The 44 Percent: Haitian Flag Day, Miami rapper goes national & Angel Reese returns
Part of the Black experience is pushing through tough times.
Haitian Flag Day, typically a jubilee for Haitians in Miami, had a different tone this year because of recent events in the country — but the festivities continued.
Miami native Gregory 'King Tetrus' Owens kept recording his music at night even though he wasn't sure people would ever really get into his work. But now, they are.
One of the most famous woman athletes in America, Angel Reese is still being diminished by hateful observers and critics but she still is pushing ahead playing the game she loves.
Black people are resilient, and will still find joy during moments when it seems like everything is against us.
INSIDE THE 305:
Sunday's Haitian Flag Day. But the mood leading up to May 18 is anything but celebratory
Miami Herald reporters Jacqueline Charles and Raisa Habersham teamed up to write about the duality of an annual Haitian pride celebration and how its joy contrasts with a difficult moment in the Caribbean country's history.
Two days before one of Haiti's biggest national holidays, the streets in the heart of Miami's Haitian community are unusually quiet. Few cars move up and down Northeast Second Avenue flying giant-size blue and red flags as has been customary and few patronize the sidewalk vendors selling Flag Day T-shirts, caps and bandannas.
'Last year, there were more people who came. This year, things are slow,' Farilia Antoine, an artist and vendor said as she was arranging her wares on a table along Northeast Second Avenue and 59th Street.
What's the cost of success? For this Miami rapper, it took $28K a year in ads
In my profile of Miami rapper Gregory 'King Tetrus' Owens, I wrote about how the Miami native worked in corporate America for several years before the music he made in his free time finally broke through and got the attention of Jay-Z's nephew, Rel Carter.
During a lunch break at his day job earlier this year, Miami native Gregory Owens checked his Instagram and saw a direct message from a well-known music executive. After five years of sacrifice and hard work as an aspiring rapper, Owens was stunned.
'I said, 'Is this time for me to quit?'' Owens, 36, told the Miami Herald.
OUTSIDE THE 305:
Angel Reese responds to WNBA investigation of alleged fan abuse
The WNBA season is finally back and basketball fans like me are excited. But much of the racist animus directed at Black stars like Angel Reese has also come back with it.
A flagrant foul by Caitlin Clark on Angel Reese during their teams' game last weekend has led to fans making derogatory comments about Reese. CNN reporter Thomas Schlachter wrote about the situation.
Angel Reese on Tuesday praised the WNBA for taking up an investigation into alleged abuse aimed at the Chicago Sky player and the way the league and her team have had her back.
The WNBA said it was investigating reports of abuse directed towards the second-year forward during Chicago's loss to the Indiana Fever on Saturday.
'Obviously there's no place in this league for that,' Reese said during media availability on Tuesday. 'I think the WNBA and our team and our organization has done a great job supporting me.'
Spike Lee's Denzel Washington Pic 'Highest 2 Lowest' Scores Six-Minute Ovation At Cannes Premiere
When Spike Lee or Denzel Washington release a new film, it's an event. But when they work together? It's a reason to call someone and talk for hours.
The new Spike Lee-directed movie 'Highest 2 Lowest' stars Denzel Washington and has already gotten rave reviews. The six-minute ovation at one of the world's top film festivals is only the icing on the cake. A team of three Deadline reporters wrote about the ovation in detail.
Spike Lee returned to the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection tonight with his latest feature, Highest 2 Lowest, which is running in the Out of Competition strand. Starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky and Ilfenesh Hadera, the Akira Kurosawa-inspired crime thriller garnered a six-minute ovation at its world premiere.
HIGH CULTURE:
Celebrate Memorial Day weekend at Trina Day
This Sunday, May 25, a free, annual celebration of Miami-born rapper Katrina 'Trina' Taylor's impact will happen in Liberty City at 6400 NW 15th Avenue from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Taylor founded the day as a tribute to her community of supporters and to pay homage to her niece that died due to gun violence. The event will consist of live performances, giveaways, activities for youth, food vendors and more.
Miami's Best of the Best marks the return of dancehall as big artists get U.S. visas
Sunday's dancehall festival at Bayfront Park featuring stars like Buju Banton and Wayne Wonder is proof that dancehall is enjoying a special moment.
Dancehall music has a renewed energy in America thanks to many of the genre's top artists finally getting U.S. visas. Herald reporter Jacqueline Charles discussed the significance of this ahead of this weekend's Best of the Best music festival.
Black superhero show 'Ironheart' will debut next month on Disney+
With production from 'Sinners' director Ryan Coogler, the newest Disney+ superhero is a young Black woman from Chicago. Actress Dominique Thorne stars as Riri Williams, a young Black woman who builds her own body armor suit modeled after Tony Starks' Iron Man suit.
I'm hype about this character getting her own show and have hoped for it ever since she was introduced in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.' This YouTube trailer captures some of that magic.
Where does 'The 44 Percent' name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter's title.
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Tracy Moore, 50, says there was a 'little bit of denial' when she started experiencing menopause symptoms: 'Hold on, I'm at that age...'
Less than two months after she was let go from Citytv, Tracy Moore found herself doing yoga in Costa Rica with a group of strangers. What began as an excuse to leave a cold Toronto winter to process a major career change in solitude quickly turned into a bonding experience that celebrated sisterhood, menopause and the idea that mid-life could be the perfect time to start all over again. The 50-year-old television personality is set to appear in a panel talk at the first Women's Healthy Living Show in Toronto this weekend for an unfiltered discussion about women's health. Yahoo Canada spoke to Moore ahead of the event to discuss navigating change, menopause and much more. In February 2025, fans were surprised when Citytv announced it was foregoing plans to create a new hour of Breakfast Television with Moore and Cheryl Hickey at the helm. The decision ended a 20-year relationship between the network and Moore, who had previously served as host of Cityline for 16 years. She addressed the news in a video posted to Instagram that was gracious and measured; it wasn't what you'd expect from someone who had just received career-altering news. Moore said the writing was on the wall when the network decided to cancel Cityline, she just didn't know when that chapter of her career would end.'I had many, many months to wrap my head around a new way of defining myself — and my friends and family did not. The viewers did not...,' she said, adding that the public's reaction to the news was overwhelming. "I was drowning in inertia. It was being bombarded with everyone's reactions. I feel very deeply. I was taking on people's disappointment, people's congratulations, people's anger... I'm wearing it all. I just needed to sit on the couch and let it flow through me. Cry a little bit. Walk a little bit. Do all the things." I realized that there were a lot of people that were invested in my Moore A visit to her parents helped Moore understand the impact of her career; she was a trailblazing figure — the first Black woman to host a daytime talk show in Canada. "I realized that there were a lot of people that were invested in my career. There's aunts, uncles and cousins, and then there's visible minority communities," she said. "There's racialized people that were watching the show because they saw themselves reflected in a daytime show. They saw their people." Her father was the one who suggested she take a trip to get away and "gain some clarity." Moore remembered an invitation she received to Flip Flops and Hot Flashes, a menopause-focused yoga retreat in Costa Rica. She accepted the invitation on one condition: she did not want to have to be "on" for the group. Moore was on a mission to find her centre. She thought she was in need of solitude and peace. She was as the saying in reality TV goes, not here to make friends — even though that's exactly what happened. "I wanted to gaze at beauty — the sky, the trees the water,' she said. 'It turned int this incredibly bonding, beautiful, raw and authentic experience. It was a bonus, over and above anything I was expecting." Menopause and the realities of mid-life are topics Moore embraces discussing with her community of fans and followers. Her own journey with perimenopause began at 47, when she noticed her base temperature rising. "I used to be a cold girlie…I was always cold," she said. "Then all of a sudden I wasn't. It wasn't hot flashes, in general, I was hotter.' ...I thought to myself, 'Hold on, I'm at that age. This could be menopauseTracy Moore Initially, Moore said "there was a little bit of denial" about her symptoms. Although signs of perimenopause vary from person to person, there was one symptom that pushed her to visit her doctor. 'The biggest telltale sign for me was my inability to tamp down irritation," she said. "I'm the calm parent. I'm the patient one…. All of a sudden, I was the one arguing and so I thought to myself, 'Hold on, I'm at that age. This could be menopause.'" Moore began hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for progesterone and estradiol, which she said have helped manage hot flashes and other symptoms. The ability to talk candidly about women's health is something Moore said she had to fight for during her time on Cityline. There was an "unwritten rule" that menopause wasn't meant for daytime television, but a host in perimenopause meant the subject was unavoidable. "It's sort of a new generation and a new vibe," she said. "I think that people were willing to jump in and get into it." The push and pull behind the scenes was something Moore had been living with since she began working in television in 2001. Along the way, Moore said there were many times she had to make compromises and navigate micro-agressions over the way she styled her hair and what stories she wanted to feature. "I had to forgive myself constantly," she said. "I felt the burden of trying to make the show more accessible for more people and not just the Black community, but gay men and non-binary people. Everybody should be able to have a piece of the show and see themselves reflected in some way.... I felt the burden of trying to make the show more accessible for more peopleTracy Moore "Some days I thought to myself that I'm not supposed to be in media, because I think I'm too soft for this industry — and that was the wrong way for me to think. My sensitivity is the reason I was able to operate the way I was and reach the people I was meant to reach." The end of her time at Citytv presented an opportunity for Moore to take inventory of her hopes and goals for the future. She describes it as "divine" timing that she was let go from Citytv the same year she turned 50. In many ways, she's navigating her next steps with more than just her career in mind, it's something deeper. "There is a 'me' that exists outside of — I hate to call it this — but this 'circus' of being in a public-facing role. I have to refine and be 100 per cent sure of what and who I am," she said. "What do I really like? What do I really dislike? What do I actually want to do with my life?" I'm proud of myself, though, for walking myself through thisTracy Moore In addition to re-evaluating what she wants to create, she's also exploring how to participate in content creation without relying on social media for external validation. "I feel like that's always been my journey," she said. "You can't take all of those compliments that people are giving you to heart, because it means you also have to take all of the criticisms and all of the hate and all the vitriol to heart. "It's sometimes been a little bit sad, and it's sometimes been so happy," she said. "I'm proud of myself, though, for walking myself through this."
