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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/blackweavewhitedreadlocks-575jd.jpg "[title-raw]")
Blacks Get Weave; Can Whites Get Locks?
Race Manners: You can, but it's not the same. Don't expect to enjoy the style without the scrutiny.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/affirmative action-575jd.jpg "[title-raw]")
America: More Diverse yet Less Equal?
A decline in white births comes at a time when two key civil rights programs may be dismantled.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/bill-clinton-barack-obama-split-575jd.jpg "[title-raw]")
Bill Clinton Needs to Shut Up
The ex-president's willingness to speak out on Syria spells disaster for Obama in more ways than one.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/shelbycountysection5-617-575-ga.jpg "[title-raw]")
Alabama County May Change Voting Rights
Shelby, which is challenging Section 5, has changed, but voter advocates say work is still needed.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/al-sharpton-jesse-jackson-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
Obama in Office Is Great, but We Must Keep Fighting
The Rev. Al Sharpton writes in the Huffington Post that the re-election of Obama shouldn't lull blacks into a false sense of security. There's much to fight for in terms of equality.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/Fruitvale-movie-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
The Black Film Renaissance of 2013
As the release dates of movies like Fruitvale and The Butler near, it seems that these are just two of many black projects to hit screens this year, writes Michael Cieply in the New York Times.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/britney-griner-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
Stereotypes, Gender Bending and Gay Acceptance
As athletes like Jason Collins and Britney Griner come out, Maya Dusenbery writes in the Atlantic that while America has become more understanding of gays and gay culture, gender association is still tricky.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/mhp-6213-575hc_0.jpeg "[title-raw]")
MHP: The Politics Behind the Female Sex Drug
MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry and guests dig into how new sexual-enhancement drugs for women are different from Viagra.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/spike-lee-bill-lee-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
Noise Complaints to Police for Spike Lee's Jazz-Legend Dad
A new Fort Greene, N.Y., resident doesn't like Bill Lee's jam sessions, but Lee says he was there first. Who's right?
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/bruno-mars-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
Bruno Mars' Mother Dies at 55
The singer behind "When I Was Your Man" endured a terrible loss on Saturday.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/nina-simone-issa-rae-6213-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
Issa Rae to Play Nina Simone in New Lorraine Hansberry Biopic
With "Awkward Black Girl" Issa Rae to play Nina Simone, an unconventional film about the author is in development.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/tremaine-mcmillan-dehumanizing-stare-6113-575hc.jpeg "[title-raw]")
How I Knew the 'Dehumanizing Stare' Belonged to a Black Kid
Mychal Denzel Smith, writing in the Nation, says that when he heard about the Florida teen tackled for looking sideways at the police, he knew exactly what had happened.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/cheerios-biracial-ad-6113-575hc_0.jpeg "[title-raw]")
I'm Biracial. Trust Me, the Cheerios Ad Is a Big Deal
The controversial commercial has done more than stir up racists. It acknowledges the existence of biracial couples on the national stage, writes Meagan Hatcher-Mays on Jezebel.
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![[title-raw]](http://www.theroot.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blurb-image/bey-kellyR-575se.jpg "[title-raw]")
Why Powerful Women Make the Best Friends
If Kelly Rowland can come around to the idea that she shines more (not less) because of her proximity to Beyoncé, there's hope for the rest of us, Ann Friedman writes at New York Magazine in a piece explaining "shine theory."
