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February 23, 2010
We usually assume the conversation around Black History is about African Americans. But contact between Europe and Africa goes back to antiquity. There is also a rich vein of achievement among blacks in Europe. Brought to the Continent by the slave trade or as children of Europeans and black women, these men and women managed to make a mark that often challenged prevailing views of racial inferiority.
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February 22, 2010
Tired of the same old Black History Month stories about George Washington Carver's uses for the peanut and Madam C.J. Walker's hot comb? This year, The Root asked its readers and staff members to submit photos of their own black history, from sit-ins to first communions to 90th birthday celebrations.
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February 19, 2010
As happy as we are for the nation to get its yearly reminder that black people do exist in the context of American history, there’s a growing list of characters that has us harking back to Zora Neale Hurston’s famous words: “All my skinfolk ain’t kinfolk.” Indeed, while we love our own, we sure do dream of erasing a few of them from the history books. Some are politicos, others are pop culture figures, but they all share one common attribute: They’re embarrassing.
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by Joel Dreyfuss onFebruary 19, 2010
As a member of a new generation of African-American historians, Feimster’s work focuses on the overlooked role of politics in racial and sexual violence.
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by Tara Bynum onFebruary 15, 2010
The African-American story is not just activism and resistance.
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February 15, 2010
Whether freed or enslaved, blacks in America have always shown an entrepreneurial spirit. Carpenters who built Monticello, seamstresses who made ball gowns and field hands who picked crops found ways to sell their labor, pass on their skills and lay the foundation for today's African-American billionaire entrepreneurs, CEOs and corporate executives.
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by Henry Louis Gates Jr. onFebruary 14, 2010
Our intrepid editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., investigates the African roots of Brazil’s Carnival.
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by Les Payne onFebruary 12, 2010
The singer-songwriter who walked away from stardom 25 years ago is now the subject of a documentary film.
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February 11, 2010
In his PBS series, Faces of America, The Root’s editor-in-chief, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., traces the ancestry of 12 famous Americans. Take a look at excerpts from Elizabeth Alexander's interview.
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by Dayo Olopade onFebruary 10, 2010
How a skinny white man from Minnesota earned the right to headline the president’s civil rights concert.
PHOTO GALLERY: A look at the White House performers and guests.
