News — Black Teen

Zizo is a gender-based violence activist and a self-published author. However, behind this strong, hardworking woman's positive energy is a chilling story. Zizo's father raped her first when she was 7 years old then continued doing it for seven years. Zizo lived with her mother and visited her father over the weekend; this is when he would rape her. It is when she got pregnant that her mother realized what was going on. This story is an eye-opener for all parents. Children need extra care, attention, and need sex education from a young age, so they know no one is allowed to do this to them. What do you think?

 Jholie Moussa, a 16-year-old African American girl, went missing in 2018. For two weeks, the police insisted that she left of her own free will, a run away. No further action was taken. Her body was later found in the woods. This is one example of hundreds of cases of black kids going missing and not much being done to address the case. Additionally, the press is more likely to highlight cases of white children going missing than black kids. Even though African-Americans making up significantly less of the US population than white people, black kids are much more likely to go missing than their white counterparts. What do you think?

 After being kicked in the head during a soccer game, Rueben Nsemoh stopped breathing several times. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was in a coma for days. When he woke, his parents said he spoke exclusively Spanish, which he never spoke fluently before. He did not speak any English for a couple of days. Ruben's story is one among many football players who have suffered from severe concussions. His story proves we know little about the impacts of concussions on the brain, and we should take the necessary precautions to prevent it. What do you think?

All Nicole Pyles wanted to do on April 19 was to see her high school softball team win the final game against Jordan High School. However, the game turned sour for Pyles when she was asked to remove the beads in her braids in order to continue the game. The hustle of taking it off inevitably meant she had to cut her hair in the middle of the game in what seemed to be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

“My team, all of my friends were cutting out some of my beads. They snatched some of the beads out of my hair,” described Pyles. “I felt just so embarrassed and disrespected and just distraught at that point.”

The Durham, North Carolina native plays for her school, Hillside High School. She has used her braided hair with beads throughout all her games until that final home game of the season when the umpire said her hair obstructed him from seeing her name on her jersey.

The 16-year-old thought she could salvage the situation by tucking in her beaded braids into her shirt and sports bra to make her name visible but according to ABC News, that did not cut it either for the umpire.

The rule book of the game was pulled out and used as the basis for the second complaint. The umpire called Pyles out for violating the rules and the only way forward for her was to be compliant or risk the consequences that may befall her team.

“I felt disrespected and I felt humiliated,” Pyles said. “I truly felt like in my heart that it was not a choice … That’s my team, so I will stand by them no matter what,” she continued, adding, “Beads are not going to be the reason we don’t win a game.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) rules categorically state the required uniform for all athletes in high school across the nation. The rules ban student-athletes from wearing hair beads, plastic visors and bandanas on any softball field. “Further, according to NFHS Softball Rule 3-5-1, before the start of a contest, it is the responsibility of each coach to verify to the plate umpire that all his or her players are legally equipped and that players and equipment are in compliance with all NFHS rules,” a statement from the NHFS said.

Braids and their accessories are a part of Black culture and identity but Pyles was not ready to let that get in the way of her teams’ efforts throughout the season, especially in the final home game where they were in the lead. That is why she obliged and took them off, she said.

“My hair means a lot to me … I’m not going to let braids take away from who I am on the field and off the field, but it is a part of me and no, I don’t want that to be stripped away from me,” Pyles said.

According to the executive director of NFHS, Dr. Karissa Niehoff, the rules are not new as they are in place to ensure the safety of students during games. She however admits that the situation could have been handled better to eliminate the humiliation the teenager endured in front of her peers and audiences.

“The rule was never intended to address any kind of prohibition of a culture or ethnic group or even a hairstyle that might be most comfortable for a participant,” Niehoff said.

“It’s most unfortunate that her experience was one of the multiple games where it was okay, and now suddenly it’s not okay, and how that was communicated and then played out is just extremely unfortunate and that would never be our intention for that to happen,” Niehoff added.

Julius Pyles, the father of Pyles, is not having any of it because he believes authorities handled the situation abysmally, leaving his daughter distressed. To him, the rules are culturally insensitive and he is demanding a formal apology from the powers that be to his daughter and her teammates for the humiliation.

“I want the world to know how I feel as a Black man, and as a father that my child had to be ridiculed in order to play a simple game,” he said.

Durham Public Schools released a statement on Wednesday supporting Pyles and labeling the ban on hair beads “problematic” because the school district supports the CROWN Act, a legislation that bans hair discrimination, especially among Blacks. “DPS supports our student-athletes and their right to self-expression in a manner befitting their culture, consistent with safety in training and competition.”

“We believe the blanket ban on hair beads is culturally biased and problematic. We support our student, Nicole Pyles, and believe this rule should be amended. We frown on any rule or policy that promotes cultural insensitivity or does not reflect the ideals and principles of DPS and our employees,” the statement said.

In view of the recent happening, the NFHS Softball Rules Committee will meet in June to discuss and assess the guidelines pertaining to its athletes. Niehoff added that the committee will prioritize making the rules more inclusive so they become a true reflection of the diverse student-athletes nationwide.

“We would never intend for a young person to be feeling anything in the way of humiliation, embarrassment, certainly, an affront to their culture or their race or their ethnicity, their religious background,” Niehoff said.

Lily Adeleye is a six-year-old CEO making big waves in the business world. She is the CEO of Lily Frilly Company that is into children’s hair accessories, clothing, and more. Her children’s accessory brand is launching into over 1,000 Walmart stores and on their website this month.

The six-year-old hails from Orlando, Florida. Launching on Walmart is the second of her retail launch. She and her mom had launched at Target only last year.

Adeleye’s launch on Walmart will bring a new assortment of her brand’s hair bows, exclusively designed for the Walmart partnership, and will be available for purchase, according to a statement on PRNewswire. “These new and exclusive designs include the Gold & Glitter Hair Bow, Galaxy Girl Hair Bow, Safari Party Hair Bow, and the Candy Rush Hair Bow,” the statement further noted.

Adeleye and her mom, Courtney Adeleye, are excited about their new moves. Courtney is optimistic that what her daughter has created will inspire other young girls to follow their passion. “Lily Frilly started out as a brand my daughter Lily and myself created, as I have always believed it’s important to let your children follow their passions, whether that be art, sports or in this case, growing a business.”

She added, “Now, Lily Frilly has become so much more than just that – it’s become a brand children love, as well as a symbol of inspiration and confidence for young girls as well as for the black community. It’s amazing to see what kids can do, and we’re so glad Walmart is providing this platform to give Lily Frilly the room and attention it warrants.”

Walmart’s Omni Associate Merchant Hair Accessories, Jennifer Aguirre, in a statement said the retail giant was excited and honored to work with Adeleye.

“We are excited to bring Lily Frilly to Walmart and honored to work with Lily Adeleye, as she represents the youngest founder among our Black-Owned business initiative,” she said. “We have been enchanted by Lily’s ingenuity and designs. We are certain that the assortment will captivate our young customers and inspire them to express their beauty and confidence with their hair.”

According to Lilly Frilly’s website, Adeleye loves to learn about investments with her parents. She, however, never forgets to watch Saturday morning cartoons with her older brother and sister.

Saniyya Dennis, a SUNY Buffalo State College student from the Bronx who disappeared last month, died by apparent suicide, authorities said Thursday.

“It appears that this poor girl took her own life,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn told reporters at a news conference.

He said although officials have not located the body of the 19-year-old, they believe she took her own life following a timeline of her last hours before she went missing.

According to Flynn, Dennis, on the afternoon of April 24, got into an argument with her boyfriend in New York City over the phone. She called him about 59 times but he didn’t respond, Flynn said. Dennis then called another male friend in New York City and told him she wanted to kill herself, Flynn said.

The two talked for several hours before Dennis said she had thought it over and wouldn’t end her life. About 11 p.m. ET, Dennis was captured on campus surveillance video leaving her dorm at the SUNY Buffalo State College. She subsequently threw away “personal items that would lead someone to believe that she was not returning to the dorm,” Flynn said.

Video from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority then showed her riding two different buses heading toward Niagara Falls. She was alone. She was later picked up by cameras around midnight walking toward Goat Island, where her cell last pinged, Flynn said. The male friend, at around 12:18 a.m., sent her text that read, “Call me back or my next call is to Buffalo PD.”

The male friend called her. She answered and said that she was going to jump off a bridge, Flynn said. The two talked for about an hour before Dennis told him that she was on the bus going back home. Phone records show that was false, according to DA.

Her phone left the network at about 1:20 a.m. April 25. The DA said this means that it was either destroyed or turned off. On April 26, Dennis’s family members reported her missing to Buffalo State Police, leading to an investigation, Flynn said.

Search dogs found Dennis’ scent near Goat Island. Authorities now believe she went over the falls, with her body likely pinned on the rocks below. Flynn said authorities may never find her body because of the rocks below the area. “There is a possibility that if we believe what happened happened, we may never find her body,” he said. “That’s a possibility.”

Dennis’ parents were made aware of the findings on Wednesday afternoon, the DA said.

At a news conference last Friday, Dennis’s family members said they were “baffled as to what’s going on.”

“Saniyya worked two jobs. She was a mechanical engineer major. She was very focused on her studies,” Keyora, Dennis’s sister, said. “She was a good friend. A good person. She has a good heart.”

Anthony Thompson, a 17-year-old student at Austin-East Magnet High School in Tennessee was shot and killed by a police officer in a bathroom at the school on Monday, April 12. But the story which followed immediately that Thompson had fired at and hurt an officer may not be true.

Only two days after saying the bullet which wounded the officer was from Thompson’s handgun, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released another statement on Wednesday, April 14 saying: “Preliminary examinations indicate the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student’s handgun”.

Thompson appeared to have hidden in the restroom as police officers came to his school. The TBI said the officers were responding to a report that there was a gunman on the school’s premises. The statement two days earlier had claimed that “[a]s officers entered the restroom, the subject reportedly fired shots, striking an officer”.

Now, the TBI says shots fired from Thompson’s gun were as a result of a struggle between the officer and the teenager. The wounded officer was shot by another officer.

But even with this development and in spite of the calls from Thompson’s family and other residents, the TBI, the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office have reportedly refused to release bodycam footage from the altercation. According to Tennessee state laws, authorities can choose to do this while investigations are ongoing.

Calls to have the bodycam footage publicized are also coming from three of the four police officers who had answered the call to Austin-East Magnet High School. The three officers are currently under investigation.

The mayor of Knoxville, Indya Kincannon, treated the calls by the officers as “an effort to accurately inform the public”. The mayor’s office has also backed these calls because “the public interest is best served by the immediate release of these videos”.

The St. Louis Fire Department has honored an 11-year-old boy for his selfless act of heroism and bravery after he rescued his 22-month-old kid brother from drowning in a pond during a family outing.

According to KSDK, Jayden Groves, was among 42 people the city’s fire department honored for their heroic acts on Thursday, January 21. In a tweet narrating the incident, the fire department said Jayden and his family were at Hyde Park on August 8, 2020, when his little brother wandered off from them.

Realizing he was not around, Jayden instinctively started looking for him and later found him unconscious and unresponsive in a pond with his face down. He then jumped into the pond and dragged him out.

“I pulled him out of the water. I put him on the grass and that’s when my family, they did CPR and I ran to the fire department and got help,” Jayden told KSDK.

The firefighters who quickly responded to the scene transported Jayden’s brother to a hospital where he was treated and discharged after making a full recovery following a short stay. For his heroic act, the mayor of St. Louis, Lyda Krewson, presented him with the fire department’s Heroism Award.

“We salute Jayden Groves,” the department tweeted. “He. Is. A. True. #Hero!”

In a Facebook post, Jayden’s mother also praised him for his bravery. “My oldest son was honored today for being a hero,” she wrote. “Continue being great. If it wasn’t for you my baby wouldn’t be here today. You’re a great kid, very intelligent. Continue to stay on the right path. I’m honored to have you as a son. God is going to take you places.”

Jayden told KSDK he’s contemplating on pursuing a career as a firefighter when he grows up.

Matthew Whitaker, from Hackensack, New Jersey, was born prematurely at 24 weeks, weighing 1 pound and 11 ounces. Doctors told his parents Moses and May Whitaker that he had less than a 50 percent chance of survival. He suffered many complications including retinopathy of prematurity, a disease caused by abnormal development of retinal blood vessels in premature infants which can lead to blindness.

His parents thought he wasn’t going to make it, and they did all they could to help him retain his vision. Over the course of two years, Whitaker underwent 11 surgeries. His parents decided to stop the procedures by the end of the second year as they felt “he was going through too much” and “the doctors weren’t seeing it was getting any better,” Whitaker’s dad, Moses, told 60 Minutes in an interview.

Doctors then warned that Whitaker might not be able to speak, walk or crawl since he had lost his eyesight. “…So a lot of his toys and stuff, we had to have sounds, so that he would want to crawl [and] want to reach those things,” Moses explained.

Whitaker did crawl to music. While an infant, he crawled to speakers just to feel the music. And by three years old, he was already exhibiting his musical prowess with a keyboard his grandfather gave to him as a present. Moses is still amazed at what little Whitaker did with that keyboard. To him, most kids do not play with both hands and do not play chords and harmonies but Whitaker did all of those.

Thus, Moses hired a piano teacher for him, who would later be shocked at his talent and creativity. Soon after he started taking his piano lessons, Whitaker, at age 11, began performing before crowds in various clubs and concert halls around the world, and he was doing so while completely blind. This caught the interest of Charles Limb, a surgeon and neuroscientist who has a musical background. Limb was interested in studying Whitaker’s brain to understand how he has mastered his talents.

With permission from Whitaker’s parents, he took the young prodigy to an MRI facility at the University of California, San Francisco, where he put him through a scanner with a small keyboard and asked him to play while the device took images of his brain. Whitaker also got involved in auditory tests while completing the MRI brain scan.

Scientists found that when the teen hears music, his entire visual cortex — the region that processes visual information — becomes activated. “Because he is blind we looked at his visual cortex. And we didn’t see any significant activity there at all,” Limb explained to 60 Minutes of the scans while Whitaker was listening to the lecture. “Then we switched the soundtrack for him and we put on a band that he knows quite well. … This is what changes in his brain.”

Limb and his team found that Whitaker’s entire brain is stimulated by music. They said it seems his brain is using the visual cortex region that is not being stimulated by sight to help him perceive music. “It’s sort of borrowing that part of the brain and rewiring it to help him hear music,” Limb said.

Whitaker thinks the results of his brain scans prove what he already knows — the fact that he loves music. And it is that love for music that has taken him to various tours both in the U.S. and abroad — in Italy, France, Indonesia, UK, Japan, Germany and Morocco.

The 19-year-old, who previously studied at The Harlem School of the Arts, has performed before The Youth Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in NYC, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC, among others. At just 10 years old, he was invited to perform at Stevie Wonder’s induction into the Apollo Theater’s Hall of Fame — a year after he had taught himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. 

Having composed scores of original compositions, he recently appeared at the New Orleans Jazz Festival for the first time. Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night Producer Marion J. Caffey once said of Whitaker: “As composer, arranger and musician, Matthew Whitaker is beyond his years and focused on sharing his gifts and joy with the world. Enjoy, with the knowledge that there is more to come.”

After the widely publicized video of a white woman falsely accusing a Black teenager of stealing her iPhone, went viral, the Manhattan District Attorney office is reportedly “thoroughly investigating” the incident. According to CNN, the white woman who is seen on video as the aggressor is claiming she was the one who was assaulted, and, after her rambling account, says she is willing to speak to police, however, has not done so as of yet.

Jazz musician Keyon Harrold posted the video clip of the incident on his Instagram account. Harrold and his son are now being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who posted a message on Twitter calling for the district attorney to bring charges against the unnamed white woman.

“As this year of racial awareness is drawing to a close, it’s deeply troubling that incidents like this one, in which a Black child is viewed as and treated like a criminal, continue to happen. Compounding the injustice, the hotel manager defaulted to calling on 14-year-old Keyon to prove his innocence, documenting that we have two justice systems in America and that Black people are treated as guilty until proven innocent. We strongly urge Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. to bring assault and battery charges against this woman to send the message that hateful, racially motivated behavior is unacceptable. This is what it will take to drive change. We also call for a civil rights investigation into the Arlo Hotel for its implicit bias in its treatment of Keyon.”

The New York Police Department told CNN that a complaint about harassment at the Arlo SoHo hotel has been filed. They stated that after viewing a surveillance video of the incident at Arlo SoHo Hotel, investigators are prepared to consider charging the white woman with assault and possibly grand larceny or attempted robbery, according to Rodney Harrison, chief of detectives for the NYPD.

CNN reported that the white woman, who says she is 22, spoke to them by phone and has disputed Harrold’s description of what took place. She claimed that she requested to see the surveillance video from hotel staff to try to figure out who took her phone, which, by the way, was left in an Uber returned to her shortly after this incident.

She then claims she approached someone else in the hotel lobby to “empty their pocket,” before she falsely accused Keyon Harrold Jr. “That’s when everything got a little bit more serious,” the woman said referring to the interaction.

The unnamed white woman claims she is willing to speak to investigators but has yet to do so. She stated she had evidence to present but when asked to provide it, she didn’t respond to numerous follow-up calls.