By Dr. Y’Anad Burrell Special to The Post

In only their second year as a franchise, the Golden State Valkyries became the WBNA 2026 Champions, with Gabby Williams named WNBA Finals MVP. A Halloween night movie of magic and there was no surprise that the game was sold out, with more than 18,000 fans inside Chase Center while thousands more packed the open space at Thrive Center from hours preceding the game through the final buzzer.

In the decisive Game 7, Williams delivered a legendary performance, scoring 30 points to lead the Golden State Valkyries to a 68-63 championship victory over the Atlanta Dream. Remarkably, 28 of her 30 points came in the second half, setting a WNBA postseason record for points in a half and earning her Finals MVP honors.

The team celebrated its victory on Wednesday with a rally in Oakland followed by a ferry ride to San Francisco’s Embarcadero and then a two-mile parade that drew about 400,000 fans.

Williams has become a symbol of the Bay Area’s impact on the team. Although born in Nevada, Williams has deep family roots in Oakland and has often said the city’s culture, community, and basketball traditions shaped her identity and playing style.

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After signing with the Valkyries, she began calling the city home and noting that “there’s no Golden State without Oakland.”

The Valkyries have several ballers who made an impact on winning this series, including Veronica Burton, Tiffany ‘Tip’ Hayes, Kayla Thornton, Kaila Charles, and Cecilia Zandalasini.

Veteran center Kiah Stokes brought championship experience and defensive leadership when she signed a multi-year free-agent contract with the franchise on April 13. A former first-round draft pick out of UConn and a three-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces before joining Golden State, Stokes was recruited by head coach Natalie Nakae, with whom she had previously worked in Las Vegas.

Known as one of the league’s premier rim protectors and rebounders, Stokes quickly became a defensive anchor for the expansion franchise and played a major role in leading the Valkyries to their historic championship run.

The Valkyries have accomplished something extraordinary, proving that a new franchise can make an immediate impact both on and off the court. In their first year, the Valkyries became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season and set all-time league attendance records. The franchise sold out all home games, reporting 18,064 attendees per game in both seasons — the highest attendance figures in WNBA history. The Valkyries’ success has also translated into extraordinary franchise value. After entering the league by paying a $50 million expansion fee, the organization generated record revenues and rapidly became one of the most valuable franchises in women’s sports, valued at over $! billion.

The WNBA Finals’ deciding game averaged 3.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game in league history and the most-watched finals game since 1999.

The record audience reflects the league’s growing popularity and has major implications for its future, including higher media rights value, increased advertising revenue, stronger sponsorship opportunities, rising merchandise sales, and greater ticket demand.

The Finals also featured sold-out arenas and record postseason viewership, demonstrating that the WNBA is expanding its commercial reach, attracting new fans, and strengthening its position as a major professional sports league.

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By Post Staff

Marcia Anna Gillespie, the first editor in chief of Essence magazine, has died. She was 82.

Born in Rockville Centre, New York, in 1944. The daughter of a church sexton/small business owner and domestic worker/caterer, Gillespie parlayed her degree in American studies from Illinois’s Lake Forest College into a research job at Time-Life Books, Inc. in New York.

There she advocated for fairness and inclusion of Black life in its publications. When the owners of the standard bearer of Black life, Ebony magazine, ventured into creating a special publication for young, Black women, Gillespie was hired as managing editor in 1970, and became editor-in-chief a year later at the young age of 26.

At the time, the venture by the Johnson family – the owners of Ebony magazine and Jet – into creating a publication for young Black women met the growing revolution of self-love in the Black community.

In other words, the battle cry of the late 1960s, “Black is Beautiful,” had a place to be seen and not just heard.

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Thousands of young women who had already abandoned straightening combs and European aesthetics learned more ways to wear their natural hair from Afros to cornrows. Young Black designers got a place in the spotlight not just in clothing but jewelry that expressed neo-African ideals. But one of the most important impacts was the magazine’s unapologetic elevation of the beauty of the dark-skinned Black female to the status she deserved.

Under Gillepie’s tenure, Essence championed storytelling that celebrated Black women’s identities, experiences, and contributions at a time when their voices were often overlooked in mainstream media,” Essence wrote in a statement posted to Instagram

For 10 years she steered the fledgling publication before joining Ms. Magazine as a contributor in 1980 later becoming the first Black woman to edit a mainstream American magazine when she took charge in 1992.

In 1998, she helped secure the publication’s future through a women-led ownership group. She stayed at Ms. In various capacities until 2001, during which time the magazine had the most diverse readership in its history.

She also mentored future Essence editor Susan L. Taylor and taught young journalists at SUNY Old Westbury.

Emmy-winning actor Sheryl Lee Ralph took to social media to honor Gillespie’s life. 

“Rest in peace, dear Marcia Gillespie,” she wrote on Threads. “Your voice, your brilliance, and your commitment to lifting up Black women leaves a legacy that will continue to inspire me and so many others.”

A professor at SUNY Old Westbury and Bennett College, she also co-authored the authorized biography “Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration” in 2008.

According to Wikipedia, she also served on various boards as a director or advisor, including: “…the Arthur Ashe Institute of Urban Health, the Black & Jewish Women of New York, the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., Aspen Institute, …and the Studio Museum of Harlem. Gillespie is a member of the National Council of Negro Women and the American Association of Magazine Editors.”

She was the recipient of several awards, including: the Lake Forest College Outstanding Alumni Award (1973), the New York Women in Communications Matrix Award (1978); a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Association of Black Journalists for print journalism (1982); a ‘Top Ten Outstanding Women in Magazine Publishing’ recognition by the March of Dimes.

In later years she was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame (2002); the NAACP President’s Award (2006) and the Barbara Graves Legacy Award at the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit in 2017.

The conclusion for her online obituary reads: “She leaves behind a legacy written not just in the pages she edited, but in every editor, journalist, and reader who found themselves — finally — in the stories she chose to tell.”

Online sources for this report include “The History Makers,” The Washington Informer, Wikipedia, Essence magazine, Ms. Magazine and her obituary.

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The 21st annual Taste of Soul Family Festival brought hundreds of thousands to Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles on Oct. 17 for food, music and a celebration of Black culture. Visitors could shop with small businesses, enjoy live music performances, speak with health professionals and learn about job opportunities. 

Presented by Bakewell Media and the Los Angeles Sentinel, the free festival stretched along the corridor from Stocker Street to Obama Boulevard. The Sentinel estimated attendance at more than 300,000. The day also marked founder Danny J. Bakewell Sr.’s 80th birthday. 

“We call it a party with a purpose,” Pam Bakewell, the founder’s sister and a longtime festival organizer, told California Black Media (CBM). 

The enticing aromas of barbecue, fried chicken and catfish filled the air as food vendors served up a tempting array of Southern favorites, including cobbler and other desserts. Vendors also offered clothing, jewelry, books and beauty products. About 350 vendors and sponsors participated, including approximately 80 food vendors, Bakewell said. Businesses came from across Southern California and as far away as Chicago and Atlanta.

“In one day, an entrepreneur has the opportunity to showcase their business to hundreds of thousands of people,” Danny J. Bakewell Jr., president of the Sentinel. 

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Chase offered vendors training in marketing and financial management, followed by a reception.

Experienced vendors also helped newcomers. Pam Bakewell cited Cobbler King, a longtime participant who shares lessons from his early festivals about preparing for crowds and building a business. 

“We want everybody to be successful,” she said. “We can’t guarantee that, but we give you the crowd.” 

Kaiser Permanente served as the festival’s main medical provider. St. John’s Community Health sponsored Children’s World, where children played games while families received preventive care and information about follow-up services. 

St. John’s provided flu shots, fluoride treatments for children and clinic sign-ups for physical examinations. It also reported distributing more than 10,400 bags of diapers.

CBM hosted a booth as part of its California Black Health Journalism Project, a yearlong, solutions-oriented reporting initiative to advance health equity for Black Californians. 

Dr. Deidra Beckles, who practices family and internal medicine, and Adriana Westby-Trent, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist, held “Ask the Doc” conversations. Both are with Divinely Restored Health & Wellness. The booth drew steady traffic as they answered attendees’ health questions. Visitors received a “Your Wellness Matters” T-shirt. 

The Sentinel promoted a developing jobs platform, inviting attendees to post resumes and connect with employers. Bakewell said about 350 people signed up along the boulevard. 

Three stages offered music for different generations. The Bakewell Media Sounds of the Soul Stage featured Thelma Houston, Switch and headliner Midnight Star. Tony Cornelius, son of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, introduced Midnight Star and appeared with eight veteran dancers from the television show. 

 The Radio Free KJLH Music Stage featured Lucky Daye, Alex Isley, Allen Stone and Terisa Griffin. On the Brenda Marsh-Mitchell Gospel Stage, MAJOR. served as host and performer. The lineup included Deitrick Haddon, local choirs and a youth performing arts ensemble. 

During the festivities, ABC7 reported two stabbings and an hours long Los Angeles Police Department citywide tactical alert.  

Pam Bakewell said police told organizers the incidents occurred outside the festival boundaries. She said organizers are reviewing safety measures with security personnel and police. 

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