Connect with us

News

Team Dream: 82 AND 77-YEAR OLD BLACK FEMALE SWIMMERS MAKE HISTORY AFTER COMPETING IN NATIONAL SENIOR GAMES

Published

on

(PLANTATION, FL) – Ann Smith (age 82) and Madeline Murphy Rabb (age 77) are two African American swimmers who recently competed in the 2022 National Senior Games and were the only Black women to compete in their age group.

Their love for swimming is deep and is a part of a documentary film profiling their passion for swimming as girls who didn’t let barriers to swimming stop them from seeking their sports dreams. Their story is a reminder of the days of segregation where Blacks often could not swim in pools saved for whites.

A documentary short called Team Dream from award-winning filmmaker Luchina Fisher follows their story and will debut at Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August (and then on BET in the fall) thanks to Procter & Gamble’s initiative Widen the Screen and Queen Collective.

Despite being omitted from the history books, Africans and African Americans have a long history of swimming. Team Dream sheds light on the lack of access to pools for Blacks during segregation that resulted in fewer Blacks learning how to swim.

About the Director
Luchina Fisher is an award-winning writer, director, and producer whose work is at the intersection of race, gender, and identity. She can discuss why this film is important to her, how she found Ann and Madeline, and the importance of breaking down the stereotype that “Blacks can’t swim.”

About Widen The Screen
Widen The Screen is an expansive content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity and enables Black creators to share the full richness of the Black experience. “Only when we Widen The Screen to Widen Our Views can we all broaden the spectrum of images we see, the voices we hear, the stories we tell, and the people we understand.”

About Queen Collective
In 2018, P&G, Queen Latifah, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios launched the Queen Collective, a mentoring and talent development program designed to give women filmmakers of color a platform to share important stories from their unique perspectives. Now in its fourth year, the Queen Collective is enabling a record number of female directors and other creatives to produce their original documentaries and scripted pieces to share their perspectives through film.

A journalist since 1994, he also founded DMGlobal Marketing & Public Relations. Glover has an extensive list of clients including corporations, non-profits, government agencies, politics, business owners, PR firms, and attorneys.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Editorial/OP-ED

The Rebirth of BlackUSA.News

Published

on

(BALTIMORE – August 2, 2025) – In December 2020, right in the thick of COVID, everything was turned upside down. Interviewing people became nearly impossible — folks weren’t coming outside, Fauci was in everyone’s ear, and Trump was out here talking about drinking bleach. It was chaos.

But through the madness, we found a way forward. We embraced streaming.

Special thanks to Peggy Morris of Sisters4Sisters Network. She introduced me to StreamYard.com, and the rest is history. That connection helped birth BlackUSA.News — the national arm of BMORENews.com. It wasn’t the first time Peggy and her network showed up for us, and it likely won’t be the last.

From there, the movement grew.

On the West Coast, De’Von Walker and Troy Rawlings have been pillars. Troy — a Baltimore native — brings heat from Los Angeles, while De’Von’s Black Wall Street Board Game reminds us of Monopoly with a mission: to uplift Black-owned businesses.

In Oakland, Doug Blacksher has been a home-run-hitting host. His show consistently breaks reach records, diving deep into politics and business — his two favorite lanes.

Up in New York, our go-to is Tasemere Gathers of The DM Firm. She’s solid, dependable, and visionary. And we’d be remiss not to shout out Walter Edwards, Regina Smith, and Vito Jones in Harlem, as well as Makonen of the Harlem Business Alliance — each of them pushing the needle forward.

In Atlanta, Robert Scott and Bou Kahn have not only supported the news but have helped us successfully host the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards over the years.

And then there’s Lee Vaughan, our National President. Thanks to Lee, we’ve expanded from 6 to 9 cities — adding Mobile, Las Vegas, and Tulsa to the fold. One of his honorees? None other than D.L. Hughley.

Advertisement
[adrotate group="3"]

Let me not forget Dr. Eric Kelly, a brilliant connector introduced to us by the illustrious Marsha Jews, our resident anchor and a national treasure.

We stream live on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
This is our rebirth.
This is BlackUSA.News.
Check us out — and spread the word.

Continue Reading

News

Politics26: Where Real Talk Meets Real Change :: LIVE Wednesdays at 6pm

Published

on

🔥 Streaming LIVE on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube 🔥

Hosted by veteran journalist and political strategist Doni Glover, Politics26 is your go-to weekly stream for real talk on politics, policy, and power — from Baltimore to Burkina Faso. With unfiltered conversations and exclusive interviews featuring elected officials, community leaders, and change agents, we break down the headlines and spotlight what mainstream media often overlooks. Guests include Alexis Solis for Congress.

From the streets to the statehouse, Politics26 doesn’t just cover the news — we shape the conversation.

🔴 Streaming LIVE on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube

#Politics26 #BMORENews #BlackUSAnews #DoniGloverShow #UnapologeticallyBlack

Continue Reading

News

Meet the Host: Art Douglas Blacksher — The Warrior for Justice in Construction

Published

on

(OAKLAND – July 29, 2025) – According to the San Francisco Bayview, Art Douglas Blacksher is more than a contractor — he’s a fearless warrior in the battle for justice in America’s construction industry. A host on BlackUSA.News, Doug brings lived experience, sharp insight, and unrelenting advocacy to the forefront of conversations about equity, power, and access.

For decades, Doug has witnessed how systemic racism plays out on job sites and in billion-dollar bid rooms. In 2013, over 150 Black contractors — including Doug — marched in San Francisco to protest their near-total exclusion from the $1.5 billion Levi’s Stadium project, where Black-owned firms received a mere 1.6% of the contracts. It was a flashpoint in a long history of exclusion, one fueled by closed-door “buddy-buddy” relationships that keep Black businesses locked out.

Doug’s most visible fight to date is his ongoing lawsuit against Clark Construction, the lead builder of the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center in San Francisco. He alleges the company made hollow promises to minority contractors while actively undermining his firm. A 2016 meeting with Clark, pitched as an opportunity for minority subcontractors, became what Doug calls “a déjà vu nightmare,” reminding him of previous broken commitments from powerful players in the industry.

His courage has rallied support: the San Francisco NAACP formally backs Doug’s demands for transparency and accountability in how Clark handled Black, women, and minority business participation on the $1 billion Chase Center.

Doug’s struggle represents something bigger — a national reckoning with racial injustice in construction. Despite civil rights victories, Black contractors still face staggering barriers to contracts and union access. Doug stands at the intersection of this generational fight, aligned with organizations like the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), the NAACP, and regional Black business coalitions.

Through his platform on BlackUSA.News, Art Douglas Blacksher isn’t just telling his story — he’s exposing an industry, lifting a movement, and making sure the next generation of Black builders has a seat at the table they helped build.

________________________________
Related Article

Emmy-nominated Doni Glover Show: Discussion on Oakland’s New Mayor, Barbara Lee

Continue Reading

Trending