00:00Hello Essence.com. This is 7 Things We're Talking About. I'm Dana Blair and we're just
00:11going to jump right into it this week. Less than 12 hours after overnight riots left the
00:14city of Baltimore in turmoil, President Obama spoke out condemning rioters and looters and
00:19saying that their senseless destruction was counterproductive. President Obama juxtaposing
00:23their violent demonstration with the peaceful movements of recent days said that last night's
00:27crowd was not making a statement. They were simply guilty of stealing and robbing their
00:31neighborhoods of opportunities. He then urged all communities to look at the larger problems
00:35plaguing America as a whole. We can't just leave this to the police, President Obama said. I think
00:40there are police departments that have to do some soul searching. I think there are some communities
00:44that need to do some soul searching, but I think we as a country have to do some soul searching. This
00:48is not new. This has been going on for decades. The crisis extends beyond police brutality and
00:53mistrust between communities and their law enforcement agencies. He also continued.
00:56It is up to Americans as a whole to fix the broken economic, political, and social systems
01:02that have overridden inner city neighborhoods. Essence will take a look at this matter in ways
01:06we move forward as a community with a special edition of Essence Debates now that will air
01:10this week on Thursday, 4 p.m. Eastern. Various Ferguson civil rights groups have joined forces
01:16and filed a lawsuit demanding that a judge review St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch and his
01:21handling of the Darren Wilson grand jury. However, a St. Louis County judge has implied that the case will be
01:26thrown out of court. McCulloch was responsible for overseeing the grand jury that declined to indict
01:30Darren Wilson, the former officer who fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown last August.
01:36Earlier this year, a group of activists demanded that a judge hire an independent investigator
01:40to look into McCulloch and what they are calling in prosecutorial misconduct in the most recent hearing.
01:45Circuit Judge Joseph Walsh III cited that the Department of Justice reached the same conclusions
01:50as the grand jury in its own independent review, suggesting that the lawsuit would not survive
01:55another hearing on the case is scheduled for May 29th. And of course, Essence will keep our eye on this one.
02:00On a much, much more optimistic note, the Senate has confirmed Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General,
02:06making her the first black woman to hold the position. Lynch was nominated by President Obama in November
02:11after former Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation, but her confirmation had been
02:15delayed for five months. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postponed Lynch's confirmation
02:20until after January, when the GOP took control of Congress, and more recently until the Senate was
02:25able to reach a bipartisan compromise on a human trafficking bill, which it did earlier this week.
02:29Congratulations. The Queen still reigns. Queen Latifah is coming back to TV with two new shows
02:36she's producing for Centric, Curve Appeal, and From the Bottom Up. Curve Appeal is where we go inside the
02:41world of celebrity stylist Timothy Snell, as his tough love transforms everyday women. The goal? To
02:47have her celebrate her true self and embrace her curves, says Latifah at the BET Upfronts. The other
02:52show, From the Bottom Up, is a six-part docu-series that follows the journey of five women who have
02:57fallen from grace as they try to make the necessary changes to turn their lives on around and find
03:01redemption. Both series are slated for debut on Centric this fall. All hail the Queen, of course.
03:07Our May cover star director Ava DuVernay has received many awards for her film work,
03:11and now she can add special Barbie among those prestigious trophies.
03:14Mattel has announced that they will honor DuVernay along with five other women
03:18with custom, one-of-a-kind Barbies for being great role models to young girls.
03:22The SHERO campaign is a collection of Barbies made in the likeness of each of the women and
03:26presented to them during the Variety Power of Women luncheon in New York City.
03:30DuVernay's Barbie sits poised in a director's chair with long black locks and funky bangles.
03:34She's the only African-American and film director to be honored in the collection.
03:37Unfortunately, the DuVernay Barbie will not be sold in stores.
03:41If there is a high school student who hasn't seen Selma, Paramount Home Media Distribution
03:45is hoping to change that. Last week, the movie company announced that every high school,
03:49public and private, in the U.S. will receive a free copy of the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic.
03:54To think that this is a triumphant story of dignity and justice will be available to
03:58every high school in this country is a realization of many dreams and many hopes,
04:01Selma director Ava DuVernay said in a press release.
04:04Teachers can download a companion guide to aid in talks about the film.
04:08And last, but certainly not least, number seven.
04:11After seven-year-old Natalie McGriff told her mom, Angela Nixon,
04:14that she hated both reading and her natural hair,
04:17Nixon decided that something had to be done.
04:19The two decided to create The Adventures of Moxie Girl,
04:22a comic book with a heroine who has magical hair.
04:24I used to get picked on in school for my natural hair,
04:26and I didn't want that to happen to my daughter, Nixon told ABC News.
04:30I wanted to step in, boost her self-esteem, and foster a love of reading in her.
04:34Enter Moxie Girl, a young Black superhero who receives a magical shampoo from her godmother.
04:39The shampoo gives the young girl the necessary superpowers to save her local library from destruction.
04:44The two entered the comic book at a local festival where it won first prize,
04:48first prize in the education category, and a $15,000 reward.
04:52Natalie is planning on publishing the book this summer,
04:54where she hopes to spread her positive hair imagery to young Black girls everywhere.
04:58Well, it was a pretty heavy seven things we're talking about,
05:01but keep it locked right here on Essence.com for more information.
05:05And I'll see you right here next week.
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