The Tell-It Report: A Congressional Rap Battle, Keke Palmer Problems and More

We break down the week’s news you may have missed in all the chaos of the current administration.

(Photo: Envato.com)

In Gullah-Geechee communities, the "Tell-It" was the designated lookout, community warning system , storyteller and a trusted source for news and information.

The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.

What a year this week has been. A lot more happened this week other than Trump pump-faking on tariff wars and playing with the stock market.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Speaker Mike Johnson, “Come see me!” Meanwhile, Keke Palmer quietly backed out of the problems she would’ve had if she had run that Jonathan Majors interview on her podcast this week.

And some Navy-related good news and bad news. Good news first: Neil Frye, a 20-year-old sailor who died during the infamous 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, was finally laid to rest after his remains were found 84 years later. And the bad news, of course, involves more DEI cutbacks. The U.S. Naval Academy had removed Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and nearly 300 other books about race, gender and identity, despite the fact that they weren’t required to do so.

Let’s get into the details here:

Hakeem Jeffries basically challenges Mike Johnson to a rap battle

Ahead of House Republicans voting to slash funding for Medicaid, food assistance and veteran benefits, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to verbally squabble up.

And rightfully so.

On Tuesday, Jeffries sent Johnson a letter requesting a “one-on-one debate” before the Republican budget resolution vote. The New York representative shared the letter on X, noting that the cuts would harm the public welfare in favor of giving “billionaires like Elon Musk” a $7 trillion tax break. Jeffries also stated that congressional GOPs denied that painful cuts would be made, yet this resolution does just that.

“The American people deserve to know the truth,” Jeffries wrote. “I look forward to a one-on-one debate with you on the House Floor to fully and transparently explain and defend our differing budget values to the American people.”

It’s unclear whether or not Johnson saw the letter, but he told Capitol Hill reporters, “That’s interesting. I’m happy to debate him anytime,” according to The Hill.

The House approved the bill in a final vote of 216-214 on Thursday morning. All Democrats and two Republicans — Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted no, according to NPR. This leaves a framework for even more cuts that will impact everyday Americans.

The bill now heads toward what is expected to be a lengthy reconciliation process since the Senate passed its own version of the bill last week.

This rap battle may have not happened before the deeply consequential vote, but I think we can all guess who needs a “Not Like Us”-level whooping.

Keke Palmer quietly pulls her podcast interview with Jonathan Majors

Keke Palmer found out what the gag really was this week. The award-winning actor and Baby, This is Keke Palmer host pulled her podcast interview with Jonathan Majors after facing heated backlash on social media.

Palmer teased the episode, titled “No Easy Answers: Accountability and Moving Forward with Jonathan Majors,” with a video clip of her and the actor playing a game of “this or that.”

The now-deleted episode description read, “We’re living in a time where we want real accountability — especially for things men have gotten away with for far too long. At the same time, finding forgiveness feels harder than ever, and we’re still figuring out what true accountability even looks like.”

Many users on X and TikTok called out Palmer, calling the decision “embarrassing” and said that she was “platforming a serial abuser.” Some also shared disappointment, noting that she accused her ex, Darius Jackson, of abuse in 2023.

In December 2023, Majors was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. He was convicted on two misdemeanor counts and sentenced to probation, which included a yearlong domestic violence intervention program. Immediately after his conviction, Marvel canceled its plans to expand on Majors’ Kang the Conqueror role with an MCU film.

The actor has been making the media rounds lately, promoting his new project, “Magazine Dreams,” and seeking public redemption. He recently was on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter and made an appearance on The Sherri Shepherd Show.

The Baby, This is Keke Palmer episode was available early for Wondery+ subscribers before being taken down without notice. It was supposed to be released to the public on Wednesday but was replaced with an episode featuring rapper Kash Doll.

Some Instagram users commented that the supposed replacement episode was a “good call” while others noted that they wanted “grace” for Majors.

Neither Palmer nor Wondery have commented on the episode removal.

World War II veteran’s remains returned home after 84 years

The remains of a Black sailor who was killed during an attack on Pearl Harbor have finally been returned home to his family.

Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class Neil D. Frye was just 20 years old when he died on the USS West Virginia when the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on Dec. 7, 1941. The vessel took multiple torpedo hits. Though the sailors fought to prevent the ship from capsizing, it sank to the bottom and killed Frye and over a hundred other crewmen. The attack became the catalyst for the U.S. entering World War II.

Frye’s only living sibling, Mary Ruth Frye McCrimmon, 87, recalled to WHRO the day the postmaster read her parents the letter announcing that her brother was missing and presumed dead. Weeks later, the tricycle Frye heard his little sister wanted arrived at their home from Hawaii.

McCrimmon told the outlet that as time passed, their mother would always people-watch. “She would go anywhere she could get a chance to go to a little town and just watch all the men go by to see if she could see Neil," she said.

Frye’s family had been looking for answers for decades, sending the military DNA samples in hopes that they could match with unidentified servicemen and finally find Frye.

In December, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that Frye’s remains had been accounted for on Sept. 27.

On April 3, Frye was finally laid to rest on his 104th birthday at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, North Carolina, WCNC reported.

McCrimmon told WHRO that despite their parents no longer being alive, she believes they would be happy to know he’s been found. She is, too.

"I was more happy than sad because I knew that they had found him," McCrimmon said. "I knew where he was. We didn't have to wonder."

U.S. Naval Academy library removes Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

While public backlash has prompted the reversal of several anti-DEI moves, the U.S. Naval Academy seems to be standing by its decision to remove Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings from its library.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office ordered the school to get rid of books that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, according to The New York Times. That included the author’s award-winning autobiography and 380 other titles.

Half American by Matthew Delmont, How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, Pursuing Trayvon Martin by Janine Jones and George Yancy, and various other titles that discussed the role of race, racism, gender, sexuality and more were also targeted and removed by the time Hegseth visited on Tuesday.

The removal was in response to the president’s executive order, despite the fact that it was not a requirement for the academy since it is a college and the order was directed at federally funded kindergarten through 12th grade schools.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, which was published in 1969, is a poignant text about Angelou’s life as a Black woman dealing with racism, sexual abuse, and traumas the author endured from ages 3 to 16. It spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was nominated for a National Book Award. It is still revered as required reading to this day.