The 44 Percent: Coco Gauff ousted at Miami Open, Diddy’s raid, DEI blamed for bridge collapse

As the Miami Open comes to a close this weekend, it will have to do so without South Florida fan favorite Coco Gauff. The third-ranked American was eliminated by No. 23 ranked Caroline Garcia of France late Monday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Delray Beach native made history last summer when the then-19 year old became the youngest person to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

The reigning U.S Open champion garnered worldwide recognition in 2019 when, at 15, she defeated her childhood idol Venus Williams during Wimbledon’s opening round. Gauff went on to become the youngest player to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.

Gauff was the youngest player from the United States to hold a top three seed.

The Miami Open will conclude on March 31.

Inside the 305

‘We have several problems.’ Liberty Square residents voice concerns about mold, cracked ceilings

Over 100 Liberty Square residents and community advocates attended a town hall Wednesday evening to address concerns on the property located in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.

The issues ranged from mold to leaky ceilings to lack of handicap accessible accommodations like parking spaces and ramps. Many residents placed fault on the Related Group, the developers who won the bid to build the new Liberty Square back in July 2016.

Many of the complaints heard at Wednesday’s town hall echoed those of residents featured in “Razing Liberty Square,” a recently released PBS documentary that explored how sea level rise and gentrification have begun to change very fabric of the historically Black neighborhood of Liberty City. The meeting, in fact, came as a result of the documentary due to filmmaker Katja Esson’s collaboration with activists to create an action plan. Included in that plan are better property managers, improved building conditions, a contract for nearby school Multi-Ethnic Youth Group Association (MEYGA) to be on the property, the “right to return” for original residents and an updated community benefits agreement, or a list of agreed upon terms by developers and public housing residents to ensure they aren’t pushed out or treated unfairly.”

Feds’ raid on Diddy’s Miami Beach mansion goes into the night in sex-trafficking probe

Federal agents raided the Star Island mansion of entertainment mogul Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, on Monday afternoon. The raid comes one month after a music producer brought a lawsuit accusing Diddy of leading a sex trafficking organization.

Last month, producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones said in the lawsuit that Diddy, his staff and music executives knew about — and were involved in — illicit and unwanted sexual activities in Florida, New York, California and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Prosecutors from the federal Southern District of New York, where Jones filed the lawsuit, are heading the sex-trafficking investigation. Jones is their main witness, sources told the Miami Herald.

Diddy was in the Miami area on Monday when the feds raided his home, according to a person familiar with the search. He was detained and questioned by federal agents Monday at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Outside the 305

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Blamed On DEI As The Attack On DEI Continues

Amidst the news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday, some have focused on Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s age and race and blamed DEI for the bridge collapse.

DEI is an acronym designed to highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has become a polarizing term garnering similar criticism as terms like woke and critical race theory (CRT).

Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman along with Florida congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini were among those blaming the incident on DEI. One X user tweeted that Mayor Scott was “Baltimore’s DEI mayor,” with that tweet garnering nearly 6,000 reposts at the time of this article, while another user tweeted that the mayor “looks like a teen.” The creator behind the Darkest Hue, a platform created as a safe space for dark-skinned Black girls, women, and femmes wrote in an Instagram post “It is becoming increasingly clear that DEI is being used as a dog whistle for Black people, as if to substitute racial slurs.”

National monument honoring enslaved Black people set to open

A new monument and sculpture park that honors 10 million enslaved Black people in the United States will open next week in Birmingham, Alabama.

Why it matters: The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park and National Monument to Freedom will become the closest the U.S. has to a national monument to the victims of enslavement.

• It comes as some states in recent years have passed bills limiting the discussion of slavery in public schools.

• The 17-acre site combines historical artifacts, contemporary art, original research, and first-person narratives to explore the institution of slavery, the lives of enslaved people, and the legacy of slavery in the U.S.

• The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park will have structures and totems, including 170-year-old dwellings from cotton plantations and bricks made by enslaved people 175 years ago.

High Culture

Concertgoers came out in droves to see rap superstar Drake perform in Sunrise on Saturday. Many hoped he would respond to Kendrick Lamar’s recent dis verse but Drake opted out of directly addressing the rap beef.

Rather, towards the end of the show, he made a statement that no one else was on his level.

In a sense, he’s right. Drake is the most commercially successful rapper ever. Even more impressive, he has surpassed his own mentor Lil Wayne, who accompanied Drake on the tour, in the eyes of many younger rap fans.

But for the rap purists, Drake’s response cemented something long since spoken about only in barbershops or among close friends. Drake, for at the very least since the turn of the decade, is far more a popstar than anything else. Yes, his main genre is in fact hip-hop but for him, the rules are different. This is no longer the same Drake that crafted swift responses to Meek Mill and Pusha T. He’s got more to lose this time around – especially if he wants to tango with Kung Fu Kenny.

Although Saturday night might not have yielded the response that rap fans expected, the concert did show just how far Drake’s reach extends. No rapper on planet earth could have white pre-teen girls and grown Black men singing along in unison. Regardless of how you feel about Drake’s artistry, that is quite impressive. The only question that remains is this – will that be enough to help him if the Drake v. Kendrick Civil War breaks out?

Where does “The 44 Percent” name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter’s title.

This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 3:41 PM.