Notorious BadGirlRiRi has been up to some good lately.
Beginning in the 2016-2017 academic year the Grammy award winner will offer scholarships of up to $50,000 to college students through the Clara Lionel Foundation, an organization she started in 2012 in honor of her grandparents.
The organization’s goal is to “improve the quality of life for communities globally in areas of health, education, arts, and culture.”
Scholarships will be awarded on a “as-needed basis” to 50 citizens or natives of Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, or Rihanna’s own home of Barbados.
Recipients must be students who wish to further their education and have already been accepted at a four-year school in the United States. They must be considered freshman at these schools and be able to provide a birth certificate from one of the eligible countries.
Recipients of the scholarships can get an award between $5,000 and $50,000.
Rihanna spoke about her excitement for the project after the announcement on her instagram account.
“Higher education will help provide perspective, opportunities, and learning to a group of kids who really deserve it. I am thrilled to be able to do this.”
So if you’re willing to put in a little work, work, work, work, work, work, than Rihanna just might be willing to foot the bill. Application will be available for submission on June 10th, 2016.
H/T: USA Today College
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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Autistic Lives Matter Too
I’ve been pulled over before in North Miami with my autistic brother in the car.
My family grew up in North Miami.
I now live only about five minutes from North Miami.
But North Miami is not the place I thought it was.
North Miami is a dangerous place for black people and a dangerous place for people with disabilities.
Some will say that the shooting of Charles Kinsey was an isolated incident.
I think it is all we need to know.
The story, which is now an international news item goes like this.
Police are called by someone claiming that a man is carrying a gun, threatening to kill himself. The man is walking in the middle of a street in North Miami. The man is autistic and it is clear to see on the videotape.
A man named Charles Kinsey comes over to help the autistic man. Kinsey quickly realizes that the autistic man is just holding a toy truck- not a gun.
He is no threat to anybody and just needs to get back to his group home from which he has escaped from.
The rest of the details are still a bit fuzzy.
Police show up, pull out high-powered rifles and order the two men to lie down.
Kinsey complies, lies on his back and puts his hands high up in the sky.
The autistic man sits down next to Kinsey.
The rest of the story is well-known by now.
“All he has is a toy truck, a toy truck,” Kinsey is heard yelling at police in cellphone video. “I am a behavior therapist at a group home.”
The police then proceed to shoot Kinsey three times in the leg as he is lying down mere feet from the autistic man.
I became enraged when I first heard the news of the incident last night.
Then I became scared.
Terrified.
This could happen to my brother.
While I’ve always supported the Black Lives Matters movement, today is the first day that I really understand the totality of its importance.
Our police are the only people in the world that have the power to kill an American citizen if force is justified. They have the legal writ to use violence. And we need them to have that right. But it also means that we need to hold them to an incredibly high standard.
We have to pay them better, we have to recruit better people into the force and we have to train the great people already in the force on how to identity people with developmental disabilities.
It is never ok to shoot an unarmed man who poises no direct threat to an officer, himself or another person.
And it is never ok to shoot an unarmed man who is mere feet away from a person with autism.
North Miami is not the place I thought it was and I’m scared to death for my brother, for my family, for potential aides that my brother may have and for myself.
This makes it plain as day that some officers in the North Miami Police Department do not have the training or the empathy needed to do their jobs.
But North Miami is also not unique.
Ethan Saylor was a 26-year-old man from Maryland. He also had down syndrome. And he was white.
Ethan was choked to death by off duty police officers after he refused to leave a movie theatre. He wasn’t violent. Have you ever met someone with down syndrome? He wasn’t a threat.
Saylor was described by people who knew him as a sweet, loving man with an innocent spirit.
He also loved the police more than just about anything.
He was so fascinated by cop shows and the idea of helping people that he once called 911 innocently just to ask them about their work.
Ethan Saylor believed that police officers were good people who had devoted his life to protect people like him.
And they killed him on the ground in a dirty movie theatre like an animal.
He cried out for his mother as his life was ripped from him.
“Ouch Mom, that hurts, don’t touch me, get off!” he said.
Then he died of asphyxiation. The cartilage in his throat was fractured, and he had bruises and abrasions all over his face and body. The cause of death was homicide.
I’ve always said I supported Black Lives Matter because of my “empathy.”
But fuck empathy.
This is about survival.
If we can’t protect black lives, then we sure as hell won’t be able to protect autistic ones.
America has a problem folks. And its worse than we thought.
Do you have a news tip about excessive police force involving people with disabilities? Send us a news tip to [email protected]
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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Black Lives Matter Group Plans Protest Outside Of Graceland During Elvis Week
By Courtney Anderson
Why Graceland?
Memphis,TN residents and the city’s chapter of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens have planned a Black Lives Matter protest outside of Graceland during Elvis Week.
It’s a bold move that has many questioning its appropriateness.
After all, Graceland is a major tourist attraction for Memphis.
Tourists, both national and international, pay good money to travel to Elvis’s home and participate in Elvis Week impressions, tours and vigils.
Protesting in front of it could potentially cause an economic hit to the attraction.
But maybe that’s the point.
According to a statement released by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, the protest is a demonstrative rally against the “social injustice, police brutality, and socio-economic disparity” in the city of Memphis.
The socio-economic disparity felt by many in the city is a major concern for local leaders.
According to the group, that’s why Graceland is an appropriate place of action.
“Graceland was chosen as a protest site because it demonstrates one of Memphis’s most common forms of financial inequity,” the group’s statement reads.
Graceland is located right in the center of Whitehaven, a predominantly Black and almost entirely working-class neighborhood.
And while the museum brings in a lot of money, many citizens of Whitehaven don’t see that money being reflected in the state of roads, housing, and places of employment surrounding the house.
Whitehaven is victim to unevenly paved roads with potholes, empty buildings lining the streets and low-wage jobs moving in and only employing a few people.
The city of Memphis has made a promise to revitalize the area.
According to a report from WMC Action News 5, the Memphis City Council advanced a $43 million plan that would “expand and enhance the Whitehaven community.”
“This is Whitehaven, and the people of Whitehaven care about their community,” councilman Harold Collins said during that meeting in 2012.
The reconstruction is set to take place on Elvis Presley Blvd and includes new restaurants, businesses, new light fixtures and repaved roads.
There is also supposed to be a gate to Elvis Presley Blvd from the interstate.
So far, the only project that is underway and near completion is a new 450-room “Guest House” at the Graceland Hotel.
According to WREG News Channel 3, the Guest House cost $92 million and is set to open on October 27, 2016.
A recent Memphis Daily News editorial also claimed that $38.7 million of that money came from a “5 percent tourism surcharge on Graceland tickets and other Graceland items.”
The Graceland estate released a statement saying that those claims were false, and that the Graceland project has not received any money from the city or county.
“All financial risks associated with the construction, completion and continuing operations of expansion projects in Whitehaven will be borne by Graceland and related entities, not the taxpayers of Memphis and Shelby Count,” the statement reads. “The tax incentives for the project are based solely on Graceland’s performance and are site-specific, limited to the Graceland campus.”
Members of the coalition remain skeptical of the benefits of the Guest House to the larger community of Whitehaven.
“Project developers and city officials promised Whitehaven residents the project would be an economic boon to the community but, as has been case for decades, residents have seen little if any of that money ‘trickle down’ into the middle-class neighborhood’s economy. This is not an uncommon story,” the coalition’s statement reads.
That’s why the Graceland protest, named #OperationBlueSuedeShoes, is still a go for 6 p.m. on Monday, August 15, 2016.
Stay with RISE NEWS as we bring you updates to this story as it develops.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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Here’s The 10 Best Christmas Movies From The Past 30 Years
By Tyler Wilson
Christmas is one of the best times of the year to snuggle up and watch a good movie. Here’s a list of the 10 best Christmas movies of the past 30 years (or so).
- ‘A Christmas Story’ (1983)
This family classic will bring joy and laughter to everyone in your house, regardless of age. It is a movie about a young boy by the name of “Ralphie” who “convinces his parents, his teacher and santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940’s.”
Also a classic, National Lampoon’s family is anything from ordinary. This comedy is full of jokes, gags and tons of humor. The main character “Clark” is set on an adventure preparing his house for his arrival of his large family.
- ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ (2000)
Just because this movie was made by Disney doesn’t mean those over the age of 8 can’t enjoy it! The Grinch (played by Jim Carrey) is sure to make anyone chuckle, it is about a green “Grinch” who is very determined to steal christmas from a small village. Although his fate gets changed along the way.
- ‘Santa Clause 3’ (2006)
Although this is the 3rd installment of the series, this is the one that truly gave everyone the warm feeling of Christmas. When Jack Frost attempts to steal Christmas from Santa Claus (played by Tim Allen) he must fight through time in order to save Christmas for kids all over the world.
- Elf (2003)
When an unorthodox Elf (played by Will Ferrell) is sent to New York to find out who he really is, he’s sent on an adventure through modern technology. This is a must-watch, the humor and jokes in this movie are promised to make the whole family laugh.
- ‘Home Alone’ (1990)
When 8 year old Kevin (played by Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left at home while his parents go on vacation, he protects his house while two men attempt to break in. This is a very funny and great movie to watch with the family and has a nice “kid-like” point of view on things.
- ‘The Polar Express’ (2004)
When a young boy is awakened by the sounds of a train late at night, he is greeted by a very exciting adventure to the North Pole. This is a thrilling family movie and will be guaranteed to make you feel like a part of the ride!
- ‘Gremlins’ (1984)
This thriller is about the darker side of christmas. When a man gets an interesting pet called a “Mogwai” he’s given very strict rules. When these rules are broken he is sent on a very hair raising adventure. This movie would be better without the kids but it is still a very good classic and is a must see.
- ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)
When Jack Skellington (The king of Halloweentown) gets bored with his repeating lifestyle, he demands a change. When he accidentally stumbles into Christmas Town, he is greeted with an entirely new lifestyle. When he gets back he attempts to bring the idea to Halloweentown. Its is a great family movie and will make everyone feel good.
- ‘Scrooged’ (1988)
When Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray) resents the idea of Christmas, he is greeted by the ghosts of Christmas past to get him in the “Christmas Spirit.” It will make everyone in your family get in the Christmas mood and will be sure to put a smile on everyone’s face.
Cover Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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