Month: September 2016

New Ava Duvernay Documentary Tells The Truth Behind Mass Incarceration In America

When some people talk about the effects of slavery in this country, they like to argue that it was a long time ago. And Black folk should get over it. The argument is flawed. Not only are we still dealing with the remnants of slavery; but the way the prison industrial complex is set up, slavery just took on a different form in this country. It is this topic that filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores in her new documentary 13th.

The new film will be screened at the upcoming New York Film Festival and will have a limited theatrical release. It will have a home on Netflix.

In the trailer alone different experts talk about how after the 13th amendment abolished slavery, with the exception of those sentenced to serve jail or prison time, the narrative that Black men were inherently dangerous and criminal became pervasive in this country. And now, today, 1 of four imprisoned people in the world are living in the United States. They specifically mention Kalief Browder, the 16-year-old who was thrown into Riker’s after he was wrongly accused of stealing a backpack. He spent three years in prison waiting for a trial, two of them in solitary confinement. Even after he was acquitted and released, he had a hard time adjusting afterward and eventually took his life.

The trailer also shows clips of both presidential candidates, Clinton, Trump and former president Bill Clinton using rhetoric that played right into this billion dollar system.

New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones hailed the film as an act of “true patriotism.”

DuVernay herself said, “This film was made as an answer to my own questions about how and why we have become the most incarcerated nation in the world, how and why we regard some of our citizens as innately criminal, and how and why good people allow this injustice to happen generation after generation. I thank Kent Jones and the selection committee for inviting me to share what I’ve learned.”

13th will be streaming on Netflix on October 7.

Originally posted on Madame Noire

BMF: Lil Meech Reveals How He Found Out That His Dad Was The Head Of The Black Mafia Family

On the latest episode of “Don’t Be Scared” Lil Meech stops by to dish on his upcoming role in 50 Cent’s forthcoming BMF series.

As previously reported Big Meech, the incarcerated head of BMF, personally gave permission to 50 Cent to bring the story of BMF’s empire to Starz.

Now Lil Meech is slated to portray his famed father in the show, and he recently told Bossip that his family originally shielded him from knowing his father’s true identity.

When asked if he remembered how old he was when he realized his dad was this huge legend especially in Atlanta, Lil Meech said:

“I always saw BMF, BMF, everywhere but he always kept me out of that way. All I remember is him taking me out and showing me nice stuff and we’d have my big birthday parties.

“One day at school I got curious and searched BMF on the internet and I found out everything. I read Wikipedia, I found out everything for myself because my family didn’t want to tell me.”

He also recalled the most extravagant party his father ever threw for him.

“I think it was my 5th or 6th birthday party, he actually had this dude dress up in a Spiderman suit and he got on top of my roof. He was doing all these tricks, I really thought he was Spiderman.”

See the interview here: BMF: Lil Meech Says This Is How He Found Out That His Dad Was The Head Of The Black Mafia Family — Bossip

WATCH: News Anchor Who Quit To Sell Weed Is Facing 24-Yrs-In Prison

Last year Bossip reported on Charlo Greene who quit while live on Alaskan TV to open a marijuana dispensary. Well, Alaska is not as forward thinking as California, Wa. State, or Oregon when it comes to weed and she has been charged with 8 criminal counts which could lead to a lengthy prison sentence.

The Guardian:

Greene quickly became a full-time cannabis advocate, working to help Alaskans access pot after the state became the third in the US to legalize recreational pot in November 2014.

But despite the voter-approved initiative, Alaska has not helped her start a legitimate marijuana operation. On the contrary, the state launched a series of undercover operations and raids at her club, ultimately charging her with eight serious criminal offenses of “misconduct involving a controlled substance”.

If convicted, she could face 24 years behind bars.

“It’s almost dizzying when you try to make sense of it,” Greene said in an exclusive interview with the Guardian about her upcoming trial. “It could literally cost me the rest of my adult life.”

Wow. Perhaps Charlo should’ve kept her day job.