#NNPA BlackPress
The 2019 Met Gala: Lena Waithe and Kerby Jean-Raymond Slay for The Culture
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Waithe is literally the present and future of film and television with her Emmy award for Master of None. Jean-Raymond is the present and future of fashion with his 2018 CFDA (The Council of Fashion Designers of America) nomination for Emerging Talent and 2019 CFDA nomination for Menswear Designer of the Year (Pyer Moss).
By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Contributor
Actress, showrunner and writer Lena Waithe “came to slay” at the 2019 Met Gala strutting on the pink carpet wearing a pinstripe Carolina blue suit with the statement “Black Drag Queens Invented Camp” written in script across her back. With Haitian-American fashion designer Kerby Jean-Raymond at her side and wearing the same suit in a different color, the it-duo donned Pyre Moss’ (Jean-Raymond’s fashion label) very 80s styled suit which enveloped the words to music legend Diana Ross’ classic hit song “I’m Coming Out,” in the pin stripes. Jewelry Designer Johnny Nelson collaborated with Pyre Moss and created 16 custom iconic portrait buttons and black power fist cuff links to adorn their suits. Kerby chose 8 of his favorite rappers for his buttons: Nipsey Hussle, Nas, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Jay-Z, Meek Mill and Tupac. Waithe chose LGBTQ icons for hers: RuPaul, Octavia St. Laurent, Dorian Corey, Freddie Pendavis, Pepper La Beija, Paris DuPree, Venus Xtravaganza and Willie Ninja.
The outspoken artists confronted the controversy brewing since the Met’s announcement that the 2019 theme of the costume exhibition would be “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” The Met exhibition would be an ode to Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay that defines camp as “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.”
Susan Sontag is to camp what Norman Mailer is to cool. Sontag’s writing is revered and reviled with the same intensity by artists, intellectuals and the like. One of the reasons her work is reviled is because of the invisibility of the blackness that informs it. Sontag’s essay failed to mention one black person; the only person of color mentioned is Cuban pop singer La Lupe. Her essay posits camp in a binary construct of gender and class yet fails to mention race. For the out black queer queen of Hollywood to step onto the pink carpet proclaiming black culture as the foundation for the evening with Jean-Raymond who burst onto the fashion scene with his presentation at Pyer Moss’ 2015 Spring Menswear Collection which confronted policy brutality and referenced the Black Lives Matter movement and literally wearing the words and images of black and gay icons is in a word – gangsta.
Waithe is literally the present and future of film and television with her Emmy award for Master of None. Jean-Raymond is the present and future of fashion with his 2018 CFDA (The Council of Fashion Designers of America) nomination for Emerging Talent and 2019 CFDA nomination for Menswear Designer of the Year (Pyer Moss). Waithe and Jean-Raymond make major moves and statements in dominant cultural industries that have historically marginalized and “othered” black folks, while simultaneously appropriating black cultural symbols and practices. The duo’s unified emergence on the pink carpet demonstrates their awareness of the power play in progress and their commitment as “othered” artists, yet and again, to battle the cultural dismissal head on.
In the same vein that Waithe and Jean-Raymond, who has built a brand that tackles issues of social justice directly and centers Black American stories in his sure-to-be iconic fasion collections (American Also), their pairing is a fierce statement of the centrality of black culture, the shared global histories and struggles of black people of African descent and the mandate in this climate, which is in many ways a microcosm of a macro problem – to deconstruct and address the invisibility of black people in general and queer black people specifically.
Their privileging of queer black people and culture tells the story of an underappreciation of black and queer contributions to society despite the use and misuse of black and queer culture and in this case, black queer creative labor to build empires. Both are disrupting American industries (media and fashion) through their award-winning and highly acclaimed work (Master of None, Seven Mothers) while being themselves. They literally used their black and queer bodies and clothing to disrupt one of the most iconic and beloved events in the world.
Gotham got got last night by a black lesbian from the Southside of Chicago and a Haitian American from Brooklyn who has been toiling in the fashion industry since age 15. They know the industries they work in like the back of their hands, which is one of the reasons for their major successes while being very clear about who they are as people and artists and what they represent. They challenged Sontag’s limited definition of camp and inverted the power relationship if only for a moment. The wonder twins used their cultural capital to remind attendees that this “celebration” and “exhibition” would not be possible without the contributions of queer black folk. Waithe and Jean-Raymond physically “trolled” the theme of the 2019 Met Gala with their bodies, stories and fashion. One could say, they slayed for the culture and if that isn’t camp, then I don’t know what is.
This post was written by Nsenga K Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media industries, Dr. Burton is also a professor of film and television at Emory University and co-editor of the book, Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual or @TheBurtonWire.

Fashion Designer Kerby Raymond-Jean and Actress/Showrunner Lena Waithe arrive at the 2019 Met Gala. (Instagram: Lena Waithe)
#NNPA BlackPress
Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

By Lauren Burke
By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.
The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.
“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.
“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

#NNPA BlackPress
Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.
“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”
Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”
A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.
Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”
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