African American Interests

Colin Kaepernick isn't just an athlete with a platform -- "he's the spokesperson for the black culture" ... so says rapper Trinidad James. 

After Kaepernick reached out to Nike with concerns about their Betsy Ross Flag shoe, Trinidad says the culture immediately got behind Colin because they trust him as a leader. 

Trinidad -- the guy behind the hit "All Gold Everything" -- essentially explains why he believes Kaepernick's activism comes from a good place ... and that's why so many people are on board with his movement. 

As we previously reported, Nike felt Kap had a point with his objection to the Betsy Ross shoe (he claimed the 13-star flag has been co-opted by white nationalist groups) and pulled the kicks from stores. 

Several politicians have now gotten involved -- with people like Ted Cruz calling for a Nike boycott.

Capitol Hill is buzzing -- almost literally -- for the first Congressional hearing on slavery reparations in a decade ... because a huge crowd is waiting to see Danny Glover and Sen. Cory Booker testify.

The loud scene unfolded Wednesday morning in the halls of Congress, where a seemingly endless throng assembled to show support for an issue that's gained a huge amount of traction this year.

Ya gotta see the video ... wannabe spectators packed into a tiny hallway outside the hearing -- an obvious illustration of just how monumental the hearing is for millions of Americans.

Booker, one of several Democratic presidential hopefuls expressing support for some form of reparations, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties ... and Glover was among the other speakers.

H.R. 40 calls for a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans, plus a formal apology from the U.S. government for human rights violations and "crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants."

Common says NBA teams are RIGHT for moving away from the term "owner" -- telling TMZ Sports the title "never sat right with me."

We broke the story ... multiple NBA teams -- and even the NBA league office -- have replaced the title with words like "Managing Partner" and "Chairman" over feelings that "owner" is racially insensitive in a league where the majority of the players are black.

So, when we saw Common at Matsuhisa in L.A. on Thursday, we asked if he felt the change is a good thing ... or an unnecessary overreaction?

"I'm so pleased," Common told us ... "The term owner -- it didn't sit right with me."

"The history of what we have and we are as black people in this country ... it's just not really being considerate of the history."

Common says he was impressed with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver -- who referred to one team's majority investor as "Governor" instead of "owner."

He's also giving credit to Draymond Green for speaking out about the issue on LeBron's show "The Shop" in late 2018 ... when he explained why the term "owner" should go the way of the Dodo.

Al Sharpton says NBA teams are 100% right to scrap the "owner" title ... saying the term is historically insensitive and disrespectful to a large number of players and should be gone.

TMZ Sports reported that multiple NBA teams have gone away from calling their majority stakeholders "owners" because some believe the term has a negative connotation.

We got Sharpton in ATL, and he not only tells us he agrees with the move but gives us a history lesson on why the rest of the league should follow suit.

"Many of the NBA players are descendants of people that were enslaved. When we hear the term owner, it's a much different connotation than other people."

There are a lot of people who think the league is being too "woke," saying the word is used solely to describe the person in charge, and the NBA is nitpicking.

Sharpton says those people are wrong, and any league that's 75% black should do it's best to care about what its employees think.

Michael Blackson is chilling on cloud nine -- in a real comfy robe too -- because Eddie Murphy, one of his childhood icons, is interested in putting him in the "Coming to America" sequel.

Michael joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about the big news Eddie broke to us ... that he's considering casting Blackson because he's African -- straight outta Ghana -- and because he's funny.

MB says just having Eddie mention him as a potential actor in the movie is a dream come true. Having a legendary comedian publicly voice his approval is another huge feather in Michael's cap, and you can see the excitement he's feeling

However, there's one more important thing Blackson's waiting to see happen.

As you know ... Eddie dropped Michael's name unsolicited when we asked him if he was open to casting real African actors for the movie, an idea Akon first mentioned to us.

Michael's seen the clip of Eddie, and tells us it would be an incredible coincidence if he lands the role ... especially after his childhood experiences with the OG "Coming to America."

It's kinda funny ... Michael tells us why Eddie's character caused problems for him when he was growing up in New Jersey, and he's got an idea for how they can even the score.

Eddie Murphy is totally down for casting real Africans in his "Coming to America" sequel ... and it sounds like he's got one very funny one in mind.

We got Eddie as he was leaving E Baldi Tuesday in Bev Hills, and asked him about the highly anticipated movie ... which started pre-production last month. Outside of Eddie, Arsenio Hall and Shari Headley (Lisa McDowell) ... little is known about who's co-starring in the film.

Akon, who grew up in Senegal, recently told us Eddie should be hiring real deal African actors for the flick, and we brought that suggestion right to the man himself. Good news for Africans, and GREAT news for Michael Blackson -- Eddie's interested!!!

Unsolicited, Ed dropped the comedian's name, telling us ... "There's one funny African. That Michael Blackson." Pretty sure there are more than one, but we get the point.

Eddie didn't let on whether Michael -- who's from Ghana -- is a done deal for the cast, but it definitely sounds like he's interested.

We called Blackson, and he had no idea. As he put it, "That would be life changing!!! Everyone in the world is gonna watch that movie."

Kofi Kingston becoming the 1st African-born WWE champ has inspired a generation of young black wrestlers to kick ass ... WWE legend Mark Henry tells TMZ Sports.

We talked to the WWE Hall of Famer -- who was promoting his "Busted Open" show where he's ranking the greatest black wrestlers EVER (hint: The Rock ain't #1) -- about Kingston's impact on wrestling, and what the belt actually means ... aside from looking really cool.

Remember, Kingston beat Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 ... becoming only the 2nd black WWE champion (and the 1st African-born champ.)

"15 years from now there might be another 2 or 3 black wrestlers that come into the industry, and they were inspired by Kofi Kingston," Henry says.

"It's a powerful thing to have representation, and it's also a powerful thing to be able to see somebody that looks like you, and have them tell you first hand the struggle and what it took for them to get there."

We also asked Mark about diversity in the WWE ... and whether black wrestlers are fairly represented across the roster of Superstars.

Mark says there's NO problem ... in fact, he's seen a massive improvement over his decades in the WWE.

"When I came into wrestling there were 3 people, 3 black people in the company. There is growth. There is a future for the African-American in pro wrestling, and ya know, I want to be a part of that as much as I can."

John Amos might not work with Eddie Murphy again ... but he's still holding out hope he can reprise his role as Prince Akeem's boss in the upcoming film, "Coming 2 America."

Sources close to John, who played Cleo McDowell in the original film, tell TMZ ... the veteran actor still hasn't been asked to bring the character back, but as he told us a few months ago, he'll jump at the opportunity if it comes his way.

Paramount reached out to his team back in February, but the movie studio has since gone radio silent. Wardrobe fittings for the film are already underway, which signals the storyline and the script could be nearing completion.

Translation ... the tea leaves don't look good.

When we talked with John earlier this year, he told us he was craving the chance to play Mr. McDowell again ... and he had tons of ideas for the new movie.

Akon just told us he hopes Eddie casts real Africans in the sequel -- but John's holding out hope at least one more African-American actor makes the cut.

We are too!!!