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The Double V campaign was a slogan championed by The Pittsburgh Courier, then the largest black newspaper in the United States, that promoted efforts toward democracy for civilian defense workers and for African Americans in the military.

The Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, founded in 1907, had long used its voice to champion the rights of African Americans. When World War II began on September 1, 1939, the newspaper immediately made a connection between the United States’ treatment of African Americans and Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote the newspaper’s editor, Robert Vann, requesting that the paper tone down its rhetoric concerning racial discrimination. The newspaper complied for a while, but on January 31, 1942, just weeks after the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Courier published a letter from twenty-six-year-old James G. Thompson, a defense worker in Wichita, Kansas. Like most black war workers at the time, Thompson could not work on the factory floor of the aircraft manufacturing company where he was employed. He was confined to working in the factory cafeteria.

Thompson’s letter, “Should I Sacrifice to live ‘Half American?” challenged the lofty rhetoric of American war aims, contrasting them to the actual treatment of one tenth of its population, the African Americans. At the end of his letter, Thompson reminded his readers that the “V for Victory” sign was being displayed prominently across the U.S. and among its allies, calling for victory over tyranny, slavery, and aggression as represented by the aims of the Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Thompson called for a “double VV for victory” sign, with the first V standing for victory of enemies from without and the second V for victory over enemies within, meaning those in the United States who limited the freedoms of African Americans.

The Courier picked up the theme and on February 7, published on its front page a “Double V” insignia, announcing the “Democracy at Home-Abroad” slogan to test its popularity with their readers. The initial response was overwhelming. The Courier ran a survey on October 24, 1942 to measure the impact of the campaign and 88 percent of its readers responded in support. Black soldiers and sailors in particular embraced the idea, and some even carved the Double V on their chests.

While clearly the “Double V” Campaign was a hugely successful marketing effort for the Courier, it was much more than that. African Americans from almost every background embraced the idea that with the sacrifices of over one million black men and women in various branches of the military during World War II and six million more working in defense plants, they would not allow Jim Crow to remain unchallenged either during or after the war. Many historians see the Double V campaign as the opening salvo in the Civil Rights Movement and continued protests for racial justice.

A 58-year-old Santa Monica man, who defrauded Black-ish actress Jenifer Lewis and three other women he was dating by convincing them to invest in sham companies he claimed he owned, was on Tuesday sentenced to eight years in prison.

According to the Associated Press, Antonio Wilson, who went by the aliases “Dr. Tony Mariot” and “Brice Carrington”, has also been ordered to pay $272,000 in restitution. Wilson pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June last year.

During his sentencing, United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson labeled Wilson’s actions as “vicious, not only in terms of money loss to victims but the manner in which he abused the victims and the way he pursued the fraud,” a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office said.

“Predator is not usually a term referred to in the fraud context, but it is an apt description here,” the judge added.

Prosecutors said Wilson won the trust of his victims – including Lewis – by presenting himself as a prominent professional before establishing romantic relationships with them. In separate instances, Wilson posed as a Navy SEAL, a graduate of Oxford University, and an Oxford professor who lectured on biblical antiquities at UCLA.

Wilson then went ahead to make them believe he owned a sound design and software business and managed to convince them to invest in them. He also lied to the victims that both companies were valued in millions and had rendered services to renowned organizations. After swindling the women, Wilson used their monies to fund his personal lifestyle and other expenses, the statement said.

“It is the emotional impact that this crime had on his victims that makes it particularly egregious,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “[Wilson] not only conned people out of their money, but he also did so by betraying their trust after forging intimate relationships with them. The impact of such a fraud is more than financial; it is personal.”

Wilson met Lewis at a gym in Los Angeles when he was employed as the facility’s manager. After the two established a relationship and became romantically involved, Wilson allegedly swindled the 64-year-old actress out of $50,000, according to the Associated Press. Lewis sued the gym in the aftermath of the incident and successfully reached a $13,000 settlement.

Following Wilson’s arrest and subsequent guilty plea last year, Lewis shared an Instagram post expressing relief. “WE FINALLY CAUGHT HIS ASS!!!,” she captioned. “It took 5 years, but we finally did it. We caught the man who conned me out of $50,000. Sometimes justice DOES prevail.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Chadwick Boseman’s brother, Derrick, spoke about the last conversation he had with his brother before he died from colon cancer.

“Man, I’m in the fourth quarter, and I need you to get me out of the game,” Derrick remembered his brother saying to him, and he knew exactly what his brother meant. “When he told me that, I changed my prayer from, ‘God heal him, God save him,’ to ‘God, let your will be done.” He added, “And the next day, he passed away.”

In 2016 Boseman was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. In his last four years of life, Chadwick created an undeniable resume, which included his iconic role as T’Challa in Black Panther, all while dealing with the disease.

Derrick also recalled his brother saying, “Hallelujah,” as he revealed, “[Chadwick] never stopped saying it” during their family prayer calls.

Meanwhile, their other brother, Kevin, recalled a time where Chadwick exuded a strong work ethic and spirit while trying to enter the show business, despite his parent’s initial doubts. “A lot of people think making it means becoming an A-list movie star,” he said. “I didn’t force that. I just knew that if Chad wanted to work in the arts, he would find a way and take care of himself.”

A South African corruption inquiry will issue a summons for former President Jacob Zuma to appear to give evidence next month, the judge chairing the proceedings has said.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said on Friday that Zuma would be required to appear from November 16 to 20, adding that this could be via video link if appropriate arrangements were made.

“The secretary of the commission is hereby authorised and directed to sign and issue a summons … requiring Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, former president of the Republic of South Africa, to appear,” Zondo said.

Zuma, who became president in 2009, was forced to resign in February 2018 over corruption scandals centred around an Indian business family, the Guptas, who won lucrative contracts with state companies and were allegedly even able to choose cabinet ministers.

Chaired by deputy chief justice Zondo, the commission was set up in 2018 to hear testimony from ministers, ex-ministers, government officials and business executives on alleged corruption during Zuma’s tenure.

So far at least 34 witnesses have directly and indirectly implicated Zuma in corruption allegations, according to the commission’s advocate Paul Pretorius.

“It is important for Mr Zuma to appear before the commission as most of the corruption alleged took place when he was the country’s president,” Pretorius said.

Zuma appeared at the inquiry in July 2019 but has declined to return and now says Zondo is biased against him and wants to publicly humiliate him. He has denied that he broke the law with the Guptas.

The Guptas have refuted allegations of wrongdoing. They left South Africa around the time Zuma was removed from power.

Zuma has previously said through his lawyers that he was unable to attend the inquiry. His reasons have included that he was preparing for a criminal trial and that his doctors had advised him to limit his movements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zuma said through his lawyers last month that he would apply for Zondo’s recusal.

“I am giving him an opportunity to come here and clear his name,” Zondo said, adding that failure to comply was tantamount to “a criminal offence” as the commission’s statutory powers are equivalent to that of a high court.

Dozens of Zuma supporters wearing military uniforms and T-shirts with Zuma’s portrait chanted “Leave Zuma alone” as they picketed outside the commission’s offices in Johannesburg.

They called on Zondo to recuse himself, accusing him of being anti-Zuma.

Zuma’s successor President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to tackle corruption in South Africa, which has been led by the African National Congress (ANC) since Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 after the end of apartheid.

Several ANC members are being investigated for past corruption and more recent cases of alleged wrongdoing, including involving the procurement of coronavirus supplies in Africa’s worst-hit country.

Universally despised convicted murderer Chris Watts, 35, is reportedly aware of American Murder: The Family Next Door. The new Netflix documentary chronicles the evil Aug. 2018 murders of a pregnant Colorado mother and her two girls by Watts—her lying, cheating, and cowardly husband.

The documentary, often chilling and excruciatingly sad, focused heavily on Shanann Watts’s online and text message activity in the weeks and months before her husband killed her and disposed of her body in a shallow grave on his employer’s property. Chris Watts then killed his daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, and shoved their bodies into oil tanks. He strangled Celeste first. According to Watts’s full confession, which he agreed to make in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off of the table, Bella’s last words were “Daddy, no!”

The documentary showed videos of the happy little girls lovingly embracing their grandparents, talking about how much they liked school, and singing that their father was a hero and protector. The production also showed video of the moment that Shanann informed Chris that she was pregnant with their third child—whom they later learned was a boy and whom they later named Nico.

Shanann was wearing an “Oops we did it again” shirt. Chris, when shown the positive pregnancy test, could only say in now-unconvincing terms that the pregnancy was “awesome.” Shanann believed it would make Chris happy if they had a boy.

The documentary also featured text message confrontations between Chris and Shanann, in which he was apologetic for his distant behavior and insisted that there was no other woman.

Shanann, for instance, traveled to North Carolina with her daughters for several weeks and was disturbed that Chris barely kept in contact at all and showed little to no interest in how Bella and Celeste were doing.

All the while, Chris Watts was having an affair with co-worker Nichol Kessinger, whom he lied to as well. While Watts told Kessinger that he was a father, he also said he and Shanann were in the process of separating. The documentary showed Kessinger’s anagnorisis. When speaking with police, Kessinger said she was as shocked and stunned as anyone that Watts would kill his pregnant wife and kids; she said she realized that Watts had only ever told her lies. The documentary showed pictures of Chris Watts and Kessinger doing anything from hiking to posing for suggestive selfies.

American Murder: The Family Next Door also focused on Watts’ despicable attempt to pin the murders on Shanann after he was confronted by investigators with a failed polygraph test. Video of that confrontation and Watts’s ensuing lie to his father about what happened has been online for some time.

The documentary also showed the heartbreaking impact that the case—and the insane vitriol from certain quarters of the public online—had on Shanann’s loved ones, the Rzucek family.

According to People magazine, which cited a source in “regular contact” with Watts, the incarcerated-for-three-lifetimes inmate is aware of the documentary and “triggered” by it—even though he hasn’t watched it (because he isn’t allowed to) and even though he may never watch it.

“He can’t see it, and he’ll probably never see it,” the person said. “He’s curious about it, but he hates even knowing that his texts are out there for the public to read. It brings back awful memories of 2018 for him.”

Employees at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, where Watts is imprisoned, had reportedly been anxious for the documentary to come out because they were “curious” to learn more about him and the murder case.

That reality, the unnamed source told People, filled Watts with feelings of hate and shame.

“Chris knows that every part of his life is out there for public consumption. He hates it. It makes him feel a lot of shame. But he also knows that he brought it upon himself,” the person was quoted.