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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/oklatornadobiggovernment-575-522-ga_1.jpg "[title-raw]")
Oklahoma and Defense of Big Government
The GOP's notion of "self-reliance" won't hold up after disaster hits one of the nation's poorest states.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/Scandal-Season-2-Episode-575x52213lc.jpg "[title-raw]")
'Scandal' Withdrawal: It's a Real Thing
Here's what the ABC drama's obsessed fans plan to do with their time now that its second season is over.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/sergiotigerracistjoke-522-575-ga.jpg "[title-raw]")
Yes, Fried-Chicken Jokes Are Racist
Golfer Sergio Garcia's jab at Tiger Woods is subtle racism at its finest.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/Wole Soyinka11_0.jpg "[title-raw]")
Soyinka on 'Obscene' Push for Achebe Nobel
A Nigerian Nobel laureate wants fans of the late fellow writer to table calls for a posthumous prize.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/interracial-walmart-575jdh.png "[title-raw]")
White Dad Accused of Kidnapping Biracial Daughters
A Wal-Mart customer in Virginia was concerned that the family "didn't match up."
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/mark-carson-575jdh.jpg "[title-raw]")
New Yorkers Rally After Murder of Gay Man
Mark Carson's murder was just the latest incident in a month that's seen an uptick in homophobic violence in the city. Demonstrators' message: "Mark is not going to die in vain."
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/OklahomaTornado575jdh.jpg "[title-raw]")
Obama Declares State of Emergency in Oklahoma
Update: The death toll from Monday's tornadoes is lower than originally reported.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/George2575jdh.jpg "[title-raw]")
Trayvon Martin: The Latest
Experts debate origins of shouts on 911 recording. Plus: George Zimmerman's wife files a witness list for her perjury trial.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/Scandal575x52013lc.jpg "[title-raw]")
'Scandal,' Black Women and the Super-Black Mammy-Jezebel
Writing at the Shadow League, Megan Livingston explains why she sees Olivia Pope as a game changer and an everywoman.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/ObamaMorehouse575x52013lc.jpg "[title-raw]")
How the Obama Administration Talks to Black America
It's hard to avoid the conclusion that this White House has one way of addressing the social ills of black people -- and particularly black youths -- and another way of addressing everyone else, writes Ta-Nehisi Coates at The Atlantic.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/Iyanla575x52013lc.png "[title-raw]")
Enough of Nice-Nasty Christianity
Christians should stop wielding religion as a tool of oppression, Evette Dionne writes at Clutch magazine.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/WoleSoyinka575jdh_1.jpg "[title-raw]")
Wole Soyinka: Push for Nobel Prize for Achebe Is 'Obscene'
"You know damned well that the Nobel Committee doesn't engage in such tradition," he says of the call for a posthumous conferment.
![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/QOTD-Jean-Tommer-575se.jpg "[title-raw]")
![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/QOD JamesBaldwin575x520130lc.jpg "[title-raw]")
