Simone says ‘I do’
Congratulations to Houston’s own Simone Biles. The Olympic gold medalist and 25-time world medalist shared photos of her courthouse nuptials with Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens, captioning the stunning photos, “I do. Officially Owens.” The couple confirmed their relationship in August 2020 and Owens proposed in February 2022. They will formally tie the knot in Baja California Sur on May 6. Since the (formal) wedding will be in Mexico, they had to get legally married stateside first. I can’t believe I even have to say this but are folks REALLY out here trying to dampen her happy moment by talking about her edges??? Like, this woman is an inspirational role model and an asset to our community and folks want to chime in on her hair – again? We really need to #DoBetter. Thankfully, Simone is unbothered, writing on Twitter, “I think they also forget I live in HOUSTON TEXAS & I sweat those out!! But they can keep complaining idc idc idc.”
Book banning in Texas
More books are being banned and censored across the country than just a few years ago, according to a new report from PEN America. And of course, Texas leads the nation in instances of banned titles, with 438. I think it’s pretty sad that the loudest voices are a very vocal minority. Legislators are pushing to have book bans encoded in state law, trying to force book publishers to put age restrictions on books, like a movie rating system. It sounds like a solution in search of a problem. Many of the books targeted by conservative lawmakers and parents across the country center identities that go unrepresented or underrepresented in literature. That means many students can’t read books often written for and about them. Libraries and schools across the country already have committees assessing age appropriateness of books, and have used those committees for years. Now they’re being ignored based on parental complaints. It won’t surprise me if 15 years from now, all books in Texas will only be about loving, gentle white people and happy-go-lucky minorities. Houston, we have a problem.
Don’t expect Don to go quietly in the night
In a shocker in the television world, longtime CNN host Don Lemon announced he was fired from the cable news network a little over two months after apologizing to viewers for on-air comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. CNN did not provide a public explanation for Lemon’s departure. But on the “CNN This Morning” co-host’s own Twitter account, Lemon contended the news came as a surprise to him and characterized it as a firing. He had appeared on his show that morning. Some say he was fired because of a debate with a Republican presidential candidate over Black folks and the NRA. It’s not lost on me that the white dude (Tucker Carlson who was fired the same day from FOX) got fired for lying and the Black dude (Don) got fired for telling the truth. Smdh. But something tells me Don isn’t the type to just quietly slink away. So stay tuned …
