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Young actress Nikita Pearl Waligwa has passed away at the age of 15 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Waligwa appeared in 2016’s Queen of Katwe, which starred Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo, and Madina Nalwanga. Based on true events, the film told the story of Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan girl living in Katwe who becomes a chess prodigy and leads the Uganda team at the Chess Olympiad in Russia.

Waligwa played Gloria, a friend of Phiona’s who explains the rules of chess to her.

BBC reports that the actress was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. Following the diagnosis, Queen of Katwe director Mira Nair reportedly worked with others to fund treatment for Waligwa.

In 2017, the actress was deemed tumor-free but was diagnosed again last year.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.

The post ‘Queen Of Katwe’ Actress Nikita Pearl Waligwa Dead At 15 appeared first on Essence.

Nearly 66,000 marijuana convictions in Los Angeles County will be dismissed thanks to state laws that paved the way for the action, the county district attorney said Thursday.

The cases include 62,000 felony convictions for cases, including those for marijuana sales and cultivation dating as far back as 1961, and roughly 4,000 misdemeanor possession cases, District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s office said.

“The dismissal of tens of thousands of old cannabis-related convictions in Los Angeles County will bring much-needed relief to communities of color that disproportionately suffered the unjust consequences of our nation’s drug laws,” Lacey said in a news release.

“I am privileged to be part of a system dedicated to finding innovative solutions and implementing meaningful criminal justice reform that gives all people the support they need to build the life they deserve. The 66,000 dismissals mean conviction relief for about 53,000 people. About 45% are Latino; 32% are black; and 20% are white, Lacey’s office said according to CNN.

On Nov. 8, 2016, the majority of California voters passed Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. California joined several states including Washington, Oregon, and Colorado, where the personal possession and use of marijuana is decriminalized according to post.ca.gov. In 2018, the state Legislature passed AB 1793, which required the state Department of Justice to scour California’s crime records and find past cannabis convictions that are eligible to be expunged or downgraded to misdemeanors.

Lacey’s office stated it worked with Clear My Record, a service that helps people expunge nonviolent marijuana convictions, to evaluate records. The service is offered by the nonprofit Code for America. Including the Los Angeles County cases, Clear My Record has helped prosecutors dismiss about 85,000 marijuana convictions across the state, according to Code for America Senior Criminal Justice Program Director Evonne Silva.

“This is a clear demonstration that automatic record clearance is possible at scale,” Silva added, “and can help to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs.”

You don’t have to be in the Oval Office to continue leading! Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have won an Academy Award for the film American Factory according to Variety.

American Factory is the first project that was developed under the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground. The movie won the Academy Award for best documentary feature. It was the first film in collaboration with streaming giant Netflix.

The project was completed by filmmakers Steven Bognar, Julia Eichert, and Jeff Eichert and it followed the story of an Ohio factory after it was reopened by a Chinese billionaire.

The Obamas congratulated the team via both of their Twitter accounts after the announcement of the award.

Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind American Factory, for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground’s first release. https://t.co/W4AZ68iWoY

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 10, 2020

Congrats to Julia, Steven, and the whole crew on winning Best Documentary for #AmericanFactory, Higher Ground’s first release! So glad to see their heart and honesty recognized—because the best stories are rarely tidy or perfect. But that’s where the truth so often lies. https://t.co/qtdNEw9H3f

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 10, 2020

Participant Media was also a producer on the film. Participant CEO David Linde said in a statement, “We are deeply humbled and grateful to the Academy for this exciting honor. At Participant, we believe that storytelling has the ever-important opportunity to spark positive social change in our world today. We are incredibly proud of American Factory, and congratulate Steve, Julia, Jeff and our friends and colleagues at Netflix and Higher Ground for helping us shed light on these important issues worldwide and here at home.”

Back in 2018, Netflix announced it had made an exclusive multiyear deal with the Obamas to produce films and other projects for the media giant.

Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty

People feel strongly about Jeannie Mai and Jeezy as a couple. People really love them together or would rather not see them out and about. That’s par for the course when it comes to celebrity couples. But recently their race—or more specifically Jeannie’s race has made the commentary about their union even more interesting.

Recently on “The Real,” Jeannie Mai shared some of the more hurtful things people have said about the two of them together during New York Fashion Week.

“When Jeezy and I were in Fashion Week just recently and there were pictures posted, I saw in the comments on other blogs, a couple times of like, ‘Don’t be catching that Corona, Jeezy.’ or ‘She got that Corona that latched him in.’ And that’s so hurtful because there are people that are actually dying from this. And I actually heard that there are schools that are considering to quarantine Asian kids because they just want to keep it safe. This is real life out there. So, I just want to say this, ‘We know that misinformation coupled with fear leads to xenophobia. And xenophobia is a deep-rooted fear against foreigners. So we just got to do better and know that when it comes to yourself, educate yourself so that you don’t give life to fears and misunderstandings.”

Since the announcement of the virus, we might have come across various jokes on our timelines but the real-world, real-life implications of those “jokes” are harmful. The notion of quarantining Asian communities is not a new one in this country. The U.S. did this to the Japanese-American community during Pearl Harbor– the attack that set off World War II. We don’t need to repeat that ugly history. And Black people, who love a joke—but have also been the greatest victims of oppression, worldwide, should be more considerate and conscious.