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NEW ORLEANS (BAMM Network) — Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who later served as a senior adviser in President Joe Biden’s administration, says he is considering a run for president in 2028. Mitch Landrieu on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on August 20, 2024. (Charley Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images) Landrieu, 66, told Politico that encouragement from others and concern about the direction of the count

BATON ROUGE, La. (BAMM Network) — The East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office has opened a criminal investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving an LSU football player and a female student, after the student publicly described the accusation on social media. District Attorney Hillar Moore said his office first received the matter Tuesday and has requested reports, interviews, evidence and other records from LSU, the LSU Police Department, Baton Rouge Po

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (BAMM Network) — A Jackson County grand jury has declined to indict anyone in connection with the death of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, concluding there was insufficient evidence of criminal conduct or a racially motivated crime. But the decision does not answer the central question Wells’ family has asked for months: How did he die? Wells, a Black college student from South Mississippi, disappeared July 4 during a boating trip to Horn Island with friends

NEW YORK (BAMM Network) — Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton will meet Friday in a historic U.S. Open semifinal, becoming the first two Black American men to face each other in a Grand Slam semifinal during the Open Era. The matchup guarantees that a Black American man will reach the U.S. Open final for the first time since Arthur Ashe in 1972. Shelton, seeded No. 8, advanced after upsetting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal that ended at 3:33 a.m., the

SELMA, Ala. (BAMM Network) — Selma has made history by selecting Ettice Brickus as the city’s first permanent Black woman police chief. The Selma City Council chose Brickus in a 5-3 vote during a special meeting last week. She was one of four finalists considered for the position. Brickus currently serves as chief of staff and second-in-command at the Montgomery Police Department, where she oversees day-to-day operations, policy development, budgeting and strategic managemen

ATLANTA (BAMM Network) — Labor Day weekend is becoming one of the South’s biggest annual showcases of Black LGBTQ+ culture, with major celebrations unfolding simultaneously in Atlanta and New Orleans — and generating business far beyond the official event stages. An attendee celebrates Atlanta Black Pride at Piedmont Park in 2025. Atlanta Black Pride marks its 20th anniversary this Labor Day weekend with parties, community events and Sunday’s Pure Heat Community Festival. (Th

NEW YORK (BAMM Network) — From mixtapes to museums, hip-hop’s legacy era has arrived. The music Millennials grew up with is increasingly being treated not just as nostalgia, but as canon — honored by major institutions, reissued for milestone anniversaries, performed with orchestras and celebrated as part of American music history. The signs are everywhere. Nas is honored with the BMI Icon Award at the 2026 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards in Los Angeles on Aug. 26. The Queens, New Yor

NEW YORK (BAMM Network) — Twenty-five years after Aaliyah died at age 22 in a plane crash in the Bahamas, her influence remains visible across R&B, fashion and visual culture — including among fans and artists too young to remember her life. Aaliyah died Aug. 25, 2001, after filming the music video for “Rock the Boat” in the Bahamas. The small plane carrying her and eight others crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour. A quarter-century later, what stands out is not

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (BAMM Network) — Shannon Sharpe is taking Nightcap out of the studio and onto HBCU campuses, joining a growing wave of media, entertainment and consumer brands seeking direct access to Black college students. Shannon Sharpe and members of the “Nightcap” team appear during a live show. The sports podcast is launching an HBCU campus tour beginning Sept. 4 at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. (Getty Images / The Volume) The popular sports podcast announce

NEW ORLEANS (BAMM Network) — New Orleans police are solving homicides at a rate the department has not seen in years, with NOPD reporting a 98% homicide clearance rate as of Aug. 12 — up from 43% in 2022, when the city recorded 266 killings. Investigators work behind police tape at a New Orleans crime scene. NOPD’s homicide unit is clearing cases at a much higher rate this year than during the city’s 2022 violence surge. (WWL-TV) The turnaround comes as New Orleans is also ex

BATON ROUGE, La. (BAMM Network) — Southern University System Board Chairman Tony Clayton wants the university system to consider a broader student dress code, arguing that students should present themselves in a way that reflects the professional preparation expected from a college education. Southern University students gather on the Baton Rouge campus. A proposed systemwide dress code is raising broader questions about professionalism, personal expression and how HBCUs shou

NEW ORLEANS (BAMM Network) — Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, a legendary New Orleans civil rights activist, Freedom Rider, educator and community leader whose work helped shape the city’s role in the national civil rights movement, has died. He was 87. Smith’s death was confirmed Friday. WDSU reported that the longtime activist and culture bearer had died, marking the loss of one of the city’s most enduring voices for racial justice and community empowerment. A lifelong New Orleania

BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University’s famed Human Jukebox Marching Band has landed a collaboration with Gap, becoming the latest HBCU band to take its sound, style and cultural influence into a national fashion campaign. The Human Jukebox stars in Gap’s new “Denim On Your Own” campaign, performing its own arrangement of Robyn’s 2010 hit “Dancing on My Own.” Images from the campaign show band members wearing customized Gap denim featuring Southern University branding. T

ATLANTA — Historically Black colleges and universities are experiencing renewed interest from students, including a surge in applications at some of Georgia’s best-known institutions. But behind that growth is a troubling national trend: Black men are becoming a smaller presence in higher education. Students gather outside Graves Hall at Morehouse College in Atlanta. While Georgia’s HBCUs continue attracting students, national data show Black men make up a shrinking share of

SEOUL, South Korea — Louisiana-born rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again says he has relocated to South Korea and has no intention of moving back to the United States, revealing the major life change during a rare interview with comedian Funny Marco. The Baton Rouge native, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, discussed his new home during an episode of Marco’s “Open Thoughts” released Tuesday. The interview itself was filmed in South Korea, where YoungBoy said he is now living.

A potentially deadly bacterium found naturally in warm coastal waters is raising renewed concerns across the Gulf Coast, with Louisiana and Florida reporting infections and deaths as summer temperatures keep millions of residents and tourists near beaches and other waterways. Vibrio vulnificus, commonly described as a “flesh-eating” bacterium because severe infections can rapidly destroy tissue, is naturally present in warm salt and brackish water. Infections are relatively r

MANILA, Ark. (BAMM Network) — An 18-year-old Arkansas woman has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a state trooper after dashcam video showed him taking her to the ground and punching her in the face during a traffic stop, an encounter now drawing calls for an investigation from civil rights leaders and state lawmakers. Alisa N. Hackett of Osceola was stopped by Arkansas State Police Trooper Moisses Arellano shortly before 11 p.m. Aug. 1 near Manila, in northeastern

Five Black candidates will carry the Democratic Party’s banner in gubernatorial races across the country this November, creating a notable moment for Black political representation in the 2026 midterm elections. The five pictured are Wes Moore of Maryland, Jermaine Johnson of South Carolina, Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia, Aaron Ford of Nevada and David Crowley of Wisconsin. The group includes Wes Moore in Maryland, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Jermaine Johnson in South

LOS ANGELES (BAMM Network) — Nearly 30 years after Martin ended its original run, one of the sitcom's most memorable guest characters is getting his own series. L-R: Martin Lawrence, Tommy Davidson in 'The Varnell Hill Show' _ Paramount+ Paramount+ this week released the first official images from The Varnell Hill Show, an eight-episode comedy starring Tommy Davidson as the flamboyant late-night television host he first portrayed on Martin in 1993. The workplace comedy follow

Atlanta's hip hop story isn't just about the artists who made the charts—it's also about the visionaries who built the culture behind the scenes. In this video companion to an interview originally recorded for BAMM Network's audio platforms, Brandon Armant sits down with Kevin "Fresh" Shands, founder of Beatnik Fest, and Terry "Tetris" Francis, CEO of CAN I KICK IT, to discuss the inspiration behind Atlanta's newest cultural tradition honoring the life and legacy of D.R.E.S.