Janet Jackson, who hasn’t recorded an album since the passing of Michael Jackson in 2009, just released the date of her newest album Unbreakable. The Unbreakable album will drop October 2nd, and is now available for pre-order. [Vibe]
Another loss for Cosby: the presitigious New York University quietly removed ‘William H. Cosby’ from its Future Filmmaker Workshop. The workshop was designated for diverse high school students who were interested in film. University spokesman, Matt Nagel, said the the school removed his name “in light of recent events.” [The New York Times]
The Whitney Plantation, located in Wallace, Louisiana and opened last December, is the only museum in America to solely memorialize slavery. Run by White southerner John Cummings, the project took approximately $8 million and 16 years to complete. Cummings said, “This isn’t Black history we’re talking about, this is our national history. It’s my history, it’s your history,” Cummings told The Atlantic. “I would try my best to present the facts of slavery to all of the people I could find so that everyone would understand how strong the deck was stacked against the Africans here.” [The Huffington Post]
After the horrendous crime that took the lives of nine churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, perpetrator Dylan Roof may be facing one of the harshest forms of punishment: the death penalty. The 21-year-old is scheduled to go on trial in July, 2016. [Clutch]
Motions to drop charges against officers involved in the Freddie Gray case have been thrown out by Judge Barry Williams. After an hour and a half hearing, Williams dismissed two key defense motions: the various misconduct and murder charges the officers faced, as well as a motion for State Attorney’s Marilyn Mosby to recuse herself. (Mosby wanted recusal because her husband, Nick Mosby, is a councilman in a district that experienced violence during the Freddie Gray protests). The judge said that being married to a councilman does not warrant recusal. [News One]