They have often said that owning land is having power. That still rings true in 2020, as nineteen Black families have combined their resources to purchase nearly 97 acres of land in Georgia.

The families have named the land, Freedom, Georgia, in hopes of creating a safe haven and community.

via TMZ

Renee Walters and Ashley Scott of Freedom, GA

Renee Walters and Ashley Scott are the two women who kick-started the initiative — now known as the Freedom Georgia Initiative — and they say they did it because they wanted a safe place to raise their families without fear of police brutality or other forms of oppression embedded into society. The whole idea is a community by Black people for Black people.

They also note that when the place is up and running — with an agriculture infrastructure, businesses and eventually homes — they won’t exclude anyone … meaning you don’t have to be Black to be a resident. They do make it clear though … it’ll be a pro-Black town.

The first phase of getting all this started is clearing the land, farming it and then creating a man-made lake that they intend to use for sustainable fishing. It’s a massive undertaking, and will presumably take years before it might be considered viable. Still, they’re working on it.

Over Labor Day weekend … Renee, Ashley and co. hosted an event called the Big Black Camp Out, where folks flocked in from all over the country to enjoy the land with tents and RVs in tow. It also served as a ribbon-cutting ceremony to highlight the achievement.

Atlanta’s Black Gay Pride was one of summer’s hottest spots, marking the end of summer and the beginning of fall festivities. However, due to COVID-19, the official Black Gay Pride was officially canceled. However, that did not stop the city’s nightlife as independent club promoters and planners took up the slack with a string of events throughout the city in gay friendly bars, lounges, clubs, and some restaurants.

Unfortunately, this “unofficial” Atlanta Black Gay Pride was rife with violence with multiple fights throughout the weekend at popular Black Gay spots like the Marquette Lounge, Bulldogs Bar, Piedmont Park, and Believe Bar & Lounge!

Many of these fights were recorded by spectators and involved dozens of young and primarily Black Gay Men, who in turn posted the videos of social media. The reaction to these aforementioned videos has been largely an outcry denouncing the entire piecemailed event and feeling that there was no “pride” to be held in the gathering. Some have even called for there to a formal council to oversee future official and ORGANIZED Black Gay Prides in Atlanta.

Check out a few of these fights below:

Atl… yall got to do better… here we go again… #marquetteclub pic.twitter.com/I7Fb307Vua

— juss_hollywood (@juss_hollywood1) September 7, 2020

So you go out risk your lives just to fight 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️. The gays man #bulldogsbar #Atlantapride #atl #labordayweekend2020 #coronafest pic.twitter.com/5qSaMoYLqL

— just on for boredom. (@Get2itsir) September 4, 2020

They did him so dirty 🤭 pic.twitter.com/l8fF87xGWP

— Cordae (@cordae__) September 7, 2020

We really hate to see there was so much violence this weekend. Black and gay people are among the most oppressed people on the planet, and to see them fight so much is just disheartening. More than ever before the Black LGBT community should be banding together.

Personally, we feel it was highly irresponsible for them to have an event of any kind during this pandemic. Lives are in danger. We remember years ago Freaknik went to similarly awry and was eventually and permanently done away with. Guys, let’s do better!

Representation and diversity are more important than ever in today’s political and social climate. Systemic racism still pervades every aspect of our society and that includes our entertainment.

In fact, the Marvel Comics based video game, “Marvel Future Fight,” is being accused of “whitewashing” X-Men’s Storm, giving her much lighter skin and more Caucasian features including thinner nose and lips.

Some fans are even saying she resembles actress Charlize Theron instead of the Black superhero the world knows her as. Storm, in the comics, is of African and African-American descent, hailing from Kenya. The character naturally and traditionally has blue eyes and white hair, passed down from all of her female ancestors.

This is not the first time Storm’s complexion and features have been met with criticism. Earlier this year in the comics, issues of colorism arose when she was shown as light skinned and with altered features making her barely recognizable. Also, both of her live action actresses, Halle Berry and Alexandria Shipp, have been lighter skinned Black women causing controversy.

Storm is arguably the most popular Black superhero on the planet, having risen to prominence in 1975 in Giant-Size X-Men. There, she and a host of new, multicultural X-Men rescued the original X-Men–Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman–from a living island known as Krakoa. Since then at various times she has served as a leader of the team and even became the Queen of Wakanda when she married Black Panther.

We are open to different interpretations of Storm, but to alter her complexion or ethnicity is problematic. There still are not nearly as many superheroes of color in mainstream media and her role as a dark-skinned and powerful Black woman makes her character all the more necessary.

Marvel Future Fight has yet to respond to the gamers’ outrage, we will keep you posted as this story continues to unfold.