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Sunday, December 22, 2024
Culture

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Real Talk, Clemson…

It’s been about two days since the fine Clemson Tigers from my home state of South Carolina, stepped into the White House for what we thought would be a celebration fit for kings of collegiate football. Instead, what we saw was more like a feast fit for a few fat five year olds.

Accept the Invite From Quavo; You Deserve Better Damnit

As a proud Gamecock, i’m putting my boxing gloves and autographed 5×7 portrait of Cocky to the side, and I’m crossing the lines of the battlefield in order to tell my collegiate arch rivals that, hey – You Deserve Better (cue sentimental music). To my orange brothers from the upstate, you ended the season with a 15-0 perfect record! You proved yourselves to not only be just as good as Alabama – you’re better. This football team is the first 15-0 major college team in football history – like WTF?! Even despite a few setbacks, and set-ups; y’all DID DAT! Which is why i’m putting my Carolina Gamecock pride to the side and demanding that all of South Carolina stand together to plea for you all to have the celebration you deserve! And this can only be brought to you buy Quavo from The Migos. Yes, i’m here to tell you to ACCEPT THE INVITE!

We’ll Talk About Why You Even Accepted His Invite Later…

Yes, we saw your wonderful parade, that was cute, but of course your visit to the White House should have been the icing on the cake. Now, we won’t sit here and question why in the hell you even accepted an invite to that place – partisan lines aside. But, no for real – why TF did you all accept an invitation to that place though? Either way, you accepted it and i’m sure it was because a few of you are probably fans of the President. I mean, I kind of understand, he’s Orange – you’re Orange; I get it. However, serving championship athletes two-for-one Big Macs from hood McDonald’s in D.C. is not only out of order, it’s out-of-line and it’s damn near disrespectful!

Imagine a Quavo/Tiger Celebration…I Can See It Now

That’s why I am here to encourage whoever needs to hear this. Accept the invite from Quavo, I can picture it now. A catered food spread to die for, flowing with lobster, shrimp, steak, grits, chicken and waffles catered by Private Chef Corey of Live From the Kitchen. For the few of you old enough to drink – Gold Bottle Ace of Spades, D’usse, Pelligrino, and Hawaiian Punch, and red Kool-aid for the rest of you. A playlist that stands the test of time, from Versace and Hannah Montana all the way to Lamb Talk and Workin’ Me. And of course, girls will be there (ok they’ll be strippers, but they’re still girls, right)? It’s finna be a ratchet, boughetto, good time! And yes, some of your teammates from Pickens, Easly, and Greelyville won’t understand anything being said, but none of that matters when you’re eating lobster and watching stripp…girls! Last but not least, imagine the adlibs they’ll create just from hanging around the team: “win like a Clem-son Tiger (win); roll like we goin higher (tide, tide, tide, tide, skrt)” – or something like that.

Dance Wit My Dogs In The Nighttime Tho

Let’s face it, the President can barely get a championship team to accept any of his invites to the White House, and then finally, a team accepts and this is what he did to you all? Is This Your King?! The internet had McDonald’s jokes for three whole days after this KFC kerfuffle. But, now you can redeem your White House experience – go ahead, dance with my dogs in the nighttime; accept Quavo’s invite.

Let’s Put Our Rebel Flags & Red Rice Aside, and Let’s Come Together

Trust me, it’s hard for South Carolinians to come together on any matter, however, Rebel flags and red rice aside. Let’s come together as an ass-backward red state and stand united in harmony for at least once in our lives. You deserve better Clemson Tiger Football team, and Quavo can help you get what you deserve. Congrats fellas.

Syllabus Magazine

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

http://www.syllabusmagazine.com

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UPDATE:

After the story of Cyntoia Brown went viral, with a host of celebrities speaking out on her behalf, including Rihanna and Kim Kardashian; Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has granted Brown clemency 11 days before he leaves office on January 18th.

Cyntoia Brown will not be released on parole supervision on August 7, 2019 after serving 15 years in prison. You can read the details below:

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The story of Cyntoia Brown is clearly an American tragedy. Close your eyes and picture this. Imagine being born to a teenage mother with a substance abuse problem, who continued to drink and take drugs while pregnant. Then imagine being removed from that mother and placed into foster care where you lacked love, care and protection. Meanwhile, imagine growing up in foster care, being hooked on drugs, and becoming a victim of abusive men who continuously take advantage of you mentally and sexually. Imagine as a teen, living on the streets and being forced into prostitution in order to make enough money for your adult, abusive, rapist boyfriend. But it doesn’t stop here, imagine at 16 years old, one of your ‘clients‘, a 43 year-old Army veteran, deciding he wanted to use you for the night; so he takes you back to his home where you are basically this man’s property and your job will be to fulfill his sick desires.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a made-for-Lifetime movie, this was the real story of a 16-year old girl named Cyntoia Brown. Thirteen years ago at the age of 16, she shot and killed a 43 year-old pedophile , Johnny Allen; and this is where the nightmare gets worse. Yes, homicide is a horrible crime, but it is apparent that the judge and jury did not take into consideration the abuse and distress Brown had experienced during her young life. Most importantly, when she killed Johnny Allen, the teenager believed her life was in danger.

On the day of Allen’s murder, instead of taking her to a hotel, she got into his truck where he took her to his home; this is where she testified she was uncomfortable. While there, Allen showed the teen his gun collection; he was a sharp shooter in the Army and had amassed a serious collection of artillery. According to Cyntoia, when Allen reached beside his bed, she thought he was reaching for one of this guns, and she took out a gun she had hidden for her own protection and shot him. After she shot him, she took more weapons, ran away and called 911.

Although Johnny Allen was a child predator and was committing a sex crime with an underage girl, supporters of Cyntoia believe she should have at least been charged with manslaughter. Instead, the court tried her as an adult and sentenced her to first degree murder which came with a 51-year prison sentence. Cyntoia at that time says she was in fear of being in this man’s home and believed that he was going to harm her.

Did the American court system fail Cyntoia? Did it not take her rape seriously? Did they not believe she was in fear for her life? This is the same American court system that allows police officers, who are trained to deal with risky situations, to be found ‘not guilty‘ after they have murdered someone while claiming they were in fear for their lives.

Cyntoia’s case has slowly grown legs of scrutiny and was even the inspiration for filmmaker Dan Birman, who followed Cyntoia’s for many years and created a documentary titled, “Me Facing Life“. Talk regarding giving life sentences to children came to light during the Obama administration, but with Brown’s case giving new light to the number of teens handed life sentences, the dialogue has ignited the debate questioning if sentences like these are fair.

Now at the age of 29, Cyntoia’s public defender from 13 years ago and others are working to lead efforts in Tennessee to change the law. They want the courts to require teens who are sentenced to life, get a mandatory 15- or 20-year review of their sentences. If these laws change, Cyntoia would at least have a chance to get her sentenced reviewed at the age of 31 or 36. Cyntoia has been called a model prisoner, a mentor to other female prisoners, and she was able to earn her Associates Degree from Lipscomb University’s in-jail program. She is now working on her Bachelor’s degree and is an unpaid consultant for the Juvenile Justice system in Tennessee.

“I myself can create opportunities to help people [behind bars],” – Cyntoia Brown

There is a strong, supportive group of people behind the walls and within the justice system, looking to get Cyntoia clemency. They are pushing to get the governor and the parole board to look at all of the factors in her case, and look at all of the work she has done behind bars in order to get the powers that be to consider clemency.

If this case had happened in 2017, Cyntoia would have been considered a sex slave and a victim of sex-trafficking – not a criminal.

Check out Cyntoia Brown’s Documentary below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLyenhWOwg8

Source: Fox 17

Syllabus Magazine

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

http://www.syllabusmagazine.com

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“I learned to be a black woman in this community. This is my home, and the idea that i might not be a good fit is an idea I never gave a lot of consideration to.”

Let’s stop acting like this isn’t a major event. Yesterday the House of Representatives swore in our newly elected officials and it looked like a good time. Unlike some of our other legislative offices, the gathering looked like a colorful cornucopia of congressional excellence. Along with a record-setting amount of women sworn in, we can’t overlook that Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois became the youngest black woman in history sworn in to office.

That’s right Rep. Underwood is creating history assuring that her name will one day be recalled in history books as the youngest black woman to represent any state. Even with this historical moment, Rep. Underwood’s achievement seems to have been looked over in major news outlets. So here is what we should know about Illinois’ State Representative, Lauren Underwood.

Rep. Underwood in a 32-year-old Registered Nurse from Naperville, Illinois. She earned her Masters from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. This is also not her first run in the political arena; she was a policy professional in the Obama administration in 2014. She then went on to work at the Dept of Health and Human Services as a senior adviser, where she helped to implement the Affordable Care Act.

Rep. Underwood was able to to defeat Randy Hultgren, the republican candidate running against her on November 6 of 2018. She ran a tight race and managed to earn 52.5 percent of the votes. With her appointment, this means Democrats have a 13-5 advantage over Republicans in the Illinois delegation.

According to in interview with the New York Times, for Rep. Underwood, losing this race was not an option. She stated:

“I learned to be a black woman in this community. This is my home, and the idea that I might not be a good fit is an idea I never gave a lot of consideration to.”

Syllabus Magazine

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

http://www.syllabusmagazine.com

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“I plan to build an amazing company that makes its mark in the telecom space.”

It’s great to see another wireless company entering into the highly competitive telecommunications industry, and bringing some competition to big brands and exorbitant prices. It’s also great that this company has been created by a young, black, woman from Alabama! Tesix Wireless, started by 24-year-old Alabama entrepreneur, Chaymeriyia Moncrief, launched Summer ’18 and has gotten the attention of new customers and investors. Because of the quick interest Tesix has gained, the company already has a valuation of $5.9 million.

Tesix has a over 3,000 people ready to sign up for varying wireless plans that are sure to beat what you may be paying with AT+T, Sprint, and other companies. Moncrief decided to take on the challenge of starting her own telecom company because of her personal bad experiences with previous large carriers.

“Dealing with bill unpredictability is something that we’ve all experienced; being locked in contracts with ever-changing rates and unnecessary fees is on of the biggest issues consumers have with their carriers.”

Check out https://www.tesixwireless.com/plans , here you can see that Tesix has worked hard to simplify plans, and they have laid out exactly what users will get with each plan that comes with a flat monthly fee. Tesix Wireless is able to keep the plan prices low because, right now, they’re not opening any storefronts worldwide like most carriers. Eliminating overhead is one way to continue to keep prices down.

Montcrief understands that she has entered into a competitive market, but she hasn’t let that deter her from launching a viable company. She’s been working on this idea for five years, and has figured out how to offer rates that (1) are lower than her competitors, (2) bill customers without tacking on additional fees, (3) offer more options for customers who desire wireless, and (4) offer that personal touch with customers.

Montcrief is also no stranger to success. She grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, graduated high school in 2012. She went to Alabama State University where she majored in Business Management and Computer Science. In 2016, she also launched a Branding Studio and built an award-winning agency that had 3 locations in a span of 2 years.

“To be able to be in a moment where a company that i have started is valued at millions before its even launched is just beyond me. If Tesix has gained this level of valuation now, it is only more exciting to see where it’s going. I plan to build an amazing company that makes its mark in the telecom space,” Montcrief expressed.

Learn more about Tesix Wireless, and sign for your new, wireless plan at HERE.

Source: Black News

Syllabus Magazine

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

http://www.syllabusmagazine.com

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“Nothing like this ever happens in this neighborhood”

2018 was the year where America battled about how to deal with the massive problem of gun violence in this country. Not only gun violence, but gun rights, gun ownership, and gun laws. For so long people who love guns have confessed that guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Although this is true, guns are getting in the hands of people – who are killing people; and this is the leading cause of death for young men 15 to 19 years old. In Lawrenceville, GA a community has been disrupted after a teen was shot, and another teen committed suicide.

Lawrenceville is the upscale community in Atlanta, Georgia where this tragedy happened. Four boys were hanging out when one of the four young men, 15-year-old Devin Hodges, pulled out a handgun to show his 17 year-old friend Chad Carless. As they were playing with the gun, Hodges accidentally (according to the police) fired the weapon, shooting Carless.

Two of the other young men ran away, but Gwinnett County Police believe Hodges, who fired the fatal shot, stayed and called 9-1-1. As officers were responding to the emergency call, they stated they heard a “single gunshot while attempting to locate the involved parties from the initial 911 call.” The boys had been playing in a nearby shed, and responding officers found one teen dead inside, and another teen with a self-inflicted gun shot wound near the shed.

A witness told WSB ABC News, “nothing like this ever happens in this neighborhood”, however, we know in this country stuff like this happens too often. In 2019, we all – as a community, have to push to end this cycle of gun violence. Statistics estimate 4.6 million children live in homes with unlocked and loaded weapons. You want to be an asset to your community? Then start at home, the most important thing we can all do is start within the walls of where we live and lock up our guns.

This year and for the next 2 political seasons, gun laws will be a hot topic of discussion – stay informed.

Syllabus Magazine

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

http://www.syllabusmagazine.com
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