Tomorrow’s Black Future Newsstand preview looks ahead—both for the upcoming weekend installation and how Black media would look in a world with reparations. The sneak peek takes place on Tuesday, June 13, at the Africa Center in East Harlem before going on display at the Schomburg Center Literary Festival this Saturday.
The interactive exhibit imagines what “media that loves Black people look, feel, sound, and taste like in a future where reparations are real” to usher in this year’s Juneteenth celebration. Originally a hashtag conversation, the concept developed into a 3D project via collaboration between the Black Thought Project and Media 2070.
“We envision a world that centers [on] Blackness, which means that the experiences, perspectives and precious lives of Black folx are protected, witnessed, and honored,” said Black Thought Project creator Alicia Walters. “The Black Future Newsstand invites Black folx to not only imagine a media that loves us but to step inside it, pick it up, read it, and also create it.”
“Media reparations will create the conditions for all kinds of justice,” said Media 2070 co-creator Collette Watson. “A critical aspect of media reparations is Black people owning and controlling our stories from ideation through publication. This newsstand is a portal to that future and a chance to begin moving toward it now.”
Featured are a myriad of Black artists and reporters, including the Amsterdam News, which is one of the partnering publications featured in the installation, with investigative editor Damaso Reyes credited as a co-creator.
“This project was an incredible opportunity for Black creators to bring into being a future that is more justice-driven,” said Reyes. “It also gave us the opportunity to share our rich archive to show the connections between the past, present, and future of Black liberation.”
The preview is part of the Museum Mile Festival, which ropes off 30 blocks uptown on Fifth Avenue and offers free admission to other partnering institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim. It runs from 6–10 p.m. on June 12 at the Africa Center (1280 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029).
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visitinghttps://bit.ly/amnews1.
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In an age of advanced technology and widespread connectivity, text message scams, including in big cities, have become a big problem for people nationwide.
As these deceptive practices continue to grow, authorities have cautioned that it is vital for people to be aware, watchful, and cautious to protect their personal information.
From 2015 to 2022, the number of reports about possible text scams rose by 500%, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Also, officials said that more than 475 million robo-texts are sent every day, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that Americans had lost more than $231 million to text message scams in the first three quarters of 2022.
Experts say that scams that use text messages continue to grow and target people in cities with numerous potential victims.
Scammers are also increasingly targeting busy cities with high populations, such as Washington, New York, and Chicago.
Officials say that there are several reasons why text message scams are so common. One of them is that scammers can work on digital platforms without being caught, which makes it easier for them to start large-scale fraud campaigns.
Also, the fast-paced nature of city life can make people more likely to make quick decisions, which makes them more likely to fall for these scams.
Authorities warned that people should take specific steps to avoid falling for text message scams.
The FTC said that scams often promise to get you to click on links.
This could include offering gift cards, coupons, or a non-interest credit card.
A scammer may also say they have information about you or may trick you by claiming suspicious activity on your account, sending a false bill, or falsely informing you that your package has arrived.
Deborah Moss, who owns a small food business, told CBS News that she got caught up in a complex bank scam that started with a harmless text message.
Moss, who had dedicated over a decade to building her business, says she had finally accumulated enough savings to pursue a peaceful life in rural Guerneville, California.
Soon after answering the message, Moss got a phone call from a person who identified themselves as a Chase Bank representative, and the bank’s name appeared on the caller ID.
Initially dismissing it as a minor inconvenience, Moss promptly replied. At the other end of the line was an individual identifying as “Miss Barbara” from “Chase ATM.”
She requested permission from Moss to issue a new debit card to resolve the alleged fraudulent charge.
Barbara asked Moss to confirm her identity by reading the numbers from a text message to her over the phone.
“And I would just repeat those numbers to her, and she’d say, ‘That’s great. Thank you so much, Ms. Moss,’” said Moss.
Miss Barbara called Moss multiple times over the next week about a problem with the card delivery.
She asked Moss to verify her identity by reading back the numbers from subsequent text messages.
It wasn’t until Moss visited her nearest bank branch that the devastating truth emerged.
A supervisor informed her that the scam completely depleted her life savings of nearly $160,000.
“That was all my money. It took me 12 years to get that money, and that was my life savings,” Moss said. “My world fell apart. My whole world fell apart,” Moss said.
JPMorgan Chase said that scammers deceived Ms. Moss and got her personal information, which compromised her account.
Here are some crucial things to do to reduce the risk:
Check the source out: Be careful when you get unwanted text messages, especially ones that ask for personal or financial information. Always check the sender’s name before responding or giving out any private information.
Don’t click on strange links: Don’t click on links in text messages, especially if they come from sources you don’t know or look sketchy. These links can lead to harmful websites or cause the download of dangerous software.
Educate yourself: Keep up with the latest text message scams and hackers’ most common tricks. Get to know how they do things so you can better spot and avoid possible dangers. Beware of urgency and pressure. Scammers often make victims feel they must move quickly or use high-pressure tactics to get what they want.
Be careful about messages that tell you to do something right away or offer deals that seem too good to be true.
Enable two-factor authentication: Use two-factor authentication whenever you can to give your online accounts an extra layer of security.
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On Monday, June 19th, 2023, Juneteenth, the Black Thought Project and Media 2070 will spotlight several creatives and writers in the first-ever “Black Future Newsstand.” This live, in-person custom-built installation is guided by the question, “What does a media that loves Black people look, feel, sound, and taste like in a future where reparations are…
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all due to the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
But the ceremony went off without a hitch on Sunday night. The event was scriptless, to honor a compromise with striking writers, but chock full of high-spirited Broadway performances drawing raucous cheers from an audience clearly thrilled to be there at all.
It was a night of triumph for the small-scale but huge-hearted musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” about a teenager with a rare aging disease, but also a night notable for inclusion: Two non-binary performers made history by winning their acting categories.
The ceremony also touched on the specter of anti-Semitism in very different places: World War II Europe, with best play winner “Leopoldstadt,” and early 20th-century America, with “Parade,” winner for best musical revival.
In the end, the lack of scripted banter didn’t much dampen the proceedings, and little wonder: Broadway folks are trained in improv. And of course there was more room for singing and dancing — including from current shows not in competition — and nobody was complaining about that.
Oh, and the show ended right on time.
Oscars, are you listening?
Some key moments of the night:
BROADWAY HEADS UPTOWN
It wasn’t just the writers strike that made for a different evening. The venue was new, too. It was on Broadway, yes, but miles from the theater district. The ceremony took place, for the first time, uptown in Washington Heights, in the ornate, gilded United Palace, an extravagantly decorated former movie theater filled with chandeliers and carpets and majestic columns. “Thank you for coming uptown — never in my wildest dreams,” quipped Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has helped bring events to the venue in the neighborhood where he set his “In the Heights.” The afterparty was held in tents outside the building instead of the usual festivities in the fancy food halls of the Plaza Hotel near Central Park.
A BLANK PAGE BUT A FULL NIGHT
Oscar winner and Broadway luminary Ariana DeBose, hosting for the second year running, immediately addressed the elephant in the room. Speaking to the audience before the telecast began, she explained nothing would be scripted and told winners the only words they’d see on Teleprompters would be “wrap up please.” When the main telecast began, she appeared on camera reading a Tony script, but the pages were blank. So instead of words, DeBose and others spoke with their dance moves, doing a brassy number in the theater’s grand lobby, staircases and aisles, complete with gravity-defying leaps. Afterward, DeBose warned anyone who may have thought last year was “unhinged” to “Buckle up!” DeBose, who performed in the original cast of “Hamilton” and won an Oscar for “West Side Story,” also passionately explained why the Tonys are so crucial to the economic survival of Broadway, and also to touring productions around the country.
A TIMELY REMINDER OF ANTISEMITISM IN EUROPE
An early award brought a sobering reminder of the horrors of antisemitism. Brandon Uranowitz of “Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s sweeping play about a Jewish family in Vienna, thanked the celebrated playwright “for writing a play about Jewish identity and antisemitism and the false promise of assimilation,” and noted his ancestors, “many of whom did not make it out of Poland, also thank you.” Uranowitz, who won for featured actor in a play, added a humorous note that the thing he wanted most in life was to repay his parents for the sacrifices they made for him — only he couldn’t, because he works in the theater.
AND IN AMERICA
“Leopoldstadt” went on to win best play, while best musical revival went to another searing work about antisemitism: “Parade,” starring Ben Platt as Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was lynched in 1915 in Georgia. In his acceptance speech for best director, Michael Arden evoked the play’s somber themes, noting, “We must battle this. It is so, so important, or else we are doomed to repeat the horrors of our history.” But he added his own story of how, growing up, he often had been called the “F-word,” referring to a homophobic slur. He then earned some of the night’s loudest cheers when he triumphantly reclaimed the slur while pointing out that he now had a Tony.
“I SHOULD NOT BE UP HERE”
It was an emotional moment when Alex Newell of “Shucked” became the first out non-binary actor to win a Tony, taking the prize for best featured actor in a musical. Newell, also known for “The Glee Project,” thanked close family for their love and support and then addressed the outside world: “Thank you for seeing me, Broadway. I should not be up here as a queer, nonbinary, fat, Black, little baby from Massachusetts. And to anyone that thinks that they can’t do it, I’m going to look you dead in your face and tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.” Like the Oscars, the Tonys have only gendered categories for performers.
“THIS IS FOR YOU”
J. Harrison Ghee was the second non-binary actor of the night to make history, winning best actor in a musical for their role in “Some Like It Hot,” based on the classic 1959 film, as a male musician fleeing the mob disguised as a woman in what becomes a voyage of discovery about gender. (The movie role involved disguise, but no discovery.) Ghee said they had been raised to use their gifts not for themselves, but to help others. “For every trans, non gender-conforming, nonbinary human who ever was told you couldn’t be seen, this is for you,” Ghee said, tapping the Tony for emphasis.
LEA MICHELE GETS HER TONY MOMENT
Not to mix show metaphors or anything, but Lea Michele was not about to throw away her shot. The “Funny Girl” star was not eligible for a Tony for that show because she didn’t originate the role. But Michele, who has turned around the fortunes of the 2022 production, is seen by many as the ultimate Fanny Brice, and her gorgeously belted rendition of “Don’t Rain On My Parade” — actually the second time she performed it at the Tonys, the first in 2010 — definitely did not disappoint.
PARTY TIME
Most Tony attendees spent a good five hours in the United Palace, and the room got pretty warm. So folks were happy to step outside to the afterparty. Guests munched on ceviche, mangoes on sticks and mini-Cuban sandwiches, and sipped specially designed cocktails. Ghee was a clear star of the party, towering over most guests — literally and figuratively — as they clutched their Tony and accepted well wishes or agreed to selfies. Ghee also chatted with last year’s winner of the same award, Myles Frost, who played Michael Jackson in “MJ.” Asked their main takeaway of the night, Ghee replied, “Our industry is shifting forward! We are erasing labels and boundaries and limits.” The actor wore a bright blue custom ensemble by Bronx designer Jerome LaMaar, with a choker of glistening jewels. “When you’re getting it custom made, you can really do something,” they quipped.
