Get The Exclusive Scoop On The Rising Fashion Phoenix RickRhodes

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RickRhodes Is The RISING Fashion Phoenix Looking To Light Fire In The Fashion World 

Exclusive Interview With Kamau Austin, Publisher The Black News Scoop

 

Kamau Austin

Kamau: Who is Rick Rhodes? 

RickRhodes: I am full of inspiration, ambition, and purpose. I grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, and in various other cities throughout the northeast. As a youth, I was never attracted to colorful or loud clothing. Instead, I loved garments that were sleek and unassuming.

It wasn’t until I was incarcerated at the age of 22 and served over 15 years in prison for attempted murder, dealing in marijuana, and possessing a firearm that I set out to establish what I believed was a true representation of fashion for myself.

Rick Rhodes Logo 

I maximized my time in prison and earned a BS in Organization Management from Grace College along with several associate degrees and certifications. The young man behind those walls fought each day to become the man you see now—a man filled with purpose and unwavering ambition. My goal is to encourage, inspire, and motivate. This is Rick Rhodes, a man who is more than a brand but a lifestyle.  

Kamau: What about the fashion industry inspires you? 

RickRhodes: The level of creativity that can be shown through fashion is astonishing. Fashion allows me to be expressive in so many ways, but it also gives me the opportunity to curtail my designs to every body type. Women have so many different body types and are often misrepresented in the industry.

I want the women who wear my designs to feel beautiful regardless of their size and shape. This is why you’ll see a broad spectrum of cultures, shapes, height, and sizes throughout my upcoming show. Fashion inspires me because it’s a representation of being able to create with underrepresented models to truly reveal who we are in this country.  

See RickRhodes Share His Vision In This Video

Why Have Hundreds Of Rappers Died In The Last 2-Years Despite Rap Music's Rich Legacy From Our African Griot Tradition?

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Despite The Rich Storytelling Heritage of Rappers Coming From Our African Griot Legacy Too Many Are Dying Young

By Dr. Charles L. Singleton, The Family Journal, USA & Overseas

Griots of West Africa told reportorial stories during multiple centuries dating back to the 13th century, and long before Spain’s slavery colonization of the Caribbean in the 15th century, and the Spanish and Portuguese (Brazilian 1550s) sugar plantations (18th, 19th, and 20th centuries). Also, these gifted orators and performers existed before America’s enslavement of African captives on The White Lion English privateer ship, August 20, 1619, Jamestown, Virginia and thereafter: 17th and 18th centuries of American colonization. --- Written Sources

 

The griots were traveling musicians, singers, poets, and oral family historians. Their inherently gifted knowledge and cultural influence (rhythmic beats, verbiages, dialects, etc.), throughout the Americas, helped us to create our language and music today from the list below:

Slave Ships “Drumless Backing” Utterances (painful grunts, agonizing groans, and mournful suicides), Haiti's Creole Songs Since 1492: Caribbean 15th Century Songs; the Jamaican "Patwa," an English-based Creole West African Language (1533-1807: Rocksteady & Reggae Music 1960s - 1980s, Bob Marley (1945-1981) and various artists ), and the United States 17th and 18th Centuries’ Hambone Song, "Pattin' Juba," Calypso Afro-Caribbean Music (mid 19 century/mid-20th century: Trinidad, Tobago, Antilles, and Venezuela).

Yes, Gullah Geechee Talk (cumbaya or Kumbaya, okra, tote, obuh yuh, yent, ynnah, yenna name, buckruh, cootuh), and Geechee Songs; Cotton Field Songs, Underground Railroad Songs, African American Work Songs and Hollers; Hymn Choir Songs, Spirituals and Gospel Music; Instrumental and Vocal Praise & Worship Songs; “Say Yes, Say Yes” (West African Style and Afrobeat), Blues and Jazz Songs, Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll Music (1940s - 1950s), Soul Music (1950s - 1960s), the 1960s Funk Music and 1970s Hip-Hop Music, and Rap Songs; Dap: “Juba” or Hamboning-Like Fashion, Gestural-Rhythmic Greetings, “Five on the Black Hand Side,” 1960s -1970s, by Black G. I. s (African American Communities, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific Countries: APAC). In addition, the Soulful Dance Steps of James Brown (1933-2006), Michael Jackson (1958-2009), Football Touchdown End Zone Dances of NFL, College, High School Football Players, and Youth Football League Players.  And the 1970s - 1980s Poetic Words and Soul Music of Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011), "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." ---Oral and Written Sources, 187 Years of Recorded History, The Family Journal, USA & Overseas Archives, 2005-2021

Discover How Fred Harris, A 19-Year Old Black Youngster With Special Needs, Was Murdered In A Texas Jail Cell

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Did The Justice System Fail Fred Harris, A 19-Year Old Black Youngster With Special Needs Brutally Murdered In A Texas Jail Cell? 

Written By nZinga And Kamau Austin, Co-publishers Scoop Publications

Fred Harris was a 19 year old boy with special needs.  It has been reported by friends and family that he was a friendly and liked young man despite his mental challenges. It was claimed in some media sources that Harris was in a group home.

For some reason supporters claim Fred had a knife in his hand and seemed to feel threatened by someone.  It may be that he was afraid of something and maybe somebody bullied him in our experience.  Many times people with special needs are made fun of and often bullied.

This happened in ironically Harris County, Texas near Houston.  The police were called on Fred Harris, and they arrested him and took him to "a holding cell on the third floor of the 1200 Baker Street jail around 11:16 p.m" according to Click 2 Houston local news.  Different media sources give various details on where actually Harris was arrested.  But it is claimed he was brought into jail October 11th.  See The Family And Legal Press Conference for Fred Harris below...

Did Integration Help Or Hurt The Black Community?

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Did Integration Help Or Marginalize The Black Community?

Picture Credits Click Here (Source Wikipedia)

By Kamau Austin

All moves people make in history have both an upside and downside. The fight for integration had an upside in that white people couldn't limit where Blacks could walk, go to the bathroom, rent a hotel, get a better job, go to a better school etc. People couldn't tell you outright that you could only go certain places.

Also for instance before integration we didn't have 7 or 8 Black billionaires and about 140,000 businesses with over a million dollars in annual income. Before integration we didn't have 42% to 46% of Blacks in the middle and upper middle class.

Before integration we didn't have 18% of Blacks with college degrees or almost 1 million Black families with a net worth over a million dollars. Even though we had neighborhoods like Rosewood, Greenwood AKA Black Wall Street, and other upscale cities during Jim Crow we have made a lot of strides in income (income and wealth is 2 different things) after integration.

Before integration we didn't have 2.6 million Black businesses and Black women being the most educated demographic in the whole country. I could go on and on with stats on good things that happened with integration.  However what was the downside to integration?