David Banner’s comments are a reminder as to why Florida’s Emancipation Day matters

In a recent appearance on Cam Newton’s podcast, rapper David Banner said “integration is the worst thing that has happened to Black people” and said that Martin Luther King Jr. likely regretted advocating for integration. Banner, whose real name is Lavell William Crump, explained his reasoning, saying Black people no longer have the option of what they teach their children and, in schools, have little autonomy over how they wear their hair.

He is not the first Black person I’ve heard express the sentiment that Black people were better segregated (Bernice King has already addressed Banner regarding the statement about her father). But what isn’t considered is how easy it is to utter such words from a place of privilege that wouldn’t be had without the labor of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights pioneers, including local leaders such as M. Athalie Range, Thelma Gibson, Lawson Thomas and Charles Hadley.

Banner’s statements and those similar ignore the inhumane attacks people faced for simply trying to vote and the intentional eradication of Black communities through bombings or interstate construction and romanticizes a time period when people were killed for simply existing or harassed out of their own neighborhoods.

It’s also a reminder as to why Black Miamians celebrate May 20, the state’s Emancipation Day, when enslaved Black people in Florida learned they were free. The notification came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Local historian Nadege Green details that history here. So, on this belated Freedom Day, I beg of people to understand the sacrifice of your ancestors so that you could speak so freely on a podcast about what happened at a time when you didn’t exist.

Need to know:

Convicted Miami Gardens pastor returns to the pulpit after 10 months in jail

FIU suspends former campus Republican leaders for 2 years over racist group chat

More AI data centers are coming to South Florida. Could one open near you?

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INSIDE THE 305:

‘That could have been my story’: Black femicides spark hard talks in South Florida

After a series of Black women reportedly were killed by their partner, I wrote about the conversations about Black femicide across South Florida that were sparked locally following the death of Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer, whose husband has been charged in connection with her death.

‘I had a dream Haiti beat Brazil’: Haitians celebrate Flag Day, World Cup return

As Haitians attended the annual Haitian Compas Festival in North Miami, they used the occasion to also celebrate the country’s return to the FIFA World Cup next month for the first time in 52 years.

Why customers smash the dishes at this Miami business. ‘People needed this’

Christina Brown found relief in smashing things after losing her infant son and a divorce. Three years ago, the businesswoman opened The Break Room in Allapattah, and now wants to expand into a bigger location with more offerings.

OUTSIDE THE 305:

Tennessee school district bans Alex Haley’s Roots under 2022 state law

Alex Hakey’s “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” which chronicles an African man, Kunta Kinte, who was captured and enslaved, was pulled from Knox County school libraries. The book, which was turned into a miniseries, was banned in Tennessee under the state’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, which allows for books to be banned if they have nudity, sexual abuse and/or content and excessive violence, The Guardian reported.

NAACP calls for boycott of Southern college sports programs over voting rights

The NAACP alongside the Congressional Black Caucus is calling on Black athletes to boycott flagship universities in eight states, including Florida. The organization’s “Out of Bounds” campaign also encourages them, their families, alumni and fans to withhold support from the public universities and is also in response to the weakening of Black voting power in the respective states.

The word ‘Black’ has disappeared from a set of bills aimed at addressing Black maternal health

A bill aimed at addressing Black maternal health has removed most references to “Black,” including in the bill’s title, The 19th has reported. Once called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, variations of the legislation had been filed since 2020.

HIGH CULTURE:

North Miami Beach native debuts Haitian film at Tribeca Film Fest

I had the pleasure of speaking with Elisee Junior St. Preux about his first feature film debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival next month. He drew inspiration from his family for the film, which is set and shot entirely in Haiti.