00:00What's up Essence.com? I'm Dana Blair and this, all of this right here, is 7 Things
00:12We're Talking About. Jumping right into number one this week, Essence Festival alum and hip-hop
00:16star Nas is one of several notables who has been awarded Harvard's W.E.B. Dubois Medal. The award
00:22is Harvard's highest honor in African-American studies given to people who have made outstanding
00:27contributions to Black life. The award was presented followed by a panel discussion. Other attendees
00:32honored with the W.E.B. Dubois Medal are former Attorney General Eric Holder, former world champion
00:37boxer Muhammad Ali, Marian Wright Edelman, who is the founder and president of the Children's Defense
00:42Fund, Melody Hobson, president of Aerial Investments and chairman of the board of Aerial Investment Trust,
00:47Charlaine Hunter-Gault, the first Black woman to enroll in the University of Georgia, and artist
00:52Carrie Mae Weems. Ali took part in the ceremony through a video link since he was too ill to
00:56attend the event. The W.E.B. Dubois Medal is not the first time Nas has been honored by Harvard.
01:01In 2013, Harvard's Institute and Hip-Hop Archive partnered to create the Nasir Jones
01:06Hip-Hop Fellowship to honor Nas' long career in outstanding lyrical content. Congratulations to Nas
01:12and all of the recipients. Now, as if the Obamas did not have us all gushing after the most recent
01:18state dinner, they have managed to dominate social media yet again with their wedding anniversary.
01:23POTUS and FLOTUS just celebrated 23 years of marriage. President Obama and the White House
01:28posted adorable tweets and throwback pictures commemorating the occasion. Here's to 23 more years.
01:34Next up, do not adjust your volume. I want to make sure you know your ears are not deceiving you.
01:40Soul Train is being turned into a musical. In an interview ahead of the two-hour CSI series finale,
01:46franchise creator Anthony Zucker told Deadline this next venture would be Broadway.
01:51Zucker is reteaming with Tony-nominated producer Matthew Weaver, which you may know from Rock of
01:55Ages, with whom he worked with years ago on a Harlem Globetrotters movie script to pin Soul Train the
02:01musical. Created in 1970 by Don Cornelius, Soul Train is the longest-running, first-run,
02:06nationally syndicated music program in television history. The series deeply influenced a generation
02:12and broke racial barriers by famously introducing the world to new music artists, dance moves, and styles
02:17on a weekly basis. Who can forget that Soul Train line? I'm just saying. All right, so the project is
02:23personal for Zucker, who grew up in the Soul Train era and vowed that the music from that period got him
02:27through some very difficult times. What do you think, Essence? Leave this cultural staple alone,
02:32or will you be flocking to buy your tickets? Let us know on social, of course, at Essence Mag.
02:38Paris Fashion Week had just as much action off of the runway as it did on. Kanye, Naomi, Janelle Monae,
02:43Lewis Hamilton, Rihanna, and many, many more grace front row and chic parties as the fashion world
02:49rejoiced in the city of lights. You can catch the top trends in style and beauty right here on Essence.com.
02:54Plus, catch our special feature reuniting the hottest black supermodels from the 90s
02:59right here on Essence.com and in our October issue, which is on newsstands now.
03:04Presidential candidate Ben Carson just does not seem to grasp how this whole
03:08think-before-you-speak thing really works. Carson has found himself in some hot water among
03:13Black Lives Matter activists. Essence and Yahoo News report that while speaking at a campaign
03:17event recently, the presidential hopeful made what many are calling a tasteless joke about police
03:22brutality. Carson, who grew up in Detroit, was reminiscing on the hijinks that he and his
03:27neighborhood friends would pull. And I quote, throwing rocks at cars? I really like that, he said.
03:32Sometimes the police would come, always in unmarked cars, and they'd be chasing us across the field and
03:36they would think they trapped us. Now, that was back in the days before they would just shoot you.
03:41Oh, ha ha ha, I'm just kidding. You know they wouldn't do that.
03:44He continued on, voicing his support for police officers.
03:47I really have a tremendous amount of respect for the police because they put their lives on
03:50the line every day for us, and they are the very last people that we should be targeting, he said.
03:55This perhaps has to be the most blatant example of missing the point ever in life. I don't know, Ben.
04:00Moving right along with each passing day, more and more information is coming out around the Oregon
04:04shooter who senselessly claimed the lives of students at Umpaqua Community College last week.
04:09Gunman Chris Harper Mercer came to the campus that day ready for massive destruction.
04:13Sheriff John Hanlon revealed that authorities had recently found yet another handgun belonging
04:18to Mercer, bringing his stockpile to 14. Authorities previously said he brought six of those weapons,
04:24five handguns and a rifle to the school, along with a steel paneled flak jacket and five extra
04:28magazines of ammunition. I can't imagine. Hanlon also confirmed that Mercer was a student at the college
04:34and was registered for the class where the shooting started. Mercer's father, Ian Mercer,
04:38who lives in Los Angeles, said he first learned that something was amiss when an FBI agent called
04:43him at work. During their meeting in person, the agent told Mercer his son was the shooter.
04:48It was unreal pretty much, Mercer said. Just disbelief. You know the FBI is not going to tell you
04:53something that is not true. It's not likely anyway. So it was shocking, stunning, disbelief. You can name a
04:59thousand different emotions. In a lengthy interview with CNN last week, Mercer said he was trying to
05:04understand how the shooting can happen. I'm at a loss for words right now. Clearly shaken, Mercer
05:08wondered how his son could have amassed his arsenal. How is it so easy to get all these guns? He said.
05:13How is it so easy? It has to change. How can it not? Of course, this reopens Obama's push for stricter
05:18gun laws and reform. And of course, this will be a large issue in the upcoming election. We will keep our eye
05:23on this story essence as it develops. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who
05:28lost their lives last week on that campus. If there's anyone who deserves a break, it's Serena
05:33Williams. Fresh off her run and devastating loss at the U.S. Open, ESPN reports that the tennis champ
05:38is taking the rest of the season off, withdrawing from the WTA finals and the China Open. The reason?
05:44To heal from her lingering injuries. It's no secret I've played injured most of the year,
05:48whether it was my elbow, my knee, or in the final moments after a certain match in Flushing,
05:52my heart, Williams said. This is a very difficult decision, but one ultimately made because of the love
05:57of the game. We hope you feel better, Serena, and think this is a smart move. Oh, by the way,
06:03did anyone catch Venus in her match where she defeated Vinci, the woman responsible for handing
06:08Serena that loss? It seems like Vinci's ego got a tad out of control. She was extremely rude,
06:14obviously frustrated during her match against Venus at the China Open. Many are calling her a poor sport.
06:19Check out the video and let us know your thoughts, of course, on social using at Essence Mag.
06:24Well, there you have it. A very robust, extremely full week of things that are happening,
06:29but I will catch you here, same time, same place, on Essence.com for more 7 Things. Bye-bye.
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