May 21, 2026 • 11 mins
Mimi Brown breaks down the day. The NAACP is urging Black athletes to rethink playing for Southern schools over voting rights. A mistrial motion took center stage in the Virginia elementary school shooting trial. And the TSA is changing the rules for travelers carrying weed. Plus The Headlines We Didn't Take Seriously Enough.
From the Black Effect Podcast Network.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
The NAACP is urging black athletes to rethink playing for
southern schools over voting rights.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The silence of these institutions is complicity.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And a mistrial motion taking center stage today in the
Virginia Elementary school shooting trial law. They can't ask questions
of the businesses, and TSA is changing the rules for travelers.
Harry and Weed will explain. The page does not give
details on the specific reason for this rule change. It's Thursday,
(00:35):
May twenty first from the Black Effects Podcast Network. I'm
Mimi Brown. This is front page and here are today's
biggest stories plus today on the headlines. We didn't take
seriously enough the Supreme Court ruling from twenty thirteen. That's
behind everything happening right now. Stay with me. If you're
(00:56):
a parent with a child being recruited right now, if
your son is hoping to play college football or basketball,
if your family is looking at schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida,
or Texas, the NAACP wants you to start asking a
brand new question before signing day, not just how big
the stadium is, not just about the nil money and
(01:17):
not about playing time, but whether the state your child
is about to spend four years in respects their right
to vote because the NAACP just launched a new campaign
urging black athletes and their families to reconsider attending public
universities in states they say are weakening black voting rights.
The campaign is called out of Bounds, and it's aimed
(01:39):
directly at some of the biggest college sport programs in America.
We're talking SEC country schools making hundreds of millions of
dollars every year, powered largely by black athletes on the field.
N DOUAACP president Derek Johnson says schools should not profit
from black talent while staying silent as black political power
is reduced in those same states. And now the Congressional
(02:02):
Black HAWKUS is backing that effort too. Here's House Minority
Leader Hakim Jeffries.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
This is an unprecedented moment featuring an unprecedented attack on
black political representation, and therefore it requires an unprecedented response.
That's right. We are here standing in solidarity with the
NAACP and its call for athletes to boycott institutions within
(02:32):
the SEC that belong to states that have unleashed these
Jim Crow like racially oppressive tactics, and we believe that
the silence of these institutions is complicity.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
But here's the other side of this debate that I
think people are struggling with. Is this too much to
put on a seventeen or eighteen year old kid, Because
once you move past the headlines and the politics, the
reality is for a lot of these athletes, football and
basketballs are not hobbies. They're exits, they're opportunities. The nil
money at schools like Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas, Florida can
(03:10):
be life changing. The TV exposure is bigger, the facilities
are bigger, the NFL and the NBA pipeline is bigger. Now, yes,
people immediately say HBCUs and I understand why Dion Sanders
showed what was possible at Jackson State, and for a
moment it felt like the culture was shifting. But when
Dion left, it also felt like a lot of that
(03:32):
momentum left too. So now the real question becomes, can
HBCUs realistically compete right now with the money, the exposure,
the professional opportunities these powerhouse schools offer. And if the
answer is not fully just yet, is it fair to
ask a teenager to potentially sacrifice part of their own
future for a political fight. Here's one perspective that's getting
(03:56):
a lot of attention online.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
First of all, we have to acknowledge the hipocrisy of
these states that use black bodies as economic engines. On
Saturdays and on Sundays, they're taking away their votes, of
their mems, of their big mamas, of all their family members.
So that part of it is real, and that part
of it we cannot deny. Also, at the same time,
I think it's I think it's really rough to speak
(04:18):
out to these eighteen year olds and ask them to
make these decisions When I was eighteen, I was seventeen
actually to make the decision. I had studied so hard
and so long to figure out what it was for
me to get to Tennessee and then not only not
only that, but the main pipeline to get to the NFL.
So my main mission at that age was trying to
get to the NFL. I think it's really difficult. These
(04:40):
are real issues that need to be addressed, but I
think it's difficult for me to push on these eighteen
year olds, these nineteen year olds, to get them to
make a decision of this magnitude at such a young.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Age, And that's the part of the conversation I think
is complicated because on one side, the NAACP is asking
black athletes to think about political power and community responsibility.
But on the other side, some families are thinking, my
child has one shot, and I honestly do not know
where the easy answer is here. So I want to
hear from you guys on this one. Send me your
(05:10):
take on this. If you're a parent, coach, former athlete,
current student, or just someone with an opinion, send me
a voice memo, keep it to thirty seconds, or email
me at front page with Mimi at gmail dot com,
or you can DM me your voice note as well
at Mimi Brown TV. Tell me where you stand the
question again, should black athletes think twice about playing for
(05:32):
schools in state's accused of attacking black voter rights? Or
is that too much to put on teenagers just trying
to build a future for themselves and their families. I'll
play the best voice memos on next Thursday's show. Day
three of the doctor Ebenie Parker trial wrapped Wednesday in
Newport News, Virginia, and by the end of the day,
(05:54):
prosecutors had officially rested their case, So if you miss
yesterday's episode and you're just catching Parker is the former
assistant principal accused of failing to act before six year
old student brought a gun into Richneck Elementary School and
shot first grade teacher Abby's werner back in twenty twenty three.
She now faces eight felony child abuse charges end up
to forty years in prison, and Wednesday may have been
(06:17):
one of the most important days of the trial so far.
So first, the defense tried to stop the trial altogether.
Parker's attorneys asked the judge for a mistrial after a
jurer reportedly asks other jurors whether they should see clarification
on testimony they had heard in court. The jurors think
this matter are actually the trials of fact, and from
(06:38):
the law, they.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Can't ask questions of the witnesses.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
The defense called it juror misconduct, but the judge disagreed
and denied the motion, allowing the trial to continue. Then
came the prosecution's biggest moment of the day. Jurors watched
a recorded zoom interview conducted just days after the shooting
between Parker and the school's district hr director. In the video,
Parker claimed that the teacher, Abby z Warner, never directly
(07:03):
told her she believed the child had a gun or
that she felt unsafe.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Miss Warner never came to me and said anything about
her family.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
That the student had a weapon, or did she felt unsafe.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
She did, but jewors heard very different testimony earlier this
week from Zurner herself. We played that here. The prosecution
also highlighted another key moment from the interview when Parker
said the school had quote never searched a student. Prosecutors
then pointed directly to the district's own handbook, which states
that school administrators do have the authority to search students
(07:39):
when there's reasonable suspicion Drewors also heard emotional testimony from
parents whose children were inside the classroom during the shooting.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Recently when she inspected counseling.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
They said that she has depression, anxiety, some agase, said
school awiteness, just those general anxiousness.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Just extreme fear.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Now the prosecution's case is over, the defense is expected
to continue presenting its case on Thursday, with closing arguments
possibly coming before the end of the week. Every Thursday,
on front page, we pull back to look at a
story that was treated us small at the time, but
ended up shaping the world we live in right now.
(08:26):
Today's pick. June twenty fifth, twenty thirteen. That was the
day the US Supreme Court handed down a major decision
in a case called Shelby County versus Holder, and a
five to four ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a
key part of the Voting Rights Act, known as Section
five or pre clearance. States with long histories of racial
(08:46):
discrimination in voting, mostly in the South, used to have
to get federal approval before changing voting laws or redistricting maps.
After that ruling, they no longer had to so. At
the time, some people thought the ruling was mostly about
legal procedure. Civil rights groups though they warned it would
weaken protections for black voters. Others argued the law was
(09:07):
just outdated. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority
opinion that quote things have changed in the South. But
fast forward to now, twelve years later, Tennessee just carved
up Memphis, Alabama is moving to eliminate a black congressional seat.
Louisiana redrew its maps, Virginia voters approved a new map,
(09:27):
and the Supreme Court threw it out, and just this week,
the NAACP launched a campaign urging black athletes to rethink
attending schools in states tied to these voting rights battles.
A lot of states at the center of today's fights
were once covered under that exact section of the Voting
Rights Act. So this isn't really a history story. It's
a now story, because whether people agree with the Supreme
(09:50):
Court decision or not, the ripple effects are still playing
out across the country today. That's your throwback Thursday. If
you're flying somewhere this summer and planning on traveling with
medical marijuana or cannabis products, there's a new TSA update
that you should know about. The TSA quietly changed the
(10:11):
wording on its website about marijuana. The agency removed older
language that specifically highlighted marijuana as illegal under federal law.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
This was all updated April twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
The page does not give details on the amount of
medical marijuana allowed per person on a flight or the
specific reason for this rule change. In its place, TSA
now says its officers are focused on security threats, not
actively searching for drugs. But here's the important part. TSA
also says if agents happen to find marijuana during screening,
(10:44):
they can still refer the matter to local law enforcement,
so this does not mean marijuana is suddenly legal to
fly with. In fact, major airlines including Delta, American, United,
and Southwest still prohibit marijuana on their planes, even in
states where recreational or medical cannabis is legal, and depending
on where you're flying, local laws may be completely different
(11:06):
once you land. So while TSA may not be looking
for weeds specifically, traveling with marijuana is still legally tricky,
especially across state lines. That's your front page. I'm Mi
me Brown. This podcast is brought to you by The
Black Effect Podcast Network
The NAACP is urging black athletes to rethink playing for
southern schools over voting rights.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The silence of these institutions is complicity.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And a mistrial motion taking center stage today in the
Virginia Elementary school shooting trial law. They can't ask questions
of the businesses, and TSA is changing the rules for travelers.
Harry and Weed will explain. The page does not give
details on the specific reason for this rule change. It's Thursday,
(00:35):
May twenty first from the Black Effects Podcast Network. I'm
Mimi Brown. This is front page and here are today's
biggest stories plus today on the headlines. We didn't take
seriously enough the Supreme Court ruling from twenty thirteen. That's
behind everything happening right now. Stay with me. If you're
(00:56):
a parent with a child being recruited right now, if
your son is hoping to play college football or basketball,
if your family is looking at schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida,
or Texas, the NAACP wants you to start asking a
brand new question before signing day, not just how big
the stadium is, not just about the nil money and
(01:17):
not about playing time, but whether the state your child
is about to spend four years in respects their right
to vote because the NAACP just launched a new campaign
urging black athletes and their families to reconsider attending public
universities in states they say are weakening black voting rights.
The campaign is called out of Bounds, and it's aimed
(01:39):
directly at some of the biggest college sport programs in America.
We're talking SEC country schools making hundreds of millions of
dollars every year, powered largely by black athletes on the field.
N DOUAACP president Derek Johnson says schools should not profit
from black talent while staying silent as black political power
is reduced in those same states. And now the Congressional
(02:02):
Black HAWKUS is backing that effort too. Here's House Minority
Leader Hakim Jeffries.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
This is an unprecedented moment featuring an unprecedented attack on
black political representation, and therefore it requires an unprecedented response.
That's right. We are here standing in solidarity with the
NAACP and its call for athletes to boycott institutions within
(02:32):
the SEC that belong to states that have unleashed these
Jim Crow like racially oppressive tactics, and we believe that
the silence of these institutions is complicity.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
But here's the other side of this debate that I
think people are struggling with. Is this too much to
put on a seventeen or eighteen year old kid, Because
once you move past the headlines and the politics, the
reality is for a lot of these athletes, football and
basketballs are not hobbies. They're exits, they're opportunities. The nil
money at schools like Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas, Florida can
(03:10):
be life changing. The TV exposure is bigger, the facilities
are bigger, the NFL and the NBA pipeline is bigger. Now, yes,
people immediately say HBCUs and I understand why Dion Sanders
showed what was possible at Jackson State, and for a
moment it felt like the culture was shifting. But when
Dion left, it also felt like a lot of that
(03:32):
momentum left too. So now the real question becomes, can
HBCUs realistically compete right now with the money, the exposure,
the professional opportunities these powerhouse schools offer. And if the
answer is not fully just yet, is it fair to
ask a teenager to potentially sacrifice part of their own
future for a political fight. Here's one perspective that's getting
(03:56):
a lot of attention online.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
First of all, we have to acknowledge the hipocrisy of
these states that use black bodies as economic engines. On
Saturdays and on Sundays, they're taking away their votes, of
their mems, of their big mamas, of all their family members.
So that part of it is real, and that part
of it we cannot deny. Also, at the same time,
I think it's I think it's really rough to speak
(04:18):
out to these eighteen year olds and ask them to
make these decisions When I was eighteen, I was seventeen
actually to make the decision. I had studied so hard
and so long to figure out what it was for
me to get to Tennessee and then not only not
only that, but the main pipeline to get to the NFL.
So my main mission at that age was trying to
get to the NFL. I think it's really difficult. These
(04:40):
are real issues that need to be addressed, but I
think it's difficult for me to push on these eighteen
year olds, these nineteen year olds, to get them to
make a decision of this magnitude at such a young.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Age, And that's the part of the conversation I think
is complicated because on one side, the NAACP is asking
black athletes to think about political power and community responsibility.
But on the other side, some families are thinking, my
child has one shot, and I honestly do not know
where the easy answer is here. So I want to
hear from you guys on this one. Send me your
(05:10):
take on this. If you're a parent, coach, former athlete,
current student, or just someone with an opinion, send me
a voice memo, keep it to thirty seconds, or email
me at front page with Mimi at gmail dot com,
or you can DM me your voice note as well
at Mimi Brown TV. Tell me where you stand the
question again, should black athletes think twice about playing for
(05:32):
schools in state's accused of attacking black voter rights? Or
is that too much to put on teenagers just trying
to build a future for themselves and their families. I'll
play the best voice memos on next Thursday's show. Day
three of the doctor Ebenie Parker trial wrapped Wednesday in
Newport News, Virginia, and by the end of the day,
(05:54):
prosecutors had officially rested their case, So if you miss
yesterday's episode and you're just catching Parker is the former
assistant principal accused of failing to act before six year
old student brought a gun into Richneck Elementary School and
shot first grade teacher Abby's werner back in twenty twenty three.
She now faces eight felony child abuse charges end up
to forty years in prison, and Wednesday may have been
(06:17):
one of the most important days of the trial so far.
So first, the defense tried to stop the trial altogether.
Parker's attorneys asked the judge for a mistrial after a
jurer reportedly asks other jurors whether they should see clarification
on testimony they had heard in court. The jurors think
this matter are actually the trials of fact, and from
(06:38):
the law, they.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Can't ask questions of the witnesses.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
The defense called it juror misconduct, but the judge disagreed
and denied the motion, allowing the trial to continue. Then
came the prosecution's biggest moment of the day. Jurors watched
a recorded zoom interview conducted just days after the shooting
between Parker and the school's district hr director. In the video,
Parker claimed that the teacher, Abby z Warner, never directly
(07:03):
told her she believed the child had a gun or
that she felt unsafe.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Miss Warner never came to me and said anything about
her family.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
That the student had a weapon, or did she felt unsafe.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
She did, but jewors heard very different testimony earlier this
week from Zurner herself. We played that here. The prosecution
also highlighted another key moment from the interview when Parker
said the school had quote never searched a student. Prosecutors
then pointed directly to the district's own handbook, which states
that school administrators do have the authority to search students
(07:39):
when there's reasonable suspicion Drewors also heard emotional testimony from
parents whose children were inside the classroom during the shooting.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Recently when she inspected counseling.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
They said that she has depression, anxiety, some agase, said
school awiteness, just those general anxiousness.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Just extreme fear.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Now the prosecution's case is over, the defense is expected
to continue presenting its case on Thursday, with closing arguments
possibly coming before the end of the week. Every Thursday,
on front page, we pull back to look at a
story that was treated us small at the time, but
ended up shaping the world we live in right now.
(08:26):
Today's pick. June twenty fifth, twenty thirteen. That was the
day the US Supreme Court handed down a major decision
in a case called Shelby County versus Holder, and a
five to four ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a
key part of the Voting Rights Act, known as Section
five or pre clearance. States with long histories of racial
(08:46):
discrimination in voting, mostly in the South, used to have
to get federal approval before changing voting laws or redistricting maps.
After that ruling, they no longer had to so. At
the time, some people thought the ruling was mostly about
legal procedure. Civil rights groups though they warned it would
weaken protections for black voters. Others argued the law was
(09:07):
just outdated. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority
opinion that quote things have changed in the South. But
fast forward to now, twelve years later, Tennessee just carved
up Memphis, Alabama is moving to eliminate a black congressional seat.
Louisiana redrew its maps, Virginia voters approved a new map,
(09:27):
and the Supreme Court threw it out, and just this week,
the NAACP launched a campaign urging black athletes to rethink
attending schools in states tied to these voting rights battles.
A lot of states at the center of today's fights
were once covered under that exact section of the Voting
Rights Act. So this isn't really a history story. It's
a now story, because whether people agree with the Supreme
(09:50):
Court decision or not, the ripple effects are still playing
out across the country today. That's your throwback Thursday. If
you're flying somewhere this summer and planning on traveling with
medical marijuana or cannabis products, there's a new TSA update
that you should know about. The TSA quietly changed the
(10:11):
wording on its website about marijuana. The agency removed older
language that specifically highlighted marijuana as illegal under federal law.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
This was all updated April twenty seven.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
The page does not give details on the amount of
medical marijuana allowed per person on a flight or the
specific reason for this rule change. In its place, TSA
now says its officers are focused on security threats, not
actively searching for drugs. But here's the important part. TSA
also says if agents happen to find marijuana during screening,
(10:44):
they can still refer the matter to local law enforcement,
so this does not mean marijuana is suddenly legal to
fly with. In fact, major airlines including Delta, American, United,
and Southwest still prohibit marijuana on their planes, even in
states where recreational or medical cannabis is legal, and depending
on where you're flying, local laws may be completely different
(11:06):
once you land. So while TSA may not be looking
for weeds specifically, traveling with marijuana is still legally tricky,
especially across state lines. That's your front page. I'm Mi
me Brown. This podcast is brought to you by The
Black Effect Podcast Network
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