Moshood Creations celebrates 29 years in Brooklyn
Baba Moshood Afariogun presented his 29th fashion show in Brooklyn this weekend. To honor close to 30 years of bringing creative Afrikan style and fashion to Brooklyn, hundreds of people turned out to be dazzled by an array of local designers showcasing their latest lines. A packed crowd at Bed Stuy’s Restoration Plaza cheered on a dozen or so models as they quick-changed into the most spectacular garms.
Bill Moore photos
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams came through to applaud his mom Pat, as the popular fashionista popped on the Afro-centric glamor and walked the stage.
State Senator Kevin Parker presented Moshood with a proclamation, and Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman once again came out to support the annual fashion show, which is something of a local legend by now.
Bill Moore photos
Fashion aficionado Kunle Ade, son of King Sunny Ade, brought his Naija band, who kept things Afro-juju lively and folks dancing for over four hours; and Lookman Afolayan Jr., from Buka’s restaurant, kept people filled up on jollof rice and puff puff. All in all, a good time was had by all!
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Go with the Flo
New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson married his high school sweetheart Ali Marks in Chicago at the Ritz Carlton. The point guard’s fellow Knicks players Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Josh Hart, and Donte Divincenzo were in attendance, reported the Daily Mail. Brunson told People, “We wanted to bring all of our closest friends and family together in a city that means so much to both of us.” …
Madame Tussaud’s New York recently unveiled a new wax figure of Beyoncé. The wax museum tweeted out, “Beyoncé’s memorable look is a dazzling recreation of her showstopping Homecoming ensemble from her 2018 Coachella performance where she made history as the first Black woman to headline the festival. Debuting at Hudson Yards’ Edge, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western hemisphere, the figure took in stunning sights of the New York City skyline in every direction.” …
On Thursday, August 10, the marvelous, legendary Ms. Melba Moore will be honored with the 2,760th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star will be unveiled at 1645 Vine Street, near the historic corner of Hollywood and Vine. Moore will receive her star in the category of Live Theatre/Live Performance. Guest speakers include Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, comedian Katt Williams, and veteran R&B hitmaker Freda Payne. Born in Harlem and raised in Newark, N.J., Moore is a five-octave singer, Tony Award-winning actress, and four-time Grammy-nominated artist. …
Despite being one of the 39 independents SAG-AFTRA has given permission to film, Viola Davis told Deadline that she is bowing out of her ongoing movie, “G20,” for now, saying, “I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for the production to move forward during the strike.” The EGOT winner added, “I appreciate that the producers on the project agree with this decision. JuVee Productions and I stand in solidarity with actors, SAG/AFTRA, and the WGA.” …
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The Liberty keep rolling with wins over the Sparks
With back-to-back wins over the Sparks at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, including a 76-69 victory on Tuesday night, the Liberty have won seven of their last eight games heading into tomorrow’s matchup with the Minnesota Lynx on the road. They are 20-6 and have the second-best record in the WNBA behind the 24-2 Las Vegas Aces.
Guard Courtney Vandersloot led the Liberty with 23 points and Breanna Stewart added 16 points despite missing eight of nine 3-point attempts. In defeat, the Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike’s 20 points put her ahead of Candace Parker for second on the Sparks’ all-time scoring list.
The 33-year-old Ogwumike, who played college ball at Stanford, ended the game with a career total of 5,691 points as a Spark. She now stands behind only 2015 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, who has 6,263.
On Sunday, the Liberty took down the Sparks 87-79 behind Stewart’s 25 and guard Marine Johannes’ 15 off the bench for the team’s deep bench.
The Liberty’s championship aspirations continue to grow as their loaded roster has gelled. Forward Jonquel Jones averaged more than 13 points in the month of July and was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games from Tuesday, July 18, through Sunday, July 23.The Liberty’s only defeat during their current stretch was last Friday against the Lynx at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They fell 88-83 when guard Sabrina Ionescu scored 31 and Stewart contributed 23. Stewart is second in the WNBA in scoring at 22.9 points per game behind the Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd at 24.3 points per game.
The Liberty face the Lynx tomorrow on the road and will have a big meeting with the Aces at the Barclays Center on Sunday.
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The Mets look to the future with consequential deadline trades
The Mets came into this season with credible World Series aspirations.
By Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline, they had reshaped their roster, trading their two pitching aces and closer.
High-priced hurler Max Scherzer was dealt to the Texas Rangers last weekend and the franchise’s prized winter free-agent signing, 2022 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, was dealt back to Houston Astros — with which he won the World Series a season ago — on Tuesday.
The Mets also traded closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins this past weekend and outfielder Mark Canha to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. The collective deals by and large yielded the Mets a bevy of talented but unproven prospects. It’s a roster reconstruction, no matter how Mets general manager Billy Eppler framed the upheaval.
“It was a strategic decision,’’ explained Eppler after moving Scherzer and Robertson and prior to reuniting Verlander with the Astros. “We took this opportunity to serve another goal of the organization, which is to enhance the farm system. But I do want to be clear, it’s not a rebuild, it’s not a fire sale, it’s not a liquidation. This is just a repurposing of (team owner) Steve’s (Cohen) investment in the club and kind of shifting that investment from the team into the organization.”
At his first press conference on Tuesday as a Ranger, Scherzer said he was informed by Eppler when inquiring about the Mets’ front office’s immediate plans that the organization would be pivoting from contending this season to shaping the outlook for the future.
“His answer was that the team is now kind of shifting vision and that they’re looking to compete now for 2025 and 2026, and that 2024, that it was not going to be a reload situation in New York, and that it was going to be more of a transition in 2024,” Scherzer revealed.
The Mets were 50-56 when they faced the Kansas City Royals Wednesday on the road, fourth place in the National League with virtually no chance of catching the Atlanta Braves, which were in first place at 68-37. The Mets were a disconcerting seven games behind the Brewers for the third wildcard spot, with another four teams ahead of them in the race.
Scherzer, 39, posted a 9-4 record with a 4.01 ERA this season with New York. He was signed by the Mets in November 2021 to a three-year, $130 million contract. The three-time Cy Young Award winner went 11-5 in 23 starts last season with a 2.29 ERA, helping the Mets to a 101-61 mark, tied with the Braves for the third-best record in the league.
The 40-year-old Verlander, also a three-time Cy Young Award recipient, was inked to a two-year, $86.7 million contract last December and had his final start with the Mets on Sunday, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 at Citi Field and earning his 250th career win. He was 6-5 in 16 starts during his brief Mets tenure with a 3.15 ERA. So now, during the next off-season, the Mets will look to leverage their acquired assets for more established players via the trade route, develop the youngsters they believe have the potential to be impact players on the Major League level and continue to use Cohen’s deep pockets in free-agency.
The Mets, who began this season with the highest payroll in MLB history at $353.5 million, have been an abject disappointment to fans that rightly had high hopes the team would end what is now a 37-year World Series winning drought.
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Jeffries gave $1M to MET Council
House Democratic Leader and Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries spent this past Sunday distributing kosher and halal food with the Met Council, the nation’s largest Jewish charity, in Starrett City, Brooklyn. Jeffries also announced $1 million in federal funding for the organization.
“Met Council has really been a shelter in the time of storm for the people that I represent here in the 8th Congressional District,particularly East New York, Canarsie, Marine Park, Brighton Beach and Coney Island,” said Jeffries in a statement. “Met Council has done tremendous work—but that work was urgently necessary when a once in a century pandemic struck our community, struck the nation, and struck the world.”
Met Council is the largest free distributor of kosher food in the nation, and helped deliver over 21 million pounds of food to more than 250,000 New Yorkers last year, said the organization. Each month, it serves over 20,000 people in the surrounding district, which is mostly made up of immigrants and people of color.
The federal funding will be used to stock kosher and halal foods throughout pantries in Jeffries’ district. This represents Jeffries’ “enduring commitment” to his constituents and the Met, said his office.
“We are so thankful for this vital funding from Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who has always been a champion for Met Council and for the Jewish community,” said Met Council CEO David Greenfield in a statement. “We know that Rep. Jeffries always has our backs in Washington and fights hard to make sure people have access to food, meals, and the services they need. We are grateful for his leadership and look forward to our continued partnership.”
East New York’s Jewish voters in Starrett City were also considered vital in shaking up the recent city council June primary, where longtime former Councilmember Charles Barron was “ousted” in favor of newcomer Chris Banks, reported Jewish Insider. Barron has been widely called Jeffries’ “rival” since he ran against him for a congressional seat back in 2012.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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