#NNPA BlackPress

A Jacksonville journalist brings humanity to an NFL Press Conference

A reporter offered up encouragement to an NFL head coach after a devastating playoff loss. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-24 in the Wild Card playoff on Sunday at Everbank Stadium. You would think this team’s loss would make the rounds on social media, but it was what happened after the game […]

Published

2 months ago

January 12, 2026

Oakland Post

ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter posted a clip of the post-game exchange between Lynn Jones from the Jacksonville Free Press News and Jaguars head coach Liam Coen. In the clip, you only hear Lynn’s comments towards Coach Coen, but I immediately began searching for her name and publication. The exchange was warm and uplifting.

“I’m going to tell you, congratulations on your success, young man,” Jones said. “You hold your head up. You guys have had a most magnificent season. You did a great job out there today. You just hold your head up, OK? Ladies and gentlemen, Duval. You keep it going. We got another season.”

However, many media members voiced their displeasure.

Media Members such as ESPN NFL reporter Brooke Pryor, who covers the Pittsburgh Steelers; Yahoo Sports senior writer Dan Wolken; The Atlantic Contributing writer Jemele Hill; and Associated Press Sportswriter Mark Long.

Brooke stated, “Look, it’s a kind sentiment, but it’s not the job of a reporter to console a coach in a postgame press conference. Pressers are to ask questions to gain a better understanding of what happened or figure out what’s next– and do it in a limited amount of time.”

Now I know Brooke thought she ate that, considering this tweet had over a million views, but mam shut up. Lynn is a seasoned journalist who covers local news and culture, so she was ethically correct to share the comment she had. The Jacksonville Free Press represents the Jaguars fan base, which supports the team.

Now, let’s jump into Dan Wolken’s comments.

Dan simply quote-tweeted Adam Schefter’s tweet, “What would give you the impression that was a reporter?” First off, Dan asked this question to try to dismiss Lynn’s presence in the post-game press conference. Secondly, he continued to explain why he asked that question, which only pissed me off more. Dan stated to someone on Twitter, “the only reason why you’re in that room is to get information about what happened in the game so that you can relay it to the public.”

In that case, Lynn exceeded her job’s expectations. She didn’t need to beat a loss over this coach’s head because she knew everyone else in that room would do it after her. The connection that local journalists and media outlets have with sports teams is often dismissed because of the popularity of national media outlets. For example, South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley consistently says the local media shows up everywhere her team is, and she demands they be credentialed to be in the room.

Let’s go visit the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Instagram page, where you will see the team posted the full video clip of Lynn’s introduction and the naming of the publication she works for.

I am telling you now that if that team and organization didn’t like how she did what she did, they wouldn’t have posted that on their main page. Not even for engagement.

Let’s move on to what Jemele had to say.

Jemele Hill quote-tweeted Adam Schefter’s tweet by saying, “That can’t be a reporter. Cause if so, I would not have used the term awesome.” Here we go again. Another media member dismissed someone’s role because they didn’t do what they thought Lynn should’ve done. Let’s continue.

Jemele also replied to one of my favorite Twitter accounts, DragonflyJonez, after he quote-tweeted Brooke Pryor. DragonflyJonez, whose real name is Tyler Puryear, explained to Brooke who Lynn Jones was.

“Hard disagree. This wasn’t some dude from Cincinnati who works for NBC Sports. Saying this was just “consoling” is reductive to the dynamic between local reporters and the coaches/teams they cover. Those who cover sports locally are not just covering X’s and O’s. They’re covering community and a shared kinship in a city. And I’m sure she was speaking for that community when expressing this sentiment. I do not believe that reporters solely need to just ask questions. Sometimes they need to be the mouthpiece for the fandom they cover as well.”

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO GETS IT!!!

Jemele’s reply to this, “Ehhhh… I hear you, but I’m going to push back. You can echo the fan without coming off like this coach’s Auntie. I get it. The media is never going to win these battles because people see the media as self absorbed, but also realize this is a working press room and a lot of other reporters there are on a deadline and need to ask a question. So I imagine a couple of them were like… aight now Auntie.”

Now Jemele, full stop. To be clear, Associate Editor Lynn Jones from the Jacksonville Free Press News has been covering news in Duval County for over 20 years. She has rapport with this team and its organization to the extent that, if she uses her time to address the head coach in this way, it is ethically acceptable.

What’s not acceptable is how many seasoned media members chose this moment to call out a Black woman who was clearly doing her job and being human in that moment. It wasn’t a fan moment. It was a “I SEE YOU” moment. There have been many college football or NFL post-game conferences I’ve sat in where a white man or white woman has said something similar or just overall inappropriate to a head coach and players. This was NOT that moment.

Let’s add this video clip from the Browns post-game conference, where NO media member said this exchange was unprofessional. I don’t have to wonder why because that was a white man speaking to another white man.

Now let’s add what Mark had to say here, because he actually needs to apologize to Lynn Jones and the Jacksonville Free Press News.

Mark really fixed his fingers to quote-tweet Adam Schefter’s tweet saying, “Nothing ‘awesome’ about fans/fake media doing stuff like that. It should be embarrassing for the people who credentialed her and her organization, and it’s a waste of time for those of us actually working.” Heavy sigh, and did he really call the Jacksonville Free Press “fake media”? This is how mainstream media outlets and reporters tend to view Black Press outlets and journalists, yet they get their top news stories from us. The Black Press fights against fake news and disinformation daily.

Conversely, Pat McAfee absolutely fried Jones’s critics after seeing the outrage. A tweet from Pat McAfee criticizing sports journalists for negativity.

“Love seeing these sports ‘journalists’ getting ABSOLUTELY BURIED for being curmudgeon bums..” he wrote. “OBVIOUSLY NOT ALL OF THEM but a LARGE % of these things hate sports.. they hate what sports are for people (happiness).. They hate what sports are for society (unifier).. they’re political journalists by nature who’ve preyed on sports because they saw it as an easier path to ‘make it.’

One thing that I’ve loved the most about working with the Black Press is our freedom to cover news and connect with our communities. We can use our free will and discernment in our press coverage, and that freedom scares the mainstream media. To know that this Black woman was bold enough to speak to this white man and encourage him in that moment really ruffled feathers amongst media members.

I want to give credit to Robert Littal of Black Sports Online, who was one of the first media members on Twitter to properly state Lynn Jones’ name and publication. I will say that he misspoke about the Jacksonville Free Press being one of the few Black newspapers out here, when we have over 200 black newspapers still active across this country. I would also like to note that while more mainstream and legacy press publications have stopped printing, our Black newspapers have not.

At this moment, the Black press needs your support. During these difficult times, it was refreshing to hear Lynn express her care and support, when all we hear and see on our social media timelines is terrible news. This is just one of those moments where you need to be okay with what happened and move on. But I am afraid that because it’s the Black press, people will continue to pile on their negative thoughts and energy. Media members do better.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

1 week ago

February 27, 2026

admin

Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,