Tell-It Report: Indiana Lt. Governor Called the Three-Fifths Compromise a ‘Great Move’

Faith leaders want an apology, but Micah Beckwith hasn’t commented on his faux history lesson. Plus, "Living Single" gets a rewatch podcast!

(ContrabandCamp/Envato)

In Gullah Geechee communities, a "tell-it" was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most 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.

White people love finding new ways to revise history to favor themselves. Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith praising what the dehumanizing Three-Fifths Compromise did for Black people is a perfect example of how foolish they sound. What isn’t revisionist history, however, is the new Living Single rewatch podcast hosted by Erika Alexander and Kimberly Coles. It launched this week, and I can’t wait to get into it.

Also, an Ohio father was denied bond after allegedly killing a deputy just one day after Cincinnati police fatally shot his 18-year-old son.

Read the latest here:

Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith says the Three-Fifths Compromise was a “great move.”

Local leaders in Indiana are demanding that Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith apologize for calling the Three-Fifths Compromise a “great move.”

Concerned Clergy Indianapolis held a press conference on May 2, calling for Beckwith to retract his statements, WRTV reported, calling his words “dehumanizing rhetoric.” They’re also calling for Gov. Mike Braun to speak out against Beckwith’s comments.

"This was insulting to all people across the board, especially for Black people who fought the pain of those who went through slavery," Concerned Clergy Indianapolis President Rev. David Greene said.

In an X video shared on April 24, the lieutenant governor noted that Indiana Senate Democrats compared State Bill 289, originally an anti-DEI bill, to the 1787 compromise that deemed enslaved Black people as three-fifths of a person for voting and taxation purposes. With sleeves rolled up, seated on the edge of a desk in what appears to be his office, Beckwith went into what he probably believed to be an expert history lesson on the racist legislation.

He said that it “is not a pro-discrimination compromise,” but “a great move by the North to make sure slavery would be eradicated in our nation. They knew what they were doing. But now, here you have Senate Democrats in today’s American republic who do not understand that. They think that the constitutional clause was something that was a scourge on Black people. That’s not what it was.”

During his whitesplanation, he also blamed DEI in education and professors at “woke schools” for not sharing his perspective of “what actually happened” in history. He said it wasn’t the “terrible thing” Democrats were making it out to be.

Though the original post doesn’t allow users to directly respond, critics have made their voices heard. Lindsay Winslow Brown, chair of the DeKalb County Indiana Democratic Party, wrote an op-ed for the IndyStar saying that Beckwith is “lying.”

The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, the Indiana Chapter of the National Action Network and the Alliance of Baptists released a joint statement calling for a retraction.

“No compromise that counted human beings as fractions can ever be anything but a stain on our nation’s conscience,” it read, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “The Three-Fifths Compromise entrenched the enslavement of people, empowered oppression and delayed justice by generations.”

The group also urged Braun to make a stronger statement against Beckwith’s comments, WTHR reported.

"I definitely would not have used that characterization, and I don't like it," Braun told a journalist on Wednesday, April 30. "I'm a believer that you better start thinking about what you're saying before it comes out."

State Sen. Andrea Hunley said the lieutenant governor’s video has a larger, more dangerous implication.

“This isn’t just about one comment about revisionist history. This isn’t just about one demeaning of the Black community. This is about a larger conversation,” Hunley said. “This is about what it represents. It represents this ability for people in positions of power to be unchecked when they say things about the black community.”

As of Thursday, neither Beckwith nor his team has released a statement on his comments. The lieutenant governor continues to post on social media, doubling down in some tweets.

Erika Alexander, Kim Coles launch “Living Single” rewatch podcast

Living Single fans rejoice! Erika Alexander and Kim Coles launched a podcast on Wednesday where listeners can rewatch the 1990s show along with its stars.

Alexander, who played Maxine, and Coles, who played Synclaire, will host ReLiving Single.

“We get to relive the show and revisit the show and tell stories you’ve never heard before and sometimes tell stories we’ve never heard before,” Coles told NBC4.

The show, which ran on Fox from 1993 to 1998, also featured Queen Latifah as Khadijah James, Kim Fields as Regine, T.C. Carson as Kyle and John Henton as Overton. It followed six friends navigating love, life and friendship in Brooklyn and laid the foundation for shows to come, particularly an all-white rip-off of the show, which premiered a year later.

The podcast, available on YouTube and multiple podcast platforms, is a part of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat and ​​Alexander’s Color Farm Media.

In a statement to Vibe, Hartbeat SVP Eric Eddings credited Living Single for its cultural impact. “It’s one of those shows that inspired legions of journalists, lawyers, and changed the narrative of what it meant to be a Black woman in ’90s America. ReLiving Single will highlight the intentional effort made by the cast and crew—many of whom we’ve never heard from before. And who better to guide us through this journey than Erika and Kim?”

In that same statement, Coles said it “feels like opening a time capsule packed with love, laughter, and a little extra lip gloss. I can’t wait to spill the tea, share the joy, and celebrate the magic that made us all family.”

The “official unofficial ‘Living Single’ podcast” will include behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexander and Coles, guest appearances — including Fields — and exclusive insights. Alexander also told NBC4 that they wouldn’t be shying away from uncomfortable conversations.

“The things that come up are the things that we didn’t talk about and it’s complicated,” the actor said. “You're with a cast for five years, it’s like high school. You love them, but you do have differences, complications, conflicts, confusion and also compassion.”

On The Sherri Shepherd Show, the duo also entertained the idea of a reboot stemming from the podcast. “I would say yes because I think we all still look good,” Coles joked before continuing, “[and] because we all still love each other and there’s a beautiful chemistry that will not die, so I would say yes if the opportunity presented itself.”

Ohio father accused of killing cop after son was killed by police denied bond.

A Hamilton County judge denied bond for Rodney L. Hinton Jr., an Ohio father accused of intentionally hitting a deputy with his car the day after Cincinnati police shot and killed his son, WLWT reported.

The father is charged with aggravated murder in connection with the death of Special Deputy Larry Henderson. His lawyer, Clyde Bennett II, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf at a hearing on Tuesday, according to the local outlet. Hinton declined to speak during the hearing.

Authorities claim Hinton intentionally hit Henderson as he was directing traffic near University of Cincinnati during graduation on the afternoon of May 2. Henderson later died at the hospital.

A police officer, whose identity hasn’t been revealed, fatally shot Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, on May 1. According to WXIX, police said they found Hinton and three others in a stolen car. As the four fled, Hinton fell and an officer called out that the teen was carrying a gun. The officer fired four to five times at Hinton during the pursuit, hitting him in the chest and arm. Though there was no indication that Hinton fired, the officer claims Hinton pointed the gun at him.

The following morning, Hinton’s family watched the body camera footage, according to WCPO.

“What we saw was disturbing," family attorney Michael Wright said.

Hinton Jr. left the police station before the video was over. Wright told The New York Times that the father was very upset. Later that afternoon, Hinton Jr. allegedly drove his car into Henderson.

Bennett told WLWT that he believes Hinton Jr. was mentally ill at the time of the incident, therefore “no bond is appropriate because he should not be released, he should be evaluated and treated.”

He continued, “I think the conduct in question is classic, classic mental illness criminal conduct. It’s always intentional, it’s bold, that is a hallmark sign someone is not in their right frame of mind. No attempt to deceive. No attempt to hide what they did."

A grand jury will hear Hinton Jr.’s case on May 12.

The family has hired private investigators to look into Hinton’s death, according to WXIX. Ryan Hinton’s grandmother, Tonya Larkin, told WCPO that the shooting shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

"I'm angry, because it shouldn't have ever happened," she said. "I want to find out exactly what steps was taken and the protocol. And if everything comes out that it's not what it should have been, we need to do something about change and training and diversity and understanding us as a Black culture."