‘Register to vote’ and they will take you to a site where you can register.

She added, “To be clear, we still don’t have fully online voter registration in this country. So you will have to print out your ballot and mail that in your part of me, your application and mail that in.”

For Black voters who may be feeling apathetic over the political barriers around voting, Sanders says it’s all the more reason to vote.

“If your vote wasn’t so important, they wouldn’t be trying to block your access to the ballot box. If your vote wasn’t so important, they wouldn’t be trying to take it away if your vote couldn’t change things,” she said. “No one would be implementing barriers for you to get to the polls.”

Sanders, 30, said this election is the “most consequential election in my lifetime.”

The senior adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden added that, if elected, a President Biden would step in to put an end to voter suppression.

Joe Biden (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“A Biden administration would restore section 5 of the Voting Rights Act,” Sanders said, which was meant to prevent historically-racist states in the South from changing election laws without federal approval. The section was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2013.

“Municipalities and state governments across the country can enact these very nefarious voter suppression laws is because there is no check and balance anymore,” she added.

Ultimately, Sanders said, the right to vote shouldn’t be determined based on what political party you plan to vote for.

“Being able to cast a ballot is not a Democratic thing or a Republican thing. It’s an American thing. And we want to make sure that everyone, regardless of who they are casting their ballot for as the poll as November, has the ability to do so.”

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Liverpool: The Africans who helped win the Premier League title

How Liverpool's first top flight title in England for 30 years was powered by African players.

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Black-Owned Marketing Firm Joins PPE Supply Chain To Fight Coronavirus

A Black, female-owned marketing firm has switched gears to help companies and organizations acquire Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

Impact Consulting Enterprises announced Wednesday that it has changed its focus from marketing, website design, and development to temporarily join the PPE network. President and CEO Cheryl McCants activated her supply chain to begin helping organizations in New Jersey, where Impact is based.

“When I learned of the many challenges that procurement officers faced in identifying legitimate suppliers for masks, gloves, and other types of PPE, we instinctively jumped in to help,” McCants said in the release. “While we are not doctors, grocery workers, or first responders, Team Impact consists of great researchers and crises managers. We put our skills to use and shored up a portion of the PPE supply chain for those in need. It only made sense. We did what we could to help others save lives.”

Beginning in March, East Orange, New Jersey-based Impact Consulting began looking for reliable national and international suppliers to help deliver supplies during the coronavirus outbreak. Impact quickly acquired masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, and wipes for hospitals, schools, utility companies, and other organizations in need.

So far, Impact’s effort has led to 50,000 masks going to New Jersey’s University Hospital. Another 12,000 masks were sent to the Eden School for Autistic Children. 10,000 gloves were sent to Massachusetts’ Veterans Administration Hospital, and nearly 300,000 sanitizing wipes went to utility companies.

Team Impact believes in leveraging our resources for good. See how we pivoted our work to help others during #COVID. https://t.co/VpzZZDo7zx pic.twitter.com/evYM7JwODR

— Impact Consulting (@ICEBranding) June 25, 2020

Robert Sharbaugh, University Hospital’s acting director of supply chain management, said the PPE it received from Impact Consulting was a huge assist.

“We had an immediate need for additional PPE supplies. Impact’s Newark office is located less than a mile away from University Hospital,” Sharbaugh said in the statement. “So working with Cheryl and her team was an easy, trustworthy and close-to-home solution for the hospital.”

Impact Consulting is still working to provide PPE for organizations in New Jersey. As the need for PPE sourcing settles down, McCants wants to resume her team’s focus on marketing.

Others have also contributed to help as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the U.S. A teen in Georgia secured an international PPE deal last week. In March, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo personally thanked musician Rihanna for her donation of PPE equipment to the state.

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It's Time for an End-of-Life Discussion About Nursing Homes

With residents and staff dying by the tens of thousands, the very future of long-term care should be in question.

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Apple’s Virtual WWDC Wasn’t Better Than the Real Thing

This week, we discuss Apple’s big news, and we admit our hope that tech conferences return to the real world sooner rather than later.

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The Rocket Motor of the Future Breathes Air Like a Jet Engine

This theoretical engine could drastically reduce the cost of getting to space. Now two companies are trying to make it real.

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How This Black-Owned Delivery Service Is Giving Back To Restaurants Amid COVID-19

With social distancing and quarantine restrictions still in place amid the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus pandemic, many restaurants are relying solely on takeout and delivery orders in order to stay afloat during the public health crisis.

Recently, apps like GrubHub and UberEats came under heavy scrutiny when restaurant owners came out about the high surcharges the app charges for their deliveries. Many of these small locally owned restaurants rely on these third-party apps to expand their customer area. One company is empowering black-owned restaurants with a new delivery service that help restaurants earn more profits from their orders.

Mo Sloan is the founder of EZ-Chow, an integrated online ordering application that lets customers place orders directly with restaurants to help streamline deliveries without the use of third-party delivery apps. The online ordering solution would help restaurants increase their takeout and delivery revenue. Sloan founded his company after he grew tired of small business owners being taken advantage of and becoming frustrated with working in corporate America. 

“I realized I had reached a glass ceiling in my position in corporate America, but I believed that I had the potential for more,” said Sloan in an email interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE. 

“I wanted to solve a problem for an industry so I tapped into my restaurant experience with Papa John’s International and started thinking of how I could help restaurants, specifically small and medium-sized hospitality organizations. I started EZ-Chow to help restaurants and hospitality organizations control their own digital channel. I wanted to democratize technology for smaller organizations and give them the tools and tech capabilities to compete against the larger, national chains.”

“Our service is different from companies like GrubHub or UberEats, because we are true merchant partners.  We help restaurants pivot and become e-commerce businesses. We help them own direct digital customer engagement with their customers,” he continued.

“We eliminate the reliance on third-party menu aggregators or marketplace business models. By giving the restaurant a platform to engage directly with their customers, the restaurant takes control of the process. EZ-Chow allows restaurants to own customer data, the customer experience, their own brand, and the transaction itself, at a fraction of the expense of third party aggregators. It also simplifies the process as orders are injected directly into the merchant’s existing point-of-sale system. [It’s] a win-win-win scenario. It’s a win for the customer (they pay less), a win for us (we make revenue), and most importantly a win for the merchant (they get the order with all the benefits of direct ordering).”

Sloan went on to say that his software is needed now more than ever amid the COVID-19 outbreak where restaurants are doing all they can to stay afloat. “COVID has helped our business because we are the most efficient way for restaurants to generate off-premise dining revenue,” he said. 

“With COVID shutting down dining rooms around the country, restaurants and hospitality organizations are turning to us to provide them both short-term and long-term assistance with both surviving the pandemic and thriving in a post-pandemic world where consumers expect convenience.”

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An Embattled Group of Leakers Picks Up the WikiLeaks Mantle

After releasing over a million hacked law enforcement files, DDoSecrets got banned from Twitter. But it has no plans to slow down.

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Vaccine Makers Turn to Microchip Tech to Beat Glass Shortages

We'll need millions of vials to distribute the vaccine. The US government thinks manufacturing methods from the semiconductor industry can help.

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How to Build the Perfect Pump-Up Playlist

Research shows that music makes a lot of us feel more inspired and productive. Here are some tips on finding your flow—and some tracks to get you started.

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Coronavirus in Kenya: Police kill three in motorcycle taxi protest

The police order the arrest of the officers involved, as they come under scrutiny for excessive force.

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Useful explanations of reality

If we want to understand what’s going on around us, it’s helpful to be able to formulate a resilient story, one that holds up to scrutiny and allows us to make an impact.

That story shouldn’t change based on who’s in charge.

Which means that we don’t have to ask the head of the chemistry department why a reaction occurred. The theory works fine even if they’re not around.

       

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Stranded Nigerian chess player 'broken and traumatised'

Top Nigerian chess player Oladapo Adu has been stuck in Ivory Coast for 12 weeks after being unable to meet a connecting plane before lockdown began.

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Broadway star Robert Hartwell buys historic 1820 house built by slaves

Broadway star Robert Hartwell has purchased a historic home built by slaves that he intends to “fill with love.” 

The actor turned entrepreneur shared the exciting news with his followers on Instagram, noting that he bought the house after stumbling upon it while perusing the Internet. 

“3 weeks ago I found this house online. I said “this is my house”. I called the seller and was told it was a cash only offer and that “I’m sure that takes you off the table”. Don’t you ever underestimate a hard working black man,” he captioned a photo on Instagram of himself standing in front of his new property. He did not disclose the location of the home. 

READ MORE: Michelle Obama reflects on Juneteenth and family’s slavery history

“I saw the house last week and when I walked in I knew I was home,” Hartwell added. 

Hartwell, founder of The Broadway Collective, noted that the home was built by slaves in 1820 for the Russell family, who owned the local cotton mills, per PEOPLE.

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3 weeks ago I found this house online. I said “this is my house”. I called the seller and was told it was a cash only offer and that “I’m sure that takes you off the table”. Don’t you ever underestimate a hard working black man. I saw the house last week and when I walked in I knew I was home. The house was built in 1820 for the Russell family who owned the cotton mill in town. Slavery was still legal. When the agent asked me why I wanted such a large house I said it was “a generational move”. I know this house is bigger than me. I wish I could’ve told my ancestors when they were breaking their backs in 1820 to build this house that 200 years later a free gay black man was going to own it and fill it with love and find a way to say their name even when 200 years later they still thought I would be “off the table”. We are building our own tables. I’ve never been prouder to be a black man. Come to my White House any time. I can’t wait to have you! Glory to God in the highest. I’m a homeowner.

A post shared by robert hartwell (@sirroberttakespics) on Jun 24, 2020 at 9:57pm PDT

“When the agent asked me why I wanted such a large house I said it was ‘a generational move’. I know this house is bigger than me,” wrote Hartwell in his IG post.

“I wish I could’ve told my ancestors when they were breaking their backs in 1820 to build this house that 200 years later a free gay Black man was going to own it and fill it with love and find a way to say their name even when 200 years later they still thought I would be ‘off the table,'” he wrote.

“We are building our own tables,” he continued. “I’ve never been prouder to be a black man.”

After receiving an outpouring of love from fans, friends and colleagues, Hartwell promised to share the renovations process on social media.

“So overwhelmed with gratitude… Can’t wait to share more,” he wrote on his Instagram Story.

Hartwell, who appeared in productions such as Hello, Dolly! and Motown the Musical, said he purchased the house as a way to pay tribute to his ancestors.

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