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OP-ED: Thena Robinson Mock: My American History

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Coming up this month, hundreds of families will gather for Hampton University’s annual Homecoming weekend. Hampton’s football field is about so much more than a game, it’s a sacred place for reunions and renewal. Alumni, students, and families will gather to celebrate Hampton’s enduring legacy and the shared pride that binds us together.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2025

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Public Welfare Foundation’s Legacies Rooted in Resistance and Resilience Series

By Thena Robinson Mock
Vice President of Programs at Public Welfare Foundation

My grandparents lived just two miles from Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia, a strip of land where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic. It was there in 1619 that a Dutch ship brought the first group of enslaved Africans to the English colonies, reshaping the course of history and ushering in centuries of racialized slavery and anti-Black racism.

That same site, centuries later, became Fort Monroe, a military post held by the Union Army during the Civil War. The Fort earned a new name over time, Freedom Fortress. It became a place Black people held in captivity risked everything to reach. First a few, and then many, crossing rivers and waterways to seek refuge behind the fortress’ lines.

When I reflect on my family’s history, I think of this American history. In these times, some suggest that we not dwell on the horrors of slavery, as if burying the record might spare us discordant notes. But to turn away from the past is to deny more than America’s inconvenient truths of captivity and cruelty – it is to erase the courage and resilience born of it.

During the summers, my grandmother – a retired schoolteacher – would pile her grandchildren – all girls – into the car for a field trip to Freedom Fortress. We squeezed into the back seat of her gold Oldsmobile Cutlass for the short drive. We were a band of Black girls in coordinated summer sets and hair ribbons, baking beneath the Virginia sun as we posed next to antiquated cannons. My grandmother – always more show than tell – didn’t lecture us about history, but it was clear: she wanted the legacy of Freedom Fortress to embolden our paths, just as it had for her.

We’d then climb back into the Oldsmobile and drive to Hampton University, the historically Black college founded in 1868 to educate newly emancipated people, of which, my grandmother was a proud graduate. She would narrate the visits with stories of our family history – the famed campus waterfront where she and my grandfather once strolled together as young students, the dorm where my grandmother lived, the steps of Stone Manor where my parents met. She’d quietly, but confidently, slip in, “When you girls go to Hampton…”, foreshadowing our own futures.

My second great-grandfather was among Hampton’s earliest graduates. Born enslaved on a Virginia plantation in 1851, he enrolled at Hampton in 1884 as part of the first pastors’ class. Decades later, between 1930 and 1940, my grandmother and her three sisters would follow in his footsteps, launching them into careers. My mother would graduate in the late 1960s, alongside a host of relatives. I would begin my own journey as a student at Hampton nearly thirty years later. To date, five generations of my family, challenged by the gravity of the times, have returned to Hampton to continue the unfinished business of those who had come before.

Why did we keep returning to Hampton? Maybe it was the same thing those early freedom dreamers sought when they crossed into Freedom’s Fortress – refuge.

When I arrived at Hampton University, I was seeking my own refuge. My mother left Virginia when I was young and relocated my sister and me to a predominantly white Texas suburb. There, my early educational experience was marked by isolation. I was often one of the few Black students, a reality that proved detrimental to my sense of self-worth. At Hampton, I returned to a place that nurtured me, preparing me for a world all too insistent on doing the opposite. At Hampton, which proved no echo chamber, political debates sparked, and my intellect was fed. Ideas collided. It was in this environment that my critical thinking skills were sharpened.

As a student, I spent hours in the University’s archives, uncovering evidence that at every critical juncture in history, Hampton students had been actively engaged in civil and human rights struggles – even challenging the University and questioning the paternalistic intentions of its white founders. On one visit to the archives, I discovered my mother’s signature on a petition. She had protested the unequal curfew rules for men and women. In that moment, the continuum of struggle and resistance felt profoundly personal, a tangible reminder of the interconnectedness of our individual and societal histories. This is not just the history of the Lively family or even of Hampton University; it is the history of America.

Coming up this month, hundreds of families will gather for Hampton University’s annual Homecoming weekend. Hampton’s football field is about so much more than a game, it’s a sacred place for reunions and renewal. Alumni, students, and families will gather to celebrate Hampton’s enduring legacy and the shared pride that binds us together.

For nearly two decades, I’ve dedicated my career to challenging incarceration in America, looking to history for lessons to help guide my steps.

Here is what I believe to be true: I believe that Freedom Fortress and Hampton’s campus were never meant to be final destinations. For me, they represent something more profound: places to be fortified, affirmed, find solidarity, and experience joy. They are spaces where truth and history are acknowledged and shared. Those places are emblematic of the kinds of spaces, communities, and collectives we must continue to build. We need spaces that strengthen our resolve and bolster our courage for the next leg of freedom’s journey now more than ever. As for me, I’m doubling down my efforts to help create – and hold – these spaces. I hope you’ll join me.

Thena Robinson Mock is Public Welfare Foundation’s Vice President of Programs, overseeing the Foundation’s adult criminal justice and youth justice grantmaking strategies. She is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and Hampton University.

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Michael: The King of Pop’s Story Returns to the Big Screen

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The curtain has finally lifted on one of Hollywood’s most anticipated films. Lionsgate has unveiled the official trailer and release date for “Michael,” the sweeping biopic about Michael Jackson that has been years in the making.

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The curtain has finally lifted on one of Hollywood’s most anticipated films. Lionsgate has unveiled the official trailer and release date for “Michael,” the sweeping biopic about Michael Jackson that has been years in the making. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film will arrive in theaters on April 24, 2026, with the singer’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, stepping into the spotlight to portray his legendary uncle.

The trailer wastes no time rekindling the aura of Jackson’s genius. Opening with a studio scene between Jackson and his longtime producer Quincy Jones, played by Kendrick Sampson, the clip builds from a quiet, familiar rhythm to the electrifying pulse of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” Viewers catch glimpses of the singer’s childhood, flashes of “Thriller,” and the silhouette that redefined pop culture. Each frame reminds fans of why Jackson remains unmatched in artistry and influence. The cast surrounding the late pop king’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, reads like a who’s who of Black entertainment and music history. Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson, Nia Long portrays Katherine Jackson, and Larenz Tate takes on the role of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Laura Harrier portrays music executive Suzanne de Passe, while Kat Graham embodies Diana Ross. Miles Teller plays attorney John Branca, a towering entertainment lawyer and longtime Jackson confidant who later became co-executor of his estate. The film’s journey to release has been as complicated as the icon it portrays. Production wrapped in 2024, but legal hurdles over depictions of past controversies forced extensive reshoots and editing delays. Even so, Fuqua’s film now appears ready to reclaim the narrative, focusing on Jackson’s creative ambition and humanity beyond tabloid noise. IndieWire reported that the film had faced “a massive legal snafu” over a disputed storyline but was retooled to center the music and legacy that defined generations.

Maven. Photo Credit: Glen Wilson

“Michael” promises more than a chronological retelling. It aims to explore how a child star from Gary, Indiana, became the world’s most influential entertainer. The script, written by Oscar-nominated John Logan, traces Jackson’s early years with the Jackson 5 through the triumphs and isolation of global superstardom. With Fuqua’s cinematic eye and producer Graham King—who brought “Bohemian Rhapsody” to life—joining forces with estate executors Branca and John McClain, the film is positioned as both a tribute and a restoration of Jackson’s cultural truth. Branca’s work behind the scenes has long shaped Jackson’s posthumous success. After the singer died in 2009, Branca and McClain took control of the estate burdened by debt and turned it into a global powerhouse worth billions. Under their stewardship, Jackson’s projects have generated more than $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales and landmark deals, including a $600 million joint venture with Sony earlier this year. At its heart, though, “Michael” is a story about artistry that transcends scandal. It offers a reminder that, despite the noise surrounding his life, Jackson’s music still bridges continents and generations. The trailer’s closing moments capture that spirit. As the beat of “Billie Jean” swells and Jaafar Jackson moonwalks into a spotlight, audiences are left with a familiar feeling—the awe of witnessing something timeless return home.

“Michael” opens worldwide in theaters April 24, 2026. See the official trailer here.

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Donald Trump Is the Biggest Loser

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The Trump Brand took a significant hit as it was swept up in the Democratic blue wave of the election last night.

Published

4 days ago

November 5, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

The Trump Brand took a significant hit as it was swept up in the Democratic blue wave of the election last night.

Chris Jones, Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives (AR-02), says, “Last night was electric, and it was unquestionably a wave.” Democrats won big in what is widely considered a repudiation of Trump’s 9 months at the White House in his second term.

In the state of Virginia, which produced the first big election night win and saw the election of the first woman governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, 56% of Virginia’s residents disapprove of President Trump. In New Jersey, 55% of state residents disapprove of the president; in New York, 69% disapprove; and in California, 63% disapprove of the president. The Trump brand or his support for any candidates did nothing to benefit those he endorsed in this election. They actually lost in each race he publicly put his name behind. Trump endorsed former New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who lost the New York mayor’s race in his run as an independent. And New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who ran for governor with the presidential endorsement, also lost his prospective race.

The next question is, will the democratic momentum be sustainable? Jones further explained, “This can become a 2026 tsunami, but turning a wave into a tsunami takes energy. A lot of energy. It doesn’t just happen. The conditions are there. Now we have to work!”

Some Democrats would argue that the work is already underway. The pushback against Trump’s national redistricting efforts received a thumb in the eye from California voters. Prop 50, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s counterbalance to President Trump’s redistricting efforts, passed in California last night. Although Trump’s name was not on the ballot last night, his Republican policies were. The United States has now entered the longest government shutdown in its history. Forty-two million Americans are not getting SNAP benefits. Economists are acknowledging that the government shutdown is contributing to the rise in delinquent debt in the student loan, automotive, and credit card industries. These items are among the negatives Americans are protesting against.

Compounding Trump’s political problems is a tariff battle that’s directly impacting pocketbooks. The day after the elections, the Trump administration was arguing before the US Supreme Court in favor of the president’s tariff powers. Meanwhile, President Trump‘s poll numbers are underwater, standing at a 37% national disapproval rate

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Historic Beatdown: Democrats Sweep Virginia as Speaker Don Scott and Jay Jones Make History

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — In a clear rejection of the policies of President Donald Trump, history repeated itself in Virginia.

Published

4 days ago

November 5, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

In a clear rejection of the policies of President Donald Trump, history repeated itself in Virginia. Democrats once again swept all three statewide offices as they did in 2017 during Trump’s first term. Abigail Spanberger easily won the office of Governor, and State Senator Ghazala Hashmi won her race over John Reid to be the next Lieutenant Governor. The victories occurred against the backdrop of a historic win in Virginia by Spanberger that will give Virginia its first woman Governor.

Spanberger’s widely predicted win over Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears was called 17 minutes after the polls closed in Virginia at 7 pm. Former Delegate Jay Jones won his race against incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares. His victory means Jones will be the first Black Attorney General in Virginia’s history. Jones’ win was particularly noteworthy since the last month of his campaign was consumed by the issue of private text messages from 2022 to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner. Republicans ran a non-stop barrage of negative ads against Jones for a month.

Del. Coyner lost her bid for re-election to Delegate-elect Lindsey Dougherty. The Dougherty race was the number one target for House Speaker Don Scott and his campaign lieutenant, Delegate Dan Helmer. Coyner’s defeat was one of at least 13 victories for Democrats who have now added to their ranks in the Virginia House to historic margins. When the Virginia General Assembly returns to session in January, there will be at least 64 Democrats in the chamber. The widespread Republican defeat is a testament to a combination of historic fundraising, Democrats running in all 100 seats, dislike of President Trump’s policies, and an ineffective top of the ticket featuring Lt. Gov. Earle Sears.

+13: Speaker Scott and Del. Helmer Hit Historic Numbers in Fundraising and Power

As the evening ended, a glaring historic fact became clearer: The Virginia House of Delegates will expand to a historic number. The change means the largest Democratic House chamber in the modern era. There were several notable wins by Democrats running for the Virginia House. They include Virgil Thornton, Lilly Franklin, and Kim Pope Adams. Speaker Don Scott and his campaign chair, Dan Helmer, undertook a record fundraising effort never before seen in Virginia’s history. The moment of success for Virginia Democrats will be viewed as a positive signal for Democrats moving into the 2026 elections.