‘WE ARE NOT BELIEVED’: FOR BLACK WOMEN, THE ‘DIDDY’ VERDICT IS A REMINDER OF JUSTIC DENIED
By Nadra Little PAGE
PHOTO: KEM LUND/VIA FLICKR
‘We are not believed’: For Black women, the ‘Diddy’ verdict is a reminder of justice denied
By Nadra Little The 19th
A raucous scene unfolded outside the New York City courthouse where a jury Wednesday acquitted Sean “Diddy” Combs of the most serious charges — sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy — against him during a six-week trial in which witnesses painted the rap mogul as a monster who preyed on vulnerable women in his orbit and took vengeance on anyone who stood in his way.
Overjoyed that the jury returned a mixed verdict, including convictions on two prostitution counts that carried lighter penalties, supporters of Combs jumped up and down and squirted baby oil at each other outside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Lower Manhattan. That emollient was used routinely during the hundreds of “freak-offs” — the extended sexual performances with male escorts — that Combs’ former partner Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura and others said he made them participate in through force, threats and coercion.
For many survivors of sexual violence, particularly people of color, both the verdict and the behavior of fans outside the courthouse in hip-hop’s first major #MeToo trial made a mockery of their trauma and underscored what many Black and Brown women who come forward as victims know all too well: The
justice system rarely believes them.
“Here is somebody whose attorneys admit he is violent, where the jury was shown videos and, yet, he was found innocent on the more serious charges regarding trafficking, so this feeling of dejectedness makes perfect sense because, once again, we were not believed,” said Angela Neal-Barnett, a professor in Kent State University’s Department of Psychological Sciences and director of its Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African Americans.
The 19th reached out to Black women lawyers, scholars, cultural critics and psychologists about the verdict and the emotions that women of color are experiencing in the wake of it. While some acknowledged that they weren’t surprised Combs avoided conviction on more complicated charges like racketeering, they said they understood why the case’s outcome feels like a blow to survivors. Others disclosed feeling dejected themselves, arguing that the public needs to refine their understanding of consent and interpersonal violence.
“I was very convinced that the prosecution had reached too far when they charged Diddy with RICO [racketeering conspiracy] because that’s typically something that you would charge for organized crime like a mafia,” said Yodit Tewolde, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. “You
have one person here who has been charged. There’s no co-conspirators that have been charged, and so to believe that he had this whole big enterprise in order to commit crimes with multiple people seemed a little bit of a stretch.”
Still, as the trial progressed, Tewolde
thought the prosecution presented a compelling case for racketeering but was not surprised when the jury ultimately acquitted him of that charge. She did, however, expect to see him
Black Women Cont’d on Pg. 7
Singer and model Casandra Ventura arrives for the traditional Clive Davis party on the eve of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in New York on January 28, 2018. JEWEL SAMAD / AFP
Guest Commentary by Phyllis Zagano
Immigration policy has become a question of character
How a person reacts to the sight of armed, masked men assaulting immigrants in the United States defines a person’s character. Increasingly, the priority put on detaining people is defining the character of the government, if not the entire country. The U.S. is beginning to look like a dictatorship seeking to divest itself of anyone who is poor and speaks Spanish.
U.S. racism is not new. In the 17th century, Northern Europeans arrived, claimed Native American lands and imported enslaved African Blacks. As the United States grew, its leaders insisted on its white character, even as it swallowed more and more territory inhabited by brown-skinned people. What is now the diverse metropolis of Los Angeles, we must recall, was founded by Mexican settlers in 1781.
Throughout the 1800s, but especially following the Civil War, cities grew increasingly crowded with poor people distinguished from the ruling aristocracy by their darker skin. Immigrants increasingly faced both racism and nativism, which guarded the interests of persons born within U.S. territories (except members of the more than 500 Indian tribes already in residence). Anti-immigration laws appeared, excluding Asians (1875) and Chinese (1882). The concept was to keep the country lily white.
By 1900, the U.S. had welcomed more than 10 million immigrants. The then-24-year-old Statue of Liberty greeted the tired and poor arriving at Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Soon, law after law sought to stem the tide. There was a literacy requirement (1917) and country quotas appeared. Even so, Southern Europe supplied increasing numbers of Jews and Catholics, to the point that Catholicism became the largest denomination in the otherwise predominantly Protestant country.
A lot of good the United States’ Judeo-Christian heritage does these days. A nominal Christian and defender against antisemitism, the U.S. president oversees brutal treatment and disregard for the personal
dignity of thousands of individuals. Many came escaping drug cartels, violence and poverty. Old and young, male and female, they may not speak English. Most happen to be brown. In the name of ridding the country of criminals, agents of the Department of Homeland Security violently arrest even those who accepted the strictures of the previous administration and are in the process of naturalization.
Is the behavior the president is trumpeting moral? Is it ethical? Is it worthy of the government with the largest economy in the world, one that oversees thousands of empty acres within its borders, the government that recently counted 7.8 million open jobs? Immigrants are not restricted to cities, although they would happily settle in any of the abandoned neighborhoods from coast to coast. And they want to work.
The behavior of the president’s Cabinet and his minions demonstrates extraordinary character deficiencies. Whether you want to counter them on ethical or moral grounds, you are right to shake your head and wonder how and why the United States has become a pariah to people of good character.
Church leaders are speaking out, and books are starting to appear. Are you interested in ethics? Read General Stanley McChrystal’s “On Character.” Are you interested in morality? Read “Facing Race” by the Rev. Roger Haight, a Jesuit priest. This year’s summer reading assignment is about restoring the country’s good character.
The U.S. president’s mother was an immigrant — English was her second language — and he is married to an immigrant. What is the nature of his character?
Phyllis Zagano is an award-winning author and scholar specializing in Catholic women’s ministry past and present, especially the ancient tradition of women deacons. She wrote this for Religion News Service where it first appeared.
The number of national Black conventions that are ‘not’ inviting President Trump continues to grow
By April Ryan BlackPress USA
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) says it is “not” extending an invitation to President Donald Trump for its annual convention in Cleveland, just weeks away in August.
The association’s president, Ken Lemon, says, “The focus of this year’s convention is the organization’s 50th anniversary” as a Black journalists’ advocacy group.
Lemon spoke by phone to Black Press USA, saying, “At this point, there is not a reason to invite President Trump this year.” Last year was a hard-fought presidential campaign year, where “journalists had the opportunity to vet the candidate. I don’t see the need to do that this time around,” emphasized Lemon.
The irony for NABJ convention goers and other Black journalists is that they have witnessed a significant percentage of the organization’s membership lose hard-won jobs in the media industry as a direct result of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI stance. In addition to job losses, hiring freezes, decreased opportunities for workplace promotion, and increased restraints on editorial content and subject matter have become the new normal for many Black journalists — and journalists at large.
NABJ has a long history of inviting the sitting president to speak to its membership. Past invitees include then-
week. Marc Morial, President of the civil rights organization, says one reason for the non-invite is that they have invited Trump to their convention five times during his previous administration, and he did not respond. Morial says the other reason is what happened with Trump and the Black Journalists at last year’s NABJ convention.
That NABJ convention is where Trump
result of last year’s NABJ appearance. She replied, “He did damage to Black journalists and to Black America. The way that interview was executed was not the opportunity for our membership that it was for him as a candidate. “
When asked about the decision not to invite the president, Dion Rebouin, also seeking the NABJ’s top post, said, “It makes sense, the
virtually, I think it still would have been a member benefit and something that should have been allowed in such a hugely consequential election.”
When asked for comment from the White House, Harrison Fields, principal deputy press secretary said, “The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is doing a disservice to its audience by engaging in petty
The NAACP has already announced it will not invite Trump to its Charlotte, North Carolina, Convention this week.
The National Urban League is also not interested in having Trump appear at its convention in Cleveland next
infamously failed to fully comprehend the complexities of race in America and how they apply to then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump controversially stated that Harris had “all of a sudden turned Black.“
Errin Haines, who is one of several candidates challenging Lemon for the top seat at the NABJ, was asked if President Trump did any damage as a
way this administration has operated and the way it has dealt with Black journalists and Black people overall.”
“And also,” said Haines, “I lament that Vice President Harris, as the Democratic nominee, was not allowed to address our membership in the same week during our convention, even though she would have had to participate
and unprofessional antics, intent on making itself more relevant rather than prioritizing informed, balanced, and objective reporting, Black Americans rejected this level of bias and the Democrat talking points promoted by the NABJ, as demonstrated by the significant support for President Trump among Black voters.”
President Bill Clinton, who accepted their invitation and attended a convention.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, moderated by from left, ABC’s Rachel Scott, Semafor’s Nadia Goba and FOX News’ Harris Faulkner, speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Chicago. Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
Panelists, recruiters and attendees, network and discuss changes in the industry among other media professionals at the Hilton Chicago, Thursday, August 1, 2024, at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. Photo: Cheyanne Mumphrey/AP
Congressional Black Caucus challenges Target on diversity as retailer’s sales and foot traffic decline
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPress USA
Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continue to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.
“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values
without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”
Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting and walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of
the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”
A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the
more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.
Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”
Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong speaks during a press conference outside of Target headquarters in downtown Minneapolis on Jan. 30, 2025 calling for a boycott of the retailer. Photo: KingDemetrius Pendleton/ListenMedia USA Livestream Screengrab
convicted on at least one count of sex trafficking due to a surveillance video showing Combs kicking and dragging Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in March 2016 — an incident that the singer, who is best known for the 2006 hit “Me & U,” said occurred after she tried to flee a freak-off.
“That video showed not only did he assault Cassie, but he was also dragging her back to wherever she was running from,” Tewolde said. “So, she’s leaving that freak-off, and he pulled her back, and what the prosecution argued in their closing argument is, ‘Listen, we’re not saying that every single encounter that they had with these [sex workers] wasn’t voluntary. We’re saying here are a couple where they weren’t, and if you find that she was coerced on at least one occasion, then that is guilty on sex trafficking.’”
That the jury did not believe Ventura was ever forced into a freak-off shocked Tewolde. She pointed out how Ventura’s mother testified that she wired $20,000 to Diddy to keep him quiet after he threatened to release footage of the freak-offs to the public. “All that evidence, and I just can’t believe that they didn’t find one instance where she was trafficked,” she said.
Tewolde can’t help but to feel for Cassie and a woman identified only as “Jane” who testified that Combs forced her to participate in freak-offs as well. Speaking up about their experiences was “the hardest thing for them to do,” Tewolde said. “Cassie putting all of that out there — oh, my God, it’s going to be in articles and transcripts forever, and
to still be rejected, is a lot to endure.”
Areva Martin, a civil rights attorney and legal commentator, said the verdict and the public reaction to it indicates that the public’s awareness of sex trafficking may need to be refined. All too often, people envision a sex-trafficked woman as one who was abducted from her small town and forced to have sex with strangers, Martin said. But sex trafficking doesn’t always look like that.
“This was an 11-year relationship with Cassie and a three-year relationship with Jane,” she said. “So much about this case doesn’t follow conventional
norms. I think lawyers can disagree about whether Combs was overcharged or not, but clearly at the end of the day, the jurors had to weigh the facts, had to weigh the credibility of the witnesses, and the prosecution didn’t get conviction on all charges, but the headline coming out of this is Sean Combs is now a two-time felon.”
Martin believes there was persuasive evidence that Combs coerced Ventura and Jane into freak-offs but said that society has a hard time grasping that someone in a relationship can be coerced into sexual acts by a partner.
“I think the nuance of that perhaps was lost on this jury,” Martin said. “I believe there was ample evidence of times when both of these women felt coerced because of physical violence, felt coerced because of the threat of having sex tapes released of them, coerced in the case of Jane, in particular, because of having financial resources withdrawn or withheld, but the jurors ultimately didn’t see that level of coercion.”
AM I OKAY TO DRIVE? BUZZED DRIVING
IS DRUNK DRIVING
Black Women
Black Women Cont’d on Pg. 8
Cassie Ventura wipes tears from her eye while testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. Photo: Elizabeth Williams via AP
As a civil rights lawyer with more than two decades of experience, Martin said that she knows how painful it is for women to come forward about sexual violence. She said it’s commonplace for women to be maligned or vilified for speaking up about such experiences and that is particularly true for women of color.
“Women of color have been marginalized in our criminal justice system and are often made out to be liars, gold diggers and painted with racist and misogynistic stereotypes,”
fighting and speaking up and for allies to keep supporting them when they do come forward. “But I can completely understand why victims, particularly Black victims of sexual assault and sexual violence, feel deflated by this outcome,” she said.
Asked if the makeup of the jury, which included eight men and four women, influenced the verdict, Martin and Tewolde said that wasn’t immediately clear. But Martin said that misogyny and patriarchy are typically factors in these cases. The fact that the prosecution team was made up exclusively of White women could have also played a role
Martin said. “I just hope that victims don’t see this case as a complete loss. Again, there are two felony convictions. It does send a message that the judge has denied him bail. I think that is a pretty good indicator that this judge is not likely to just give him time served and let him go on his merry way.”
She urged survivors to keep
in the jury’s decision, Martin said.
Tewolde argued that the gender imbalance on the jury may not have affected the outcome, pointing out research revealing that women jurors tend to be harder on other women during trials. This gender bias comes, in part, from the idea that women in situations like Ventura’s
have a choice, Neal-Barnett said.
“Who among us has not loved badly?” she asked. But people continue to question why victims remain in abusive relationships. However, if someone is threatening to harm a person’s loved ones or release explicit videos of them, it’s a powerful deterrent to keep them from leaving, Neal-Barnett contends. “It’s complicated, and we don’t like complications,” she said. Instead, people victim-blame by insisting they would never tolerate abuse in their own lives, whether or not they’re privy to all the facts about a victim’s circumstances.
She said the images outside the courthouse of jubilant Diddy fans dousing themselves with baby oil “rub salt into the wounds” that survivors are reliving. She encouraged survivors to avoid social media and self-isolation. Rather, they should find safe spaces where they can express themselves and be heard. Talk to a therapist, contact a support group or dial a helpline.
“Your feelings are valid because, as women of color, not only does [the verdict] underscore that we are not believed, it makes us feel abandoned again, as if there’s no one there to stand up for us, to protect us,” Neal-Barnett said.
Jamilah Lemieux, a writer, cultural critic and commentator who appeared in the 2019 docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” about the R&B singer’s sexual misconduct involving underage girls, said that the verdict has left her feeling “demoralized” and “disappointed,” but she hasn’t lost all optimism.
“I’m still hopeful that Diddy may serve substantial time because he could be sentenced to up to 20 years,” she said. “But I think a lot of us really wanted justice for Cassie, in
particular, and for the other women over the years that have reportedly been harmed by Diddy. We wanted to see him seriously punished.”
She struggles with the idea that the jury did not view Combs’ conduct toward Ventura as criminal. As for those individuals who are rejoicing that the Bad Boy Records founder was cleared of the most serious charges against him, Lemieux said some members of the Black community have unhealthy parasocial relationships with celebrity men.
“There’s an attachment that we have to successful heterosexual Black men, and we project a lot onto them,” she said. “We see their success as our own success, and we become invested in a way where we’re not always able to hold them accountable. This was the case for so many years with R. Kelly that there had to be such a damning amount of evidence and a six-hour miniseries before his victims were taken seriously.”
Lemieux suspects that Combs’ days in the spotlight are now behind him. Hip-hop, she said, was overdue for a reckoning regarding the abuse of women, the history of which she covered last year in Vanity Fair. This trial, she said, should not mark the end of accountability for men in the genre but the beginning of it. And, no matter how he’s sentenced, Combs will not be able to move on from the violence and depravity he’s now associated with because of the trial.
“He may have escaped the biggest charges, but I do think he’s largely done,” Lemieux said. “I don’t think Diddy rebounds from people seeing him batter Cassie the way he did. That’s a stain on him that he won’t be able to remove. I think the world has largely moved past Diddy.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs looks on as defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland cross examines Dawn Richard during Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 19, 2025, in New York.
Photo: Elizabeth Williams via AP
Majority of US adults support religious chaplains in public schools, new poll shows
By Holly Meyer and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few U.S. adults support allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools, but a majority favors allowing religious chaplains to provide support services for public school students, a new poll finds.
The survey from The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows the complexity of Americans’ attitudes toward religious expression in schools, which varies depending on the kind of expression and sometimes crosses partisan lines.
The findings also highlight tension points in the country’s long-standing debate over the role of religion in public schools, which continues to drive legislation and legal action. Recent examples include a lawsuit against a new Arkansas measure that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, a push by lawmakers in multiple states to allow religious chaplains to serve in student support roles in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision that blocked plans for a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
On some issues like teacher-led prayer, white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants — who traditionally find themselves on opposite sides of the political aisle — are both largely supportive, dividing them from other religious groups. White evangelical Protestants are more likely than many other religious groups to say religion has “too little” influence on what children are taught in public schools.
Chaplains in schools are popular, but not teacher prayer
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say that religious chaplains should be allowed to provide support services for students in public schools, but most do not think teacherled prayer or a mandatory period during school hours for private prayer should be allowed in public schools.
Texas became the first state to allow chaplains, in 2023. After that, lawmakers in several states considered similar bills. It’s illustrative of an ongoing conservative push to bring more religion into the classroom, which advocates of church-state
separation are countering.
Sally Hacker, 61, a Republican and nondenominational Christian from Michigan, supports having chaplains in schools. They could help students use the Bible as a moral guide, she said.
“If they have problems, these students could go and talk to these preachers and these chaplains, and maybe they could help them figure out a way to get out of those problems,” Hacker said.
School chaplains are only somewhat divisive among religious Americans, although they’re still opposed by a majority of nones, the term for atheists, agnostics and those with no religion in particular. But white evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants stand apart from Catholics, white mainline Protestants and nones in their support for teacher prayer and mandatory prayer periods in public schools.
For public schoolteacher Cameron Thompson, 47, of Ohio, teacher-led prayer is not OK if it’s part of classroom instruction, but he doesn’t see an issue if teachers choose to lead students in prayer as part of an extracurricular activity, like a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event.
“As an optional activity, I feel like it is something that, yeah, it should be allowed for sure,” said Thompson, a Republican and a Lutheran.
The questions exposed fault lines among partisans on both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats are firmly opposed to teacher-led prayer and mandatory school prayer periods but divided on chaplain support services in public schools, while Republicans are firmly in favor of chaplain support services and teacher-led prayer but divided on a mandatory school prayer period.
Public school psychologist Gary Leu, 64, of Utah, believes adding chaplains is misguided.
Leu, a Democrat, questions the motives behind it, wondering if chaplain programs are more about giving religious watchdogs access to schools or have some other agenda. He also is concerned about what, if any, professional standards and ethics the chaplains would be held to.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to
accomplish that isn’t already being accomplished,” said Leu, who is not affiliated with a particular religion but has a background in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Opposition to tax-funded religious charter schools, but more openness to vouchers
Americans are more likely to oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools than to favor this. About 4 in 10 are opposed, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about one-third are neither in favor nor opposed.
In general, U.S. adults are more divided on tax-funded vouchers that help parents pay for tuition for their children to attend private or religious schools of their choice instead of public schools. Similar shares oppose and favor this; about one-quarter are neutral.
In May, the Supreme Court’s tie decision effectively ended what would have been the nation’s first religious charter school, but it left the issue unresolved nationally.
There isn’t majority support for allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools among any of the major religious groups analyzed, although about 4 in 10 white evangelical Protestants are in favor, compared with about 3 in 10 Catholics and Black Protestants and about 2 in 10 white mainline Protestants. Substantial shares of all of these groups neither favor nor oppose this idea. Most nones oppose allowing religious schools to become tax-funded public charter schools.
Jess Tichenor, 39, of Oregon, is among the nones who strongly oppose taxfunded religious charter schools as she is wary of favoritism for Christianity.
“In an ideal situation, the publicly funded schools would be a safe place for any religion to be recognized or even practiced,” said Tichenor, who practices Buddhism. She feels similarly about school vouchers.
Against the backdrop of favorable decisions by the conservative-majority Supreme Court, several states have expanded school voucher programs in recent years.
Supporters say these programs help
families make the best choice for their children’s education. At the Republican National Convention, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it the “civil rights issue of our time.” Tennessee expanded its school voucher program in February.
Besides discrimination concerns and church-state issues, opponents worry that school vouchers take money from public schools, which serve most U.S. students, and benefit higher-income families that already use private schools.
“If they’re going to end up sending their kids to a special private school, they need to fund that out of their own pocket,” said Hacker, the nondenominational Christian from Michigan.
Other views on religion and public schools
__ About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say religion has “too much” influence on what children are taught in public school. About twothirds of white evangelical Protestants say religion has “too little” influence.
__ About half of Americans favor requiring public schools to provide parents with lists of books that are available to students, while about one-third neither favor nor oppose this and 14% are opposed.
__ Nearly half, 45%, of U.S. adults oppose religious exemptions for childhood vaccines that are required for students attending public schools, while roughly one-quarter are in favor and about 3 in 10 are neutral.
__ Most adults say freedom of religion and church-state separation are “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation, but 81% say religious freedom is important, compared with 64% who say this about separation of church and state.
Meyer reported from Nashville, Tenn.
A granite Ten Commandments monument stands on the ground of the Texas Capitol, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Photo: Eric Gay/AP
Art & Entertainment
Apple Music marks 10 years with new studio for artists, fans and the future of sound
By Jonathan Landrum Jr. Associated Press
CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — As Apple Music turns 10 this year, the popular streaming service is celebrating a major power move: Apple Music Studios.
The new studio, set to open in mid August, is a three-story, 15,000-squarefoot creative playground in the Los Angeles area to help artists dream big and connect deeper with fans. There are two cutting-edge radio studios inside primed for spatial audio, live interviews, off-the-cuff convos and surprise performances.
Just steps away sits a massive 4,000-square-foot soundstage that’s ready to host everything from live sets, fan events and film-style shoots. The new studio is located in Culver City, which is home to other major entertainment companies like Sony Music, Amazon MGM and Amazon Music.
The building housing the space was designed by architect Eric Owen Moss, who is known for creating some of the area’s most distinctive and unconventional structures.
For Apple Music, it’s a bold move toward next era of music, sound and storytelling.
“It’s the future of listening and enjoying music,” said Zane Lowe, global creative director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1. He and Ebro Darden will kick off a weeklong celebration of Apple Music’s 10th anniversary with a show on Monday focusing on the birth of Apple Music Radio.
“We’re trying to create as many opportunities as possible to surprise and delight people with as much music across all different communities and parts of the world and the sonic landscape,” Lowe continued. “We can create some moments that will excite fans and maybe make them stop looking or listening to other stuff for a minute. This will be a moment for them.”
Apple’s new studio will serve as the flagship for a global network of creative hubs, with additional locations coming soon to New York and London. They’ll join Apple Music’s expanding lineup of production spaces already in cities like Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and Nashville.
The vision is for the new studio
to become a creative sanctuary that fosters a deeper connections with artists and creators.
The studio will feature a photo and social media lab, an edit suite and a green room to support real-time content creation. Private isolation booths will offer space for songwriting, podcasting and intimate one-on-one interviews.
Throughout the corridors, curated images and artwork will
celebrate iconic moments from Apple Music’s past and present.
“We wanna make sure we create a platform for artists and creators of all kinds, whether you’re a photographer, a filmmaker, songwriter, singer or guitarist,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “We want to create a space where we can record some extra content that gives people context.”
The Apple logo is displayed at an Apple store, Jan. 3, 2019. Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP File
