This is the Black Christian News Network Podcast for Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
1. According to the L.A. Watts Times, for decades, Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC) was synonymous with Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, the legendary founder and pastor of the world-renowned ministry. Now, as CCC approaches its 44th year, another Price is the head shepherd– Frederick Kenneth, Jr. – who aims to build on the legacy of his father to take the church to the next level. Price Jr. said, “My father is a trailblazer for many black ministers and Christian centers, what we’ve come to know as mega-churches. So for me to do the same thing, I don’t see that happening or being the case. I believe I’m going to do something different and all I have to do is stand on his shoulders and if I stand on his shoulders, I can see much further than he did. He laid the foundation, so I don’t need to lay a new foundation. I just need to build on his.” His dream for CCC is a facility fully-involved with the surrounding community.
2. According to the Blaze, a group of Alabama churchgoers walked out of church Sunday after an elected official’s speech got a little too political. The historic Brown Chapel in Selma, Alabama, welcomed a variety of notable attendees over the weekend to commemorate the anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma 52 years ago, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. But it was Merrill’s speech — in which he pushed the state’s voter ID laws — that caused some in attendance to walk out of the service. According to WSFA-TV, Merrill spoke about Alabama’s efforts to allow for more people to register to vote and obtain the proper identification to vote. As heard in video footage from WSFA, several in the audience shouted down Merrill when he brought up voter ID. And others walked out of the service entirely.
3. According to News Net 5, a Cleveland Heights pastor, with ties to President Donald Trump, is being sued for back rent on a home in Solon that was allegedly paid for by his church. Darrell Scott, Pastor at New Spirit Revival Center at 3130 Mayfield Road, is named in a lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Scott, who rose to prominence for his early support of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, hosted Trump for a town hall meeting at his church in September. Then, last month during an event honoring Black History Month at The White House, Scott claimed Chicago’s “top gang thugs” had contacted him in order to reach President Trump. Scott later claimed he misspoke and blamed the error on a lack of sleep. When contacted by News 5 on Friday, Scott’s former landlord Munna Argarwal said he wants Scott to pay $563,000 in unpaid rent and fees, or more than $1.7 million to buy the home outright.
4. According to CNN, Ben Carson appeared to liken slaves to immigrants who choose to come to the United States while addressing employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development Monday. Carson, who was confirmed to lead the department earlier this month, heralded the work ethic of immigrants before implying slaves who came to the United States worked harder than others. Carson said, “There were other immigrants who came in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less, but they too had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.” HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan attempted to clarify Carson’s statement, saying, “Nobody here believes he was equating voluntary immigration with involuntary servitude.”
5. According to the Associated Press, Chance the Rapper’s unusual intervention into Chicago Public Schools’ funding crisis took an even more curious turn Monday when the Grammy-winner presented a $1 million check to city schools and urged Gov. Bruce Rauner to use his executive powers to help the nation’s third-largest district. The Republican governor, a former venture capitalist, responded by noting his own philanthropy and floating Chicago school funding ideas that would face tough odds in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Illinois has gone two years without a budget, the longest such stalemate of any state in nearly a century. The back-and-forth came after a meeting Friday between Rauner and the artist — whose real name is Chancelor Bennett — that left the rapper visibly agitated. Chance asked for the meeting after he won three Grammys last month, including best new artist, and Rauner tweeted congratulations.
6. According to CNN Money, Shawn Carter, best known as Jay Z, is diving deeper into venture capital. The rapper-entrepreneur is an investor in Uber, among other startups, but now he’s formalizing his investor efforts: Roc Nation, Carter’s entertainment firm, is launching a new business arm called Arrive. Arrive will pour capital into young startups, as well as advise them on brand and business development. (Perhaps it will use JetSmarter, another Carter-backed startup, as a case study in how not to pitch the press.) The new business unit is a collaborative effort with seed stage venture firm Primary Venture Partners (whose portfolio of investments includes startups Jet, Maple and Ollie) and GlassBridge Asset Management, the company said in a statement Monday. It’s unclear how many companies Arrive will invest in — and how how much money it will shell out.
7. According to Elev8, Gabrielle Union is officially in business. The actress launched her hair care company, Flawless by Gabrielle Union this week as announced on Instagram. Union said, “Today is a very exciting day!!! @Flawlesshairday has finally launched and is available online for you to purchase. As a woman with textured hair, the search to find a brand that meets all of my needs has been impossible. That’s why I created Flawless. Wishing you all good hair days from this moment forward!” The actress shares that she created the line for textured hair out of a desire to address some of the needs she had, from years of wearing wigs, weaves and trying a ton of products.
BCNN1 WP 