Hey News-Changers,

This just in: Yesterday evening, an explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut left over 100 dead, 3,000 injured, and 300,000 displaced from their homes. Rescue workers, first responders, and hospital staff are still working tirelessly today to deal with the aftermath of the blast. If you’d like to support their efforts, consider a donation to the Lebanese Red Cross. Help survivors rebuild with a donation to relief funds from Impact Lebanon and Beit el Baraka.

Let’s Do This.

Jackie

Is TikTok Getting Banned or Not?: The Latest on TikTok’s Standing in the US

This past weekend on TikTok saw users stressed out following President Trump’s first remarks about banning the app in the US. There have been a lot of developments (and a good amount of confusion) since then, so here’s the latest.

Why Ban TikTok?

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, which raised some concerns among the president and politicians regarding its potential risk to national security, which is heightened by the currently strained relationship between the US and China. The main concern is in the way the app handles users’ data privacy (though some experts say that this kind of data collection and analysis is pretty much the norm among social media platforms).

Beyond that is a wider conversation about censorship and the way platforms can potentially modify their algorithms to influence social and political conversations happening online. As recently as last week, Black creators have spoken out about their videos related to the Black Lives Matter movement being suppressed on the platform.

What Has the Response Been?

Understandably, a lot of TikTok users were pretty upset about the potential ban, and content creators started making goodbye videos. One group of creators collaborated on an open letter to the president explaining how the app has given young people a platform for entertainment, education, and advocacy. Some are even saying that it may motivate young voters to make their voices heard at the polls.

“For many kids, politics feel very distant,” TikTok creator Eitan Bernath, 18, told The New York Times. “This might be the first time it hits home for a lot of kids.”

So What Happened?

President Trump was planning to use an executive order to ban the app -- but then he reversed course, saying he’d allow Microsoft, a US company, to purchase TikTok to keep it operating in the country. That deal may be complicated by Trump’s apparent desire for the federal government to get a cut of the purchase. It’s all TBD, but the deadline set by Microsoft to come to a decision is September 15.

Take Action: Our elected officials have the power to affect so many things in our lives -- even those as small as what apps we can access on our phones. Register to vote in the upcoming election so you have a say in how these kinds of decisions are made.

As Sports Seasons Start Up, Athletes Speak Out

This year’s sports seasons look different than they ever have before -- in more ways than one. Sparked by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and global Black Lives Matter protests, more and more athletes, teams, and leagues are using their platforms to advocate for social justice causes they care about.

During the WNBA opening-season game, players from both teams walked off the court during the national anthem -- a first in the history of sports protest. According to the WNBA players association, they’re dedicating the season to Breonna Taylor and fighting for the protection of Black women against police brutality. Meanwhile, former WNBA star Maya Moore is continuing her sabbatical away from the sport to focus on her criminal justice reform work (including a campaign that recently helped overturn the wrongful conviction of Jonthan Irons).

Similarly, the NBA started its season with players sporting social justice messages on their jerseys and players kneeling in protest during the anthem, with vocal support from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Basketball legend Michael Jordan also recently donated $2.5 million to fight Black voter suppression through organizations like the NAACP and the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement. LeBron James’ voting rights group More Than a Vote is also donating $100,000 to help formerly incarcerated folks pay fines and fees that were preventing them from being able to vote.

The Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba kicked off the NHL’s opening playoff game with a speech on behalf of the NHL and the Hockey Diversity Alliance about the need to address racism and police brutality. The MLB also showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement on their opening day with a video produced by the Black-led Players Alliance and a minute spent kneeling in reflection.

Take Action: Athletes cannot be silenced when they stand up to injustice. Add your name to this petition demanding that the International Olympic Committee allow Black athletes to honor the issues they care about.

Esselen Tribe Reclaims Ancestral Land in Big Sur Region of California

The Esselen Tribe of Monterey County (ETMC) worked with environmental conservation groups to buy back over 1,000 acres of land along the Big Sur coast of California from the state. The area had been inhabited by the Esselen people for over 8,000 years when Spanish colonizers seized the land 250 years ago.

The tribe plans to protect the area’s giant redwood trees and endangered California condor population. They’re also building a traditional village and sweat lodge to share with other Central Coastal tribes. Their hope is to provide space for Indigenous groups in the area to perform their ceremonies and continue their culture.

“It is beyond words for us, the highest honor,” Tom Little Bear Nason, chairman of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, told The Mercury News. “The land is the most important thing to us. It is our homeland, the creation story of our lives. We are so elated and grateful.”

“Here's a very humble Pueblo man who did something very extraordinary and that is to sue and stand up against the United States and win the right to vote and suffrage for our people.” - Regis Pecos, former executive director of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Office, recognizing the legacy of Miguel
Trujillo, a veteran whose 1948 court case was instrumental in securing the right to vote for Native people. Earlier this year, New Mexico declared August 3 Miguel Trujillo Day in his honor.

Why aren’t more people talking about… how student activists are campaigning for more diverse, anti-racist texts and curriculum in schools?

Meanwhile, in The Gambia… girls are leading the way in planning and executing COVID-19 relief.

My hero today is… Shamarr Allen, a New Orleans musician running a program for youth to exchange guns for trumpets.

This week in Black joy… a 6-year-old girl inspired by Beyoncé’s Black is King visual album performs her own rendition of the “My Power” choreography -- and absolutely kills it.

Today in viral cuteness… this tiny angry frog squeaks (and is oh-so adorably round).

I’m obsessed with… this beautiful “D a n c i n” video that popped up in my YouTube recommended feed. It’s safe to assume that this is what’s looping in my brain at any given moment.