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What It Means to Be Lucky in America
Eddie Adams is a remarkable young man. A gifted cellist, Adams attends George Mason University in Northern Virginia. Two weeks ago, the Washington Post profiled Adams, contrasting his love for the instrument—and a recent performance at the Kennedy Center—against his “life of poverty and torment.” Adams’ story won the hearts of readers. Yesterday, the Post…
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Caucasity Broadcasting System: Former Exec Calls Out CBS for Its 'White Problem'
Is there any network that loves straight white men as much as CBS? A damning—but not altogether shocking—letter published by a former exec makes the beige bar pretty damn hard to clear. In a letter published Tuesday in Variety, Whitney Davis, a veteran executive with years of experience working in the network’s entertainment and news…
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'A Gumbo of Unhealthiness': A New Report Reveals How Air Pollution Disproportionately Affects Black Americans
It’s been well documented that while climate change affects everyone, its impact is not evenly shared. In the U.S., black and Latinx communities have been disproportionately hit by environmental disasters like storms and flooding; and a number of recent reports have found even the air they breathe isn’t safe. A new report by the American…
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James Byrd Jr. Was Dragged to Death More Than 20 Years Ago. One of His Killers Is Scheduled to Be Executed This Week
The dragging death of James Byrd Jr. was one of the most gruesome hate crimes in recent memory; rightfully referred to as a “modern-day lynching.” Picked up by the side of the road by three white men in the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, the 49-year-old black man was beaten and his face…
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Yeezus Price: Kanye Charges $255 for 'Holy Spirit' Hoodies, $50 'Jesus Walks' Socks
Gospel music wasn’t the only Christian tradition Kanye West tapped into during his Sunday Coachella performance—the good Pastor ‘Ye also indulged in a good old fashioned holy hustle, selling basic “church clothes” for $70 to $225 a pop. Now, when you think of “church clothes”—especially on Easter Sunday—you may be thinking of sanctified freshness: crisp…
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Connecticut Protesters Continue Week of Demonstrations After Officer-Involved Shooting of Unarmed Black Couple Near Yale Campus
Protesters say they won’t stop demonstrating until two officers involved in the shooting of two unarmed black people near Yale University’s campus are fired. The streets of New Haven and neighboring Hamden, Conn., have been filled with protesters each night for nearly a week, after a Hamden cop and a Yale police officer fired multiple…
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Elizabeth Warren Proposes $50 Billion in Aid to HBCUs, Student Debt Forgiveness in Radical Higher Ed Reform Package
If there’s one thing Americans of all stripes seem to agree on, it’s that the education system is broken: school districts are increasingly segregated and disproportionately funded at the K-12 level, and the cost of college educations—touted as an essential step toward economic advancement—has become increasingly prohibitive. Because of skyrocketing tuition costs, a student debt…
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'A Grave Threat to Public Safety': John Legend Calls Out Chicago Police Union in Op-Ed
As the city of Chicago lurches forward with its lawsuit against actor Jussie Smollett, John Legend penned a blistering op-ed last week, taking aim at Chicago’s powerful police union. Writing for the Chicago Tribune, the singer accused the Fraternal Order of Police of posing “a grave threat” to Chicago’s safety by obstructing efforts to instill…
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Slavery, But Make It a Bodice-Ripper: Ancestry.com to Pull Offensive, Ahistorical Ad
The DNA testing company Ancestry.com says it’s pulling an ad depicting a mixed-race couple during antebellum slavery after a furious—and well-deserved—backlash accusing the company of romanticizing and whitewashing the reality of interracial sexual relationships during that period. The ad, called “Inseparable” (Funny how hard it is to be separated when the circumstances are, uhmm, literal…
