Real - Blaqly https://blaqly.com Latest Black News and Gossips Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:36:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Did The Outside World Become Real? The Ambiguous Ending Of Netflix’s ‘Brick’ Decoded – Blavity https://blaqly.com/sub/did-the-outside-world-become-real-the-ambiguous-ending-of-netflixs-brick-decoded-blavity/ https://blaqly.com/sub/did-the-outside-world-become-real-the-ambiguous-ending-of-netflixs-brick-decoded-blavity/#respond Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:36:09 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/did-the-outside-world-become-real-the-ambiguous-ending-of-netflixs-brick-decoded-blavity/ Netflix’s Brick (2025) is a tense, cerebral addition to the platform’s growing catalog of European thrillers. This new movie is directed by ...

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Netflix’s Brick (2025) is a tense, cerebral addition to the platform’s growing catalog of European thrillers. This new movie is directed by Philip Koch and stars Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Fee. Brick is a psychological puzzle box that traps its characters, both literally and emotionally, within the confines of their Hamburg apartment. What seemingly begins as a domestic drama between a grieving couple soon mutates into a slow-burning survival mystery. This movie plays with themes of isolation, communal trust and technological advancement.

The movie was released on July 10, 2025 and has gained mixed reviews. Some have praised its eerie premise, while others find the German language film to be a bit off-kilter. For movie lovers interested in understanding what happens on-screen, here’s our Brick movie ending explained.

What is the plot of ‘Brick’ (2025)?

The plot of Brick centers around a couple, Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee), who are on the verge of a breakup. They’re reeling from the aftermath of a miscarriage, which leads Olivia to need a change in scenery. She wants to change her life and move to Paris, but Tim hesitates. The two grapple with their own grief very differently, which seemingly is destroying their relationship. In an argument, Olivia gathers her things and attempts to storm out of their apartment. She plans to move to Paris without him. But to their surprise, they can’t even get out. The windows and doors of their apartment are encased in an impenetrable wall of black bricks. These bricks aren’t made up of ordinary materials either. Instead, they are magnetic, nanotech-based barriers that repel forces used against them. 

As they attempt to drill their way out (through the floor), they encounter other trapped tenants. And the mix of people they encounter makes the situation much more interesting. One by one, the couple makes their way to different apartments and realizes that everyone is in the same predicament. They first meet a couple, Ana and Marvin (Salber Lee Williams and Frederick Lau, respectively), who are drug addicted Airbnb guests in an abusive relationship. Then they get to the next apartment and meet Mr. Oswalt and his granddaughter (Axel Werner and Sira-Anna Faal). After teaming up with this weary pair, they smash into another apartment, where they meet a man named Yuri (Murathan Muslu). All tenants discuss what could have caused the bricks to appear, but no one knows the full situation. 

Why do the characters keep dying?  

Tension justifiably rises quickly as each attempted escape ends in a tragedy or death for the tenants. But there are many reasons why people keep dying in the movie Brick. For one, paranoid and conspiracy theory believing characters like Yuri keep undermining escape plans. Then there were accidental deaths, like how Marvin shoots at the brick wall out of frustration, and the bullet ricochets and fatally hits Mr. Oswalt. And the mystery about the deaths in the building deepens when they learn that one of the tenants, Anton, worked at the same company that developed the bricks. Yet they never got to talk to him because, as Yuri claims, he had a weak heart and was so worried about the bricks that he died from a heart attack. 

Upon attempting to get to the basement of the apartment, they finally make it to their landlord’s apartment on ground level. They find him dead, in a pool of blood, with his hands seemingly chopped off. This death is one of the most perplexing, but turns out to be connected to the bricks they so desperately want to escape from. 

How does the new Netflix original end?

When they investigate his home, they discover that Mr. Friedman has a chilling secret of his own. He has a surveillance room full of monitors watching their every move. Despite the creepy factor of this revelation, they all attempt to use this new resource to help themselves escape. They use past surveillance recordings to see if Yuri left behind anything helpful that may help them escape. And they do partially find something helpful. Video of Anton reveals that he did something with his phone and was temporarily able to open the wall. But as the video continued, they found out how he really died. Yuri, shaken by his conspiracy about what may wait for them outside of their apartments, choked him to death before he could escape the bricks. 

So, once they realize what he has done, they rush back and realize he has killed Mr. Oswalt’s granddaughter. Then, when they search Anton’s notes, the ones that Yuri hadn’t destroyed yet, they discover that the bricks were intended as a next-generation defense technology meant to isolate and contain dangerous zones in times of crisis. And according to Anton’s theory, a fire across town led them all to malfunction. They restrain him as Tim (who works as a game programmer), attempts to recreate the program Anton used to escape temporarily. 

Do any of the couples in ‘Brick’ escape?

Finally, the programming begins to work, and the bricks react to the phone by dissolving into an opaque material. Seeing her way out of the nightmare, Ana attempts to put her arm through it, but it gets stuck. Then, it starts to solidify again, with her whole torso already submerged. When she attempts to pull herself out, she is split into two and dies immediately. This brutal ending shows an example of what most likely happened to Mr. Friedman’s hands before the tenants got to him. Marvin, obviously upset about the loss of his partner, kills Yuri and then himself, which leaves just Tim and Olivia alive. 

But before their final attempt at escape, they clear the air from their near breakup. This tender moment reveals that Olivia felt emotionally abandoned by Tim. At the same time, he closed himself off to stay strong for her during the tragedy. After they hash out their relationship problems, they return to action. The two rewatch the surveillance video to correct any mistakes in their programming and are prepared to try again. Then suddenly Yuri comes out of nowhere and attacks them (surprise, he’s still alive). A fight ensues, and Tim tells Olivia to use the phone and leave him, but she doesn’t. She instead smashed Yuri in the head with a sledgehammer, and the couple escaped through the basement’s bomb shelter tunnel. 

Once they reach the outside world, they are met with a haunting view of the place they call home. The buildings in the city are covered with them, and the streets are abandoned. So, the strange occurrence is widespread. And the big question about the strange black bricks is seemingly answered, but the clarity about things only comes in the movie’s last scene. To escape the ghost city, they steal a car. Then they hear over the crackling radio that the whole thing malfunctioned. The nanotech security system throughout the city went haywire due to a lab fire, which is a defensive security feature gone wrong. Ultimately, the couple survived the crazy predicament, but whether anyone else remains alive is a mystery. 

Is ‘Brick’ worth watching?

Whether Brick is worth watching depends on what viewers attempt to get out of the experience. If you’re drawn to atmospheric yet minimalistic thrillers, Brick will likely keep you hooked. The film’s central performances are compelling and the tension is almost tangible. But the movie isn’t without its flaws. Some critics, including Decider, cite that supporting characters feel underdeveloped, so they simply don’t enrich the plot much. But the platform also found the ambiguous ending and layered symbolism hauntingly effective. So, if a claustrophobic thriller with an unsettling undertone is something you’re in the mood for, Brick is the right thing to watch.
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Inside Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival And Her Fight For Real Representation – Blavity https://blaqly.com/sub/inside-geena-davis-bentonville-film-festival-and-her-fight-for-real-representation-blavity/ https://blaqly.com/sub/inside-geena-davis-bentonville-film-festival-and-her-fight-for-real-representation-blavity/#respond Tue, 15 Jul 2025 18:16:02 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/inside-geena-davis-bentonville-film-festival-and-her-fight-for-real-representation-blavity/ When Geena Davis launched the Bentonville Film Festival 11 years ago, it was a bold leap into uncharted territory. A festival in ...

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When Geena Davis launched the Bentonville Film Festival 11 years ago, it was a bold leap into uncharted territory. A festival in a town with no movie theaters? It sounded wild. But for Davis, it was about more than logistics — it was about shifting culture.

“My hope is that this festival can impact how commercial films are made. They can be created by people with voices that we typically don’t hear from and populated by characters that we typically don’t see, and broaden our perspectives,” Davis said in a recent interview with Blavity. “We already know that films with very diverse casts make more money and are incredibly popular, and the more diverse it is, the better off they are. We’re not [the industry] acting on that as much as we can, so we’re really trying to show through what we show here at the festival that this is an important thing to think about when you’re making something.”

From its earliest days, Bentonville has prioritized underrepresented storytellers, especially those behind the camera.

“Our directors are the most important people to us,” Davis said. “We really are about celebrating directors of tremendous diversity. We are so proud of them. Their stories are going to be unique, and they’re going to have a unique cast to expand on their story, and that is what we want to celebrate — broadening our perspective and reaching a bigger audience.”

Despite pushback against DEI initiatives in the industry, Davis stays focused on the long-term goal.

“It’s the way it’s gonna go. Whatever hiccups we are having, this is the way it is gonna go and needs to go,” she said. “We need to have people represented who are citizens of the world and who are all equally valuable. We cannot have this myopic view of what society should be and what should be presented to us as the way to be. We have to embrace what we have going on, and I think we will continue with that.”

She also emphasized the importance of institutions and educators in shaping the future.

Al Roker and Geena Davis arrive at the opening reception of the 11th Annual Bentonville Film Festival at Blake Street House on June 16, 2025 in Bentonville, Arkansas. | Photo by Jason Davis/Getty Images for Bentonville Film Festival

“We have to keep up the momentum, and part of it is going to be in film schools,” Davis explained. “The last studies I read of people who are studying directing, 75% of first-time hires are males and 25% are women, whereas film schools are 50/50 men and women. They’re still finding a lot of unconscious bias in professors and the way courses are taught. There is so much work to do in so many areas to make change, but we have to do it and we will.”

And while Bentonville has become a national platform for inclusive storytelling, it’s the local community that’s meant the most to her.

“I have been thrilled over these eleven years with the local support we get here. It’s just amazing,” she said. “From the very first festival, we launched a movie festival in a town that had no movie theaters. We had to bring in these tractor-trailers that turned into movie theaters. We had to put screens in the high schools, too. The local community turned out, and they are so supportive and continue to be, and our audience just grows and grows. We have people coming in from all over. To have this local support and people that care about this festival, it’s thrilling to have this kind of support.”

Her dream for the future? Festivals like Bentonville become benchmarks for creative inclusivity.

“My secret dream about this festival is that eventually, when people are making films, they will make them more diverse to qualify for festivals like Bentonville.”

A legacy of impact

Davis’ legacy of inclusive storytelling goes beyond Bentonville. Her role in A League of Their Own continues to inspire new generations, and when Prime Video’s series adaptation dropped, it sparked a new wave of love.

“I didn’t know I was ever going to be in movies that last over 30 years and really still speak to people,” she said. “It has been thrilling to be a part of movies like that. I have women and girls who tell me they play sports because of that movie. It’s amazing people still recognize me, and it’s really wonderful.”

Davis said the series expanded on themes the original couldn’t fully explore. “The series expanded on ideas about the LGBTQ community and women of color not being able to play. They spoke to Penny Marshall before the series was written and were able to expand on things she couldn’t in just one movie, and really went there, which was a tremendous accomplishment.”

As for fans still mourning the show’s early cancellation, Davis had a cheeky response: “I already have the idea for a sequel. It’s gonna be called Little League of Their Own.”

What’s next: ‘The Boroughs’ on Netflix

Up next, Davis is headed to Netflix with The Boroughs, a new series from the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things).

“It’s about a fancy retirement community, and something creepy and dangerous starts happening,” she said. “My character is a former manager for rock bands, but fell on hard times and moved in with her mom in the retirement community. She is really cool, and I get to have a young boyfriend. It’s fun and the Duffer brothers are so great.”

She’s also a part of an incredibly stacked cast.

“Great, incredible cast. Alfre and I 40 years ago co-starred in a sitcom, so we have known each other for most of our professional lives,” she said. “Alfred Molina, Bill Pullman, and I had the best time. Such an incredible cast. We had the best time and can’t wait to see if we get to do more of it.”

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Brit Eady Officially Exits ‘The Real Housewives Of Atlanta’ After 1 Season, #RHOA Reveals Reunion Dress In Fiery Farewell Post–‘I Choose ME’ https://blaqly.com/sub/brit-eady-officially-exits-the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-after-1-season-rhoa-reveals-reunion-dress-in-fiery-farewell-post-i-choose-me/ https://blaqly.com/sub/brit-eady-officially-exits-the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-after-1-season-rhoa-reveals-reunion-dress-in-fiery-farewell-post-i-choose-me/#respond Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:39:21 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/brit-eady-officially-exits-the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-after-1-season-rhoa-reveals-reunion-dress-in-fiery-farewell-post-i-choose-me/ Bravo-suing Brit Eady is officially parting ways with The Real Housewives of Atlanta after her first and only season, but not before ...

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Bravo-suing Brit Eady is officially parting ways with The Real Housewives of Atlanta after her first and only season, but not before fully flaunting the dress she planned to wear at the #RHOAReunion. “NO BRIT, NO REUNION,” she captioned a video of her gold-gilded gown.

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty

On July 14, the 37-year-old TV personality and insurance agent announced via Instagram that she would be leaving the show for good and thanked fans for their support throughout the ups and downs of Season 16. 

“I want to thank everyone who supported me, my friends, my followers, my amazing team, and everyone who defended my name,” the star captioned a slideshow that captured her wearing a stunning gold and silver shimmering gown by Vietnam-based designer Nguyễn Tiến Truyển, presumably what she would have worn had she attended the reunion on July 13.

Eady said she decided to walk away from the show to protect her “peace over destroying” her “mental health.” 

She continued:

“It’s very easy to say what I should have done, when most have not walked a day in my shoes,” she continued. “I choose ME, and a lot of ppl can’t say they choose themselves.” 

How did we get here?

Eady endured a lot after her extreme fallout with former #RHOA star Kenya Moore. In June 2024, during the opening of her hair spa, Moore displayed a large poster featuring a sexually explicit image of a woman performing oral sex, claiming it was Eady. The shocking display, which occurred amid a feud between the two, led many to believe the woman in the image was Eady, an allegation she has firmly denied. As a result, Eady chose not to attend the season reunion. Moore was suspended and ultimately exited the series following an internal investigation. 

As previously reported, in the aftermath, Eady filed a $20 million lawsuit against Bravo, NBCUniversal, and production companies True Original and Endemol Shine North America, accusing them of defamation and emotional harm. The lawsuit further alleges that Eady was never shown the photo before the episode’s airing, despite asking repeatedly.

In her post shared Monday, Eady revealed that she was still “healing” from the drama that she experienced on the show. 

“I still have a lot of healing left to do, but you can’t heal in the same place that made you sick.” She added, “I don’t owe anyone closure, I only owe myself to do what’s best for me. My journey here is done.”

To show off a bit, Eady flaunted her stunning gown once more in a follow-up post, with a caption that read, “NO BRIT. NO REUNION.”

Do you think Brit Eady made the right decision by leaving RHOA? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.

The post Brit Eady Officially Exits ‘The Real Housewives Of Atlanta’ After 1 Season, #RHOA Reveals Reunion Dress In Fiery Farewell Post–‘I Choose ME’ appeared first on Bossip.



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‘Trainwreck: The Real Project X’ Reveals How One Teen’s Sweet 16 Turned Into A Viral Nightmare – Blavity https://blaqly.com/sub/trainwreck-the-real-project-x-reveals-how-one-teens-sweet-16-turned-into-a-viral-nightmare-blavity/ https://blaqly.com/sub/trainwreck-the-real-project-x-reveals-how-one-teens-sweet-16-turned-into-a-viral-nightmare-blavity/#respond Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:32:15 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/trainwreck-the-real-project-x-reveals-how-one-teens-sweet-16-turned-into-a-viral-nightmare-blavity/ Netflix’s Trainwreck docuseries is back, and this time, it’s spotlighting one of the most infamous teen parties in modern history: a real-life ...

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Netflix’s Trainwreck docuseries is back, and this time, it’s spotlighting one of the most infamous teen parties in modern history: a real-life Sweet 16 that quickly spiraled into the likes of 2012’s infamous party film, Project X. The recently released doc dives into the chaos of a small Facebook invite gone wildly viral, leading to a riotous night in the Dutch town of Haren. Directed by Alex Wood, Trainwreck: The Real Project X delves into the events through firsthand accounts, archival footage and interviews with key figures, including Weusthuis herself, who speaks publicly about the incident for the first time.

The documentary examines the influence of social media and pop culture on real-world actions, highlighting the blurred lines between online hype and tangible consequences. If you thought Project X was outrageous, this story is even more shocking – and it’s just one of several explosive Trainwreck installments coming to Netflix this month.

Who threw the Real Project X party?

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Mostly White HBCUs? Yep, They’re Real — And In West Virginia https://blaqly.com/sub/mostly-white-hbcus-yep-theyre-real-and-in-west-virginia/ https://blaqly.com/sub/mostly-white-hbcus-yep-theyre-real-and-in-west-virginia/#respond Fri, 11 Jul 2025 17:12:59 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/mostly-white-hbcus-yep-theyre-real-and-in-west-virginia/ Source: fotoguy22 / Getty Did y’all know there are at least two historically Black colleges in America (West Virginia to be specific) ...

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Source: fotoguy22 / Getty

Did y’all know there are at least two historically Black colleges in America (West Virginia to be specific) that are predominantly white?

Now, you probably read the above sentence and said to yourself: “Nah, that can’t be right. How are they HBCUs if their student body isn’t Black? What do you think the “B” stands for? It ain’t ‘bring on the white folks.’”

Well, apparently, for all the griping white people do about DEI, affirmative action, reverse discrimination and the very existence of Black institutions — all of which only exist because Black people have been historically excluded from so many institutions that white people had full access to—some Caucasian administrators don’t mind taking advantage of the minority designation when it suits them.

Also, it turns out that desegregation opened the door for white people to gentrify and take over Black spaces.

Let’s start with West Virginia’s Bluefield State University, a college that held on to its HBCU title and the federal funding that comes with it, despite being around 71% white, which, to be fair, is an improvement from around a decade ago, when it was 90% white.

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Here’s how NPR explained the college’s racial transition in 2013:

It opened in the late 19th century as the Bluefield Colored Institute, created to educate the children of black coal miners in segregated West Virginia. Although it still receives the federal funding that comes with its designation as a historically black institution, today Bluefield State College is 90 percent white. The road that separates those realities is as rocky as any story of racial transition in post-World War II America.

This part of West Virginia was coal country and still is — trains still haul coal along those tracks hugging the college’s southern edge. Many of the black folks who migrated to West Virginia to work in the coal mines sent their children to the Bluefield Colored Institute. By the 1920s, the school was a football power among black colleges and a stepping stone for much of the region’s black middle class.

In 1954, just a few years after Bluefield State earned full accreditation, the Supreme Court declared segregation illegal in Brown v. Board of Education, reshaping the landscape of America’s schooling. Suddenly, black students had more educational options to choose from, in theory anyway. And black colleges and universities like Bluefield State began having to compete with better-funded predominantly white schools for top black students.

At the same time, new technology was making mining jobs obsolete, and many black folks started leaving the state, heading North to go work in the factories. White veterans started coming back to West Virginia after fighting in Korea. And with the government footing their tuition costs through the G.I. Bill, the state’s inexpensive black schools — the other was West Virginia State University — started looking more and more attractive to white students.

“We had an out-migration of students of color because of Brown v. Board of Ed,” said Jim Nelson, a spokesman for the school, “at roughly the same time that we had an in-migration of largely Caucasian students wanting to use their G.I. Bill benefits. So that’s what, as much as anything, that’s what flipped the complexion of the school.”

But that’s not all that changed the racial tides at Bluefield; a change in leadership also served to make this HBCU a predominantly white institution (PWI).

Source: ablokhin

By the mid-1960s, Bluefield State was about half Black. In 1966, the state selected Wendell G. Hardway to serve as the college’s first white president. By 1968, Hardway had hired 23 new faculty members — all of whom were white. So, the faculty at Bluefield, which had been all-Black as recently as 1954, was, by 1967, only 30% Black. If that’s not a picture-perfect example of why Black people need to gatekeep Black spaces, I don’t know what is.

The situation is similar at West Virginia State University, which, according to its website, was “founded in 1891 as a Historically Black College” but has now “evolved to serve a population that is richly diverse in ethnicity, geography, residential/commuter, high school graduates and adult learners.”

Riiiight, so—let’s talk about that rich ethnic diversity right quick.

Currently, the student body at WVSU, which also continues to maintain its HBCU status, is 67.6% White and only 7.37% Black or African American. And the so-called diversity doesn’t lie in the other ethnic groups either, with mixed race students at 3.27%, Hispanic or Latino students at 2.17%, Asian students at 1.27%, American Indian or Alaska Native students at 0.174%, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders at 0.0868%.

Imagine a school calling itself an HBCU while only its white students even reach double-digit percentage points.

It’s not as if these schools are leading the HBCUs that are actually predominantly Black on an academic level. In fact, of the 107 designated HBCUs in the U.S., Bluefield State and West Virginia State are ranked at No. 38 and No. 42, respectively.

It’s worth mentioning that these aren’t the only HBCUs with growing white student bodies. For example, Lincoln University, an HBCU in Jefferson City, Missouri, is still predominantly Black at around 42%, but 40% of the students there are white.

Again, white conservatives have claimed for generations that the existence of Black colleges is inherently racist (also see Black History Month, BET, etc.), ignoring the fact that white people can and do attend Black colleges, and even receive minority scholarships to do so.

But what happens when we open the gates to our spaces and it results in us getting phased out? It’s almost as if what’s ours is theirs and what’s theirs is still theirs, or else it’s DEI.

Ironic, right?

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‘This Is How America Was Built’ — Dr. Alaysia Black Hackett On The Real Reason DEI Is Under Attack [Exclusive] https://blaqly.com/sub/this-is-how-america-was-built-dr-alaysia-black-hackett-on-the-real-reason-dei-is-under-attack-exclusive/ https://blaqly.com/sub/this-is-how-america-was-built-dr-alaysia-black-hackett-on-the-real-reason-dei-is-under-attack-exclusive/#respond Fri, 11 Jul 2025 16:08:51 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/this-is-how-america-was-built-dr-alaysia-black-hackett-on-the-real-reason-dei-is-under-attack-exclusive/ Source: unknown In the present political moment where diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are being openly challenged at the highest levels ...

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In the present political moment where diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are being openly challenged at the highest levels of government, Dr. Alaysia Black Hackett is offering something rare: clarity, context, and a path forward. With more than two decades in the trenches of cultural strategy and inclusive leadership, she has witnessed firsthand how the language around equity work shifts–even as the core issues persist. Her new book, The Diversity Illusion, cuts through the noise and provides the kind of unflinching analysis that both practitioners and skeptics alike need right now.

What’s Really Happening to DEI Work

“What we see happening is what I consider to be a rebranding of the work,” Dr. Hackett tells MadameNoire. “It is the exchange of acronyms or language used to describe the work that has been done for so many years.”

She isn’t new to this. Her career spans eras of “Multicultural Affairs,” “Urban Affairs,” and “Intercultural Affairs,” long before DEI entered the mainstream lexicon. Today, Dr. Hackett says, the backlash against DEI is less about a true ideological shift and more about optics. “Some corporations or organizations are definitely rolling back their DEIA initiatives. Others are rebranding it or removing it from sites so that they can continue the work but not necessarily be scrutinized.”

That scrutiny has escalated since the death of George Floyd, when companies rushed to signal allyship. “Everybody wanted to talk about diversity,” she recalls. “You saw it on their websites really loud. Some of those initiatives were not as in-depth; they were performative. And so it was easy to just roll back and say, ‘Oh, we’re not gonna do this anymore,’ because it never got to the structure of how the power is in those organizations.”

RELATED CONTENT: ​​Trump’s DEI Ban: A Setback Or A Secret Win? [Op-Ed]

Not Everyone’s Rolling Back—But Everyone’s Watching

Still, she warns against assuming every company is guilty of performative allyship. Without naming specific corporations, Dr. Hackett notes that public perception often misses the nuance. “I know for sure [an internationally recognized brand] hasn’t cut back,” she clarifies, referencing firsthand insights from colleagues still embedded in DEIA departments. Instead of blanket boycotts, she urges deeper inquiry: “Are they really rolling back, or are they rebranding? Are they expanding in a way that is not the same? It doesn’t look the same, but it actually has the same type of measurable outcomes?”

“I Am Exhausted:” The Toll on Black Women in DEIA

Source: andreswd

Those measurable outcomes matter, especially to Black women who often find themselves recruited for visibility but excluded from real influence. When asked about the exhaustion many Black women feel being the public face of inclusion efforts, Dr. Hackett doesn’t hesitate.

“The first thing as a Black woman who was in a position—I am exhausted,” she says candidly. “And so I definitely understand the sentiments of women and colleagues all over who’ve been doing this work tirelessly, most of the time without the necessary resources or staff.”

Despite the fatigue, she is not deterred.

“I know that this work… is resilient. There have been so many iterations of what this work has been called—civil rights, urban affairs, multicultural affairs—but the work continues because we have to.”

Even in exhaustion, Dr. Hackett sees a mandate: “We continue to advocate because we know that this is the moral and ethically right thing to do. And it’s okay to take a break, to take a breather, to do some self-care… but also know that this work is resilient and we are resilient. And so we have to continue.”

Who DEIA Really Serves

Part of what makes Dr. Hackett’s voice so powerful is her ability to reframe the conversation. Where others see DEI as a niche concern, she sees it as foundational to American life. “Right now, the narrative is DEIA equals Black people, Black communities, Black hire—and that’s not what it is in its totality.”

She goes on to name the groups included under the DEIA umbrella: “Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, Latino/Latinx individuals, veterans, youth, those with disabilities, rural communities, and people who are formerly incarcerated.”

She underscores this point with a real-world example: “Let’s think about the bipartisan infrastructure law. When we had COVID-19 and students were in their homes trying to do their schoolwork, we realized that rural communities…did not have access to internet. That is a marginalized community, and they are DEIA.”

For Dr. Hackett, almost everyone in America falls under the reach of DEIA principles, whether they realize it or not. That is exactly why the stakes are so high. “Rolling back and saying that these initiatives aren’t needed means it’s going to negatively affect somebody in your life—and that person may be you.”

​​What To Do About It

She also knows that soundbites can’t change systems. That’s why she wrote The Diversity Illusion.

“It is heavily researched, but it is not a heavy read,” she says. “It gives language to understand what [DEIA] is, what it is not. It talks about the illusion and how corporations have taken advantage of DEIA and not changed the power structures.”

According to Dr. Hackett, real progress requires more than optics. “It’s not just to hire a diversity officer. It’s not just to change your website to include diverse people on your publicity page, but to really look at your policies, procedures, and why it’s important.”

America’s Systems Are Doing Exactly What They Were Designed To Do

Source: momcilog

When asked if this moment represents a regression or a revelation, she pauses before offering a sobering truth: “I don’t think the country is losing its way. I believe it’s how the country has always been.”

She traces the current political climate back to America’s founding documents. “The Constitution of the United States was signed by a group of people… and that was of a white, straight male Christian. All of the systems in our country… were written from the vantage point of a white Christian, straight male. And therefore, our systems are operating exactly how they were created to do.”

Yet, she still believes in possibility. “We are more diverse than we ever have been. Therefore, we should want to balance out the narrative of the systems to ensure that everyone is inclusive.”

That kind of systemic change isn’t flashy, but it lasts.

“You can’t just, again, change on the surface. It has to be baked into your systems, into how you do the work.”

Dr. Hackett’s work offers both a mirror and a map. The reflection might be uncomfortable, but the direction is clear. As she writes in The Diversity Illusion, the future of equity work requires more than belief. It requires infrastructure, language, and the courage to face what has always been there.

To learn more about The Diversity Illusion or Dr. Hackett’s work, visit alaysiablackhackett.com.

RELATED CONTENT: Anti-Blackness And The Reason People Fight DEI The Way They Do

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Why No Woman— ‘Real Housewife’ Or Not—Should Be Shamed For Having An Abortion https://blaqly.com/sub/why-no-woman-real-housewife-or-not-should-be-shamed-for-having-an-abortion/ https://blaqly.com/sub/why-no-woman-real-housewife-or-not-should-be-shamed-for-having-an-abortion/#respond Fri, 11 Jul 2025 05:18:08 +0000 https://blaqly.com/sub/why-no-woman-real-housewife-or-not-should-be-shamed-for-having-an-abortion/ Source: Brit Eady + Kelli Ferrell Having an abortion is not a character flaw, but Real Housewives of Atlanta star Brit Eady doesn’t seem to know ...

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Source: Brit Eady + Kelli Ferrell

Having an abortion is not a character flaw, but Real Housewives of Atlanta star Brit Eady doesn’t seem to know that. She chose to expose her fellow newcomer, Kelli Ferrell, for allegedly having an abortion during a recent episode of the Bravo franchise.

Ferrell was fleeing their heated argument when Eady called out, “Keep it up…unless you want to talk about those abortions you had when you married.”

It was clear that Eady wanted to expose Ferrell by sharing something that she deemed embarrassing in front of the group. She tossed the comment at Ferrell’s back like a dagger. It was a low blow not just to Ferrell but to any person watching who ever exercised their right to choose.

Peach holders Shamea Morton and Cynthia Bailey gasped. The accusation shifted the tone at an event hosted by returning veteran Phaedra Parks. It. Was. Too. Far.

Reality television stars have a wide range of topics to attack one another with. Tacky outfits, ill-fitting lace front wigs, miniature doormats, pyramid schemes, poorly auto-tuned pop songs, and crappy choices in romantic partners are all up for grabs. Medical procedures are not.

RELATED CONTENT: ‘Real Housewives Of Atlanta’ Is Back! 10 Atlanta Stars Who Deserve A Peach

Brit Eady Attempts To Shame Kelli Ferrell
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Eady could have chosen any negative thing to say about her former friend, but she chose to mention abortion because she felt like that was worthy of others’ judgment. She doubled down on her actions when Morton admonished her, retorting that “she’s trying to call me a pill-popper.”

Addiction isn’t funny either, but who was right or wrong in their fight is for Andy Cohen and a well-appointed couch to figure out.

There is a dangerous stigma associated with abortion that causes diminished access, and quality of care should not be used as a weapon. Ferrell deserved better, and so did fans.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that more than one million people had abortions in 2023. Seeking reproductive healthcare is not a personal shortcoming. It is a normal part of many people’s lives. Abortions are not “receipts.” They are not material for a read or something scandalous to accuse someone else of. They are private matters that occur daily that save lives in more ways than one. Being pro-life should include the lives of women.

Ferrell did not confirm or deny ever having abortion when she was asked about the incident in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s my body and my choice,” she declared boldly. She did deny discussing anything of the sort with Eady and revealed that because of Eady’s statements she had to discuss the topic with her four daughters.

But she should not have had to defend herself against the continued stigma associated with abortion.

People are entitled to share their stories when they feel ready to. Jaws dropped at Eady’s comments. Reality television was built on fun shade but this wasn’t fun, it was uncomfortable.

Eady shamed Ferrell in a room full of people and cameras for (allegedly) doing what she wanted to do with her body. That is not okay. Petty arguments about glam squads should not result in mess like this.

That is not entertaining. It’s disgusting. And at a time when there is an all-out war being waged on reproductive rights shaming someone on national television for having an abortion is irresponsible.

Eady is frequently accused of not being a “girl’s girl” by former housewife Claudia Jordan. Clearly, she is not trying to beat the allegations.

Abortion access is more limited than ever. There are bans being passed across the nation putting the lives of women in danger. Families are having their rights to decide about the health of their impared loved one’s bodies stripped away in favor of conservative legislation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of women who have abortions are already mothers. Ferrell notes that she is a mother of four in her Real Housewives tagline.

Some people have abortions because they are overwhelmed by parenting the kids they already have. Some people have abortions because they are experiencing health challenges. Others are trapped in domestic violence situations or are experiencing homelessness.

People have abortions for all types of reasons. Birth control fails. Assaults happen. Circumstances change.

It doesn’t matter why someone chooses to have an abortion or how many they have. It is a valid medical choice that doesn’t deserve to be met with shame and ridicule.

RELATED CONTENT: Love And War! Tamar Braxton And Kandi Burruss’ On-Again, Off-Again Friendship Timeline

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