As members of Black fraternities and sororities we are supposed to be there for each other right? Thats what we pledged to do when we joined our orgs. Well, we at Watch The Yard have a quick and easy way for your line, your chapter or even your close group of friends to help each other out when you feel down or sad…drumroll…an encouragement box.

The idea popped into our head today when we took to Instagram to ask our followers, “What are some things you do that help you deal with sadness?”

We got over 100 responses in a matter of minutes.

One of the responses that really stood out to us came from @the.real.selfmade who told us that she had an inspiration box that she made where she writes positive messages to herself when she feels happy so that she can read them when she feels down. The twist was that she also had friends and family members contribute to the box with messages to her.

Now this isn’t a new idea, people have been doing boxes like this for years. What really stands out though is having multiple people who love you contribute to the box.

We got to thinking, what if you could make an event out of this for your chapter, your line, or your close group of friends.

It is cheap, easy and it can go a really long way in terms of contributing to the mental health of people close to you.

Since this is a website focused on Black fraternities and sororities, we thought that we would help you plan an Encouragement Box.

Here is what you do:

1. Get some paper and some envelopes or small boxes as well as scissors + pens and markers.
2. Grab your close friends, chapter, or line and sit in a circle or at a table.
3. Go around the circle and have everyone write an encouraging short note to each of the people in the circle. Include things you like about the person, why you think they are special, and a sentence about why the earth is a better place with them on in. Make the notes deep and personal.
4. Pass around the envelopes/boxes and put the notes in each person’s individual box.
5. Let them take it home. When they are sad or feeling down they can open the note and be surprised by all of the love and encouragement.

Try this out and let us know if it helps. It is a great community building exercise that can go a really long way without taking up too much time or money.

Best,

Watch The Yard

Share this on Facebook if you think it is a good idea

In 2008, a Black man was arrested in the fatal shooting of a Brooklyn man. However, after spending 16 years in prison for the murder, a new investigation examined a crucial piece of evidence that cleared his name: a surveillance video.

Arvel Marshall, now 52, has finally tasted his freedom again after being falsely convicted as a shooter. Back in 2008, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says Marshall was accused of shooting his neighbor in the head outside his Crown Heights home. An investigation by the DA’s Conviction Review Unit found that a surveillance video was left out from his trial – an exhibit Marshall repeatedly requested be shown to the court. However, it was never turned over to the defense, Gonzalez said in the press conference last week.

The video showed two young men in the neighborhood around the time of the shooting, the report says. One of them was seen removing an object from his waistband. An eyewitness gave an accurate description of the clothing the young man wore. The report says another tipster told authorities the shooter was a teen. However, the identity of the shooter was mistaken for Marshall – who was 36 at the time.

I know Black don’t crack but… really?

Anywho, Gonzalez said the real story was that the shooting was a hit-for-hire by a drug dealer who lived next door to the victim and believed he was “encroaching” on his drug territory. Gonzalez opted to reopen the case, saying back then the court didn’t have the technology to play and prosecutors convinced the court the clip had no evidentiary value. Neither side argued to pursue the video further, the DA said. However, after the CRU’s probe, it was clear Marshall was done wrong.

“The system has failed our society again, and this case is one of systemic failures,” Gonzalez said via CBS.

Friday, a Supreme Court judge ruled to vacate Marshall’s conviction, granting his freedom after over a decade, per the report.

Read Marshall’s reaction to the good news from ABC 7 News:

He says he never lost faith that it would come.

“They knew I was innocent. They knew I could prove my innocence,” Marshall said. “So, they tried to keep it under the table. They were hoping I’d just shut up and just accept everything that they did to me. And I said, ‘nah, I’m going to fight.’”

Marshall insists he’s not bitter. He was not up for parole until 2033.

“Let bygones be bygones,” Marshall said. “Whoever did it, you know, I just hope they get justice for the victim and his family.”

The true suspect, a 16-year-old male at the time, may still be out there, said Marshall’s attorney via CBS.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the top of his first speech as her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz turned to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared, “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” The next day, Harris took the theme a step further, branding the Democratic ticket “joyful warriors.”

Contrast that with former President Donald Trump, who opened a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida a few days later by saying, “We have a lot of bad things coming up,” and predicting the U.S. could fall into an economic depression unseen since the dark days of 1929 or even another world war.

“I think that our country is, right now, in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in, from an economic standpoint, from a safety standpoint,” Trump said Thursday.

Democrats are playing up their sunnier outlook, promoting the idea that voters can be inspired to support someone and not just cast their ballot against the other side. The Trump campaign argues their candidate is reflecting the dour mood of the country and dismisses the idea that a growing contrast in tone and upbeat attitude will decide the presidency.

Two-thirds of Americans reported feeling very or somewhat pessimistic about the state of politics, according to polling by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research from last month. Roughly 7 in 10 said things in the country are heading in the wrong direction.

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the former president, said people don’t care about “vibe checks.”

“That’s not making gas or food or housing less expensive,” Miller said.

Walz promotes positivity

Still, just how hard Harris is betting on the opposite approach is evident in her decision to pick Walz, whose personal story includes being on the coaching staff of a high school football team that had gone winless just a few years earlier to clinching a state championship in 1999.

The Minnesota governor’s relentless positivity is meant to give supporters a jolt of new energy and keep the momentum that Harris has built after President Joe Biden — facing mounting pressure from within his own party and increasingly pessimistic views about his chances in November — stepped aside and endorsed his vice president.

Walz spent his first week as Harris’ running mate traveling to swing states with Harris and underscored the point during a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, celebrating what he said was “the ability to talk about what can be good.”

“This idea of caring for our neighbor and kindness, and a hand up when somebody needs it. And just the sense that people go through things and to be able to be there when they need it, that’s who we are,” he said. “It’s not about mocking. It’s not name-calling.”

Biden often ended his speeches saying he’d never been more optimistic. But he built his now-shuttered reelection bid around branding Trump an existential threat to democracy. The president offered dire predictions about the former president, suggesting he’d dismantle the nation’s founding principles should he retake the White House.

Harris’ campaign still relies on many of the same themes, decrying Trump as a threat to democracy, warning that he’ll impose draconian limits to abortion and voting and that he will follow Project 2025, a plan championed by top conservatives to remake large swaths of the federal government.

And despite Walz insisting that smiles were more powerful than insults, he and Harris have continued their share of denunciations, decrying Trump’s conviction in New York on 34 felony counts in a hush-money case and his being found liable for fraudulent business practices and sexual abuse in civil court.

Still, even before she named Walz her running mate, Harris was suggesting that she could help make politics fun again.

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“We love our country. And I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country,” Harris declared in campaign speeches before picking Walz. She now tells crowds that she and her running mate “both believe in lifting people up, not knocking them down.”

Paula Montagna, who went to see Harris and Walz at a rally outside Detroit last week, highlighted the shift in messaging since Harris took over from Biden.

“Kamala is so positive, and it’s nice to hear positive instead of negative,” Montagna said.

Trump team says their candidate is reflecting reality

Trump’s senior campaign advisers counter that the mood of the country right now is sour over the economy, the state of the U.S.-Mexico border and turmoil in the Middle East and beyond. They see their candidate as reflecting that reality rather than what they believe is a temporary exuberance igniting the Democratic base after months of discouragement over their ticket.

Trump has tried to harness that with his repeated predictions of stock market crashes and war. His campaign appearances have included a long list of other warnings that have veered into the apocalyptic, saying that if he’s not elected, “we’re not going to have a country anymore,” that “the only thing standing between you and its obliteration is me,” and that under a Harris administration, “Social Security will buckle and collapse” and “the suburbs will be overrun with violent crime and savage foreign gangs.”

During his Republican National Convention speech last month, where his advisers said Trump would seem changed and more personal after surviving an attempted assassination, the former president did strike a different tone — at least to start.

He said early on that he had “a message of confidence, strength and hope” and sought to “launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”

But by the end, Trump had returned to predictions of doom, twice warning, “Bad things are going to happen.”

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, has drawn a sharp contrast with Walz. Vance has been cheered on the right for being an aggressive fighter on behalf of the former president, particularly when engaging with reporters.

“Right now, I am angry about what Kamala Harris has done to this country and done to the American southern border,” Vance said at a campaign stop in Michigan. “And I think most people in our country, they can be happy-go-lucky sometimes, they can enjoy things sometimes, and they can turn on the news and recognize that what’s going on in this country is a disgrace.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, not himself known for a sunny disposition, offered much the same assessment Friday at a conservative conference in Atlanta hosted by radio host Erick Erickson.

“The country is obviously in a bad mood,” McConnell said.

Trump supporters waiting to see him at a rally in Bozeman, Montana, said they felt the former president’s campaign made them feel positive — even if his message often isn’t.

“Just looking at the state of the country now, I don’t think Kamala Harris’ campaign is one of joy and hope. I think that’s Trump’s campaign,” said Alex Lustig, a 23-year-old from Billings, Montana.

Fred Scarlett, a 63-year-old retiree from Condon, Montana, said that “everyone understands that we need to be here to support Trump because he has never let us down.”

“They shoot at him,” Scarlett said, “and he still keeps firing back.”

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris promised Saturday to work to eliminate taxes on tips paid to restaurant and other service industry employees, echoing a pledge that her opponent, Republican Donald Trump, has made, and marking a rare instance of political overlap from both sides.

Harris made the announcement at a rally on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where the economy relies heavily on the hotel, restaurant and entertainment industries. Trump vowed essentially the same thing at his own rally in the city in June — though neither he nor Harris are likely to be able to fully do that without actions from Congress.

“It is my promise to everyone here that, when I am president, we will continue our fight for working families of America,” Harris said. “Including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.”

Trump responded on his social media site a short time later, posting that Harris “just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy.”

“The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes!,” the former president wrote. “This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me.”

Harris’ campaign said afterward that as president she would work with Congress to draft a proposal that includes an income limit and other provisions to keep hedge fund managers and lawyers from structuring their compensation to try to take advantage of the policy. She also would push for the proposal alongside one to increase the federal minimum wage.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, came to Nevada as the final stop of a five battleground-state blitz in which their party has shown new energy after President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Harris. On Sunday, the vice president is holding a San Francisco fundraiser that has already raised more than $12 million, her campaign said, with House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi among those set to speak.

There were 12,000-plus people inside the campus basketball arena on Saturday and, before the event started, local law enforcement halted entry to the event because people were becoming ill while waiting outside in 109-degree heat to go through security. About 4,000 people were in line when the entrances were closed.

Walz referenced that during his speech, but turned it into an applause line by telling Nevada, “don’t worry, we’re going to be back a lot.”

As part of the trip, Harris is hoping to build greater support among Latino voters. In 2020, Biden narrowly defeated Trump by 2.4 percentage points in Nevada.

The 60,000-strong Culinary Workers Union announced its endorsement of Harris. About 54% of the union’s members are Latino, 55% women and 60% immigrants. The union also issued a statement supporting Harris’ call for a higher minimum wage and to “ensure that there are no taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.”

Harris made her promise on eliminating tip taxation as part of a broader appeal to strengthen the nation’s middle class, seizing on a theme that was a centerpiece of Biden’s now-defunct reelection bid.

“We believe in a future where we lower the cost of living for America’s families so they have a chance, not just to get by, but to get ahead,” she said.

AP VoteCast found in 2020 that 14% of Nevada voters were Hispanic, with Biden winning 54% of their votes. His margin with Hispanic voters was slightly better nationwide, a sign that Democrats cannot take this bloc of voters for granted.

“There’s an incredible energy here among the college students and community members who are coming together to support and listen to our next president, Kamala Harris,” said Imer Cespedes-Alvarado, 21. Studying political science at UNLV, Cespedes-Alvarado is a first generation American citizen who spent his childhood in Costa Rica before making the difficult decision at 16 to return alone to the U.S. for better opportunities.

The vice president also promised to tackle immigration, leaning heavily into the issue as she did the previous night during a rally in Arizona.

“We know that our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it,” Harris said in Las Vegas. She also endorsed an “earned pathway to citizenship” for some people in the country illegally and slammed Trump, who she said “talks a big game about border security but he does not walk the walk.”

The vice president has in recent weeks tried to seize the political offensive on an issue that Trump and top Republicans have frequently used to slam her and the Biden administration. In doing so, Harris is hoping to drive a wedge with Republicans.

Because the vice president’s portfolio in the Biden administration included the root causes of migration, and due to some of her comments before the 2020 election, many leading GOP voices have sought to portray her as weak on the southern border and enabling illegal immigration.

Trump himself has said of Harris, “As a border czar, she’s been the worst border czar in history, in the world history.”

The former president proposed mass deportations if he returns to the White House, but AP VoteCast found in 2020 that nearly 7 in 10 Nevada voters said that immigrants living in the United States illegally should be offered the chance to apply for legal status.

Still, policy aside, many of the rallygoers in Las Vegas said they were thrilled to see the new energy Harris and Walz have brought to the race.

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Krista Hall, 60, and her husband Thaddeus Hager, 58, said they haven’t been more excited about an election since Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008.

“This is as electric, if not more than,” Hall said, noting that they attended several Obama rallies at the time. Hager said he’s confident that Harris and Walz will “win in a landslide.”

The Democratic ticket over the past week also visited the crucial midwestern “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Along with Nevada and Arizona those states represent 61 electoral votes that could be essential for reaching the 270 threshold required to win on Election Day.

Brian Shaw, a Republican from northern Nevada, said Harris’ arrival on the top of the ticket could make it harder for Trump to win because Biden was a “pitiful candidate” and there’s little time to expose the vice president’s “incompetence.” He said he attended Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s rally in Reno on July 30 and found him to be “likable, capable, polished as a politician, but not veneered.”

An escrow account management company for women seeking to pay their birth surrogates has been a huge scam to fund the lavish life of a Houston entrepreneur, a lawsuit claims.

Arielle Mitton, a Washington resident who hired a surrogate from Indiana, spoke out recently claiming she was robbed of thousands of dollars from Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC (SEAM), per FOX 26 Houston.

The company’s website describes SEAM as a way to connect parents to their surrogates by providing an account where parents can pay the women carrying their babies directly. However, Mitton claims the company’s owner, Dominique Side, misappropriated the money to fund her own lavish lifestyle as well as jumpstart her rap career and several other endeavors.

Mitton tells FOX 26 she placed $50,000 in the SEAM account only to find $38,000 missing from her account in June. She told reporters her surrogate is due Christmas Eve, so her and her husband were forced to work extra shifts to make up the balance.

A lawsuit filed in June by another family, Marianna Robak and Lori Hood, echoed Mitton’s complaints. Last month, their attorney announced an additional 23 other families asked to join the suit, all of whom suspect Side used their surrogate money for her own benefit.

“Troubles with SEAM came to light in June when expectant parents who had each deposited tens of thousands of dollars to pay women carrying their children learned instead that their money was apparently lost. Initially, it looked as though millions had vanished,” the plaintiffs’ attorney said in a news release.

Read more of the allegations from CNN:

The families were notified by SEAM on June 4 their accounts had been put “on hold” by Capital One Bank due to “fraudulent charges,” the judge’s order states. Ten days later, Side informed all the company’s clients in an email: “Due to legal action all operations have been placed on hold. At this time, I am unable to provide further details regarding the matter,” according to the order.

The families’ forensic accountant reviewed bank records showing SEAM transferred the escrow funds into an operating account, most of which was then transferred to other bank accounts, the order says.

Bank records show Side transferred more than $2.2 million to launch her career as “Dom,” a “racy rap and R&B singer and music producer,” according to the filing. She allegedly used some of the funds to create music videos and social media content.

The records also show SEAM transferred nearly $5 million to pay for a credit card, which “appears to be related” to a music studio owned by Side and Hall, along with $275,000 to Side’s clothing line.

In October 2023, a designer clothing company named Nikki Green, LLC – partially owned by Side and Hall – showcased its clothing line at Fashion Week in Las Vegas, which was funded with the parents’ escrow funds, the lawsuit says.

Since the filing, the FBI created a form asking families who believe they were victimized by SEAM to share more information as they investigate. The lawsuit claims up to 800 more families who belong to a Facebook group allege they were also defrauded by SEAM for over $16 million dollars.

Following the allegations, Side appeared deleted her social media pages and dissolve her websites for her businesses.

“My sincerest apologies for the non-responsiveness. My company and I have been noticed that we are subject to an active investigation by federal authorities,’’ Side said in a response to FOX 26 Houston, regarding the legal debacle. “Under advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation. Please be kindly advised that the investigation involves only me, as an individual, and SEAM, as a single-member entity.”

PARIS (AP) — Stephen Curry had only five 3-pointers in his first four games of the Paris Olympics combined. The shot just wasn’t falling.

And then came the medal round.

The all-time 3-point king in NBA history found his stroke in the nick of time for the Americans, making 17 3-pointers in the last two games against Serbia and France to help lead the U.S. to its fifth consecutive gold medal with a 98-87 win.

The last four of those 3-pointers came in the final 2:46 of the gold-medal game — a staggering display that anyone who watched will be hard-pressed to forget.

“There’s just a lot of faith, living and dying with the shots you think you should take,” Curry said. “The last 2 1/2 minutes were special. Guys were hyping me up. We had confidence in what we were trying to do. And I was just really present in the moment, enjoying myself.”

A breakdown of Curry’s dramatics to seal gold for the U.S.:

The first one

LeBron James — now a three-time gold medalist and, at 39, the MVP of this Olympic tournament — brought the ball across midcourt, and Curry waved Anthony Davis away to create space for the pick-and-roll that was coming. Curry set it, then moved to the top of the key and took the pass from James.

Curry shook free of French defender Guerschon Yabusele and made the 3-pointer from straightaway.

Little did anyone know, he was just getting started.

— USA 85, France 79, 2:41 left.

The second one

In the timeout with 2:22 left, Curry suggested that he and James keep running the pick-and-roll and having everyone else spread the floor. A simple set, but very effective for someone generally considered the best shooter in the history of basketball. So, they ran it, this time with James setting the screen.

“I said, ‘OK, let’s do that because I’ve seen this before,’” said U.S. coach Steve Kerr, who also is Curry’s coach with the Golden State Warriors. “And it usually works out well.”

Curry kept the ball, got defender Nicolas Batum in the air, waited for him to land and then shot from the left side of the top of the key.

Curry was yelling a message as he headed back down the floor. “Don’t worry about me,” he kept saying.

Nobody was at that point.

— USA 90, France 81, 1:52 left.

The third one

Batum had just made a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to six. Curry brought the ball down the floor and gave it to Kevin Durant, who immediately gave it back. Curry sent the ball his way again and eventually it was in the hands of Devin Booker.

As Booker drove the baseline, he saw Curry open at the top of the key again.

He wound up using basically the same move as the possession before; this time, it was waiting for Nando de Colo to bite on the head fake. Another 3-pointer, good.

“He’s the best shooter to ever live,” Booker said.

Curry screamed several times afterward, then hoisted the top of his jersey to show the “USA” across his chest.

— USA 93, France 84, 1:18 left.

The fourth one

Victor Wembanyama connected on a 3-pointer, the last salvo of his 26-point night, to get France within 93-87 with 54.4 seconds left. The Americans went back to Curry, as everyone knew they would.

He sent the ball to Durant, just as he did in the previous possession. And Durant gave it right back again.

Curry got the hint. He was keeping the ball this time. He forced a shot over Batum and Evan Fournier, kind of an off-balanced heave that looked like a mistake.

“I was kind of like, ‘What the (expletive),’” U.S. center Bam Adebayo said. “Then I remembered who was shooting it.”

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Of course, it was going in. The U.S. was up 96-87 with 35 seconds left. The French swimming star of these Paris Games, four-time gold medalist Léon Marchand, could only smile from his courtside seat.

Curry put his hands to the side of his head in celebration. “Night night,” he calls it, a reference where he tells the other team it’s time to go to sleep. In France, it translates to “nuit nuit.”

The game was over. The gold would be worn by Americans again. Curry watched Durant win gold medals at three previous Olympics. He watched Simone Biles win the all-around gold in women’s gymnastics in the same arena earlier in the Paris Games. He wanted that moment, desperately.

And with four unforgettable shots, he delivered.

“This might not come around again,” Curry said. “It was very, very special.”