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From Relaxed to All Natural: Johnny Wright, the Man Behind Michelle Obama’s Hair
Michelle Obama with an Afro? Michelle Obama with an Afro! It could happen! And celebrity stylist Johnny Wright—the stylist to the first lady—is the man who would make that happen if it did. Wright, who says Michelle Obama has been completely natural for years now (he straightens her hair with a flat iron), says it is…
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Is the Rev. Jamal Bryant the Man to Save Baltimore?
The Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant is emotionally spent. The past 11 days had taken their toll when The Root spoke with Bryant, 43, over the phone Wednesday. We asked him how he was handling these “hectic” days—his home city of Baltimore mired in charges of police brutality, the suspicious death of Freddie Gray while in…
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Listen: Michael Eric Dyson’s Interview on His Break With Cornel West
It was personal. In Michael Eric Dyson’s takedown for the New Republic of his friend and mentor Cornel West, he has a come-to-Jesus moment that is neither pretty nor kind, but painfully blunt. The realization comes to Dyson that West is a parody of the intellectual he once was, that his vicious and often personal…
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Poverty Was the Crime in Walter Scott’s Slaying
When 50-year-old Walter Scott was pulled over by a police officer in North Charleston, S.C., Saturday, it was under the guise of a broken taillight. When he fled from that stop, his family said he possibly ran for fear of a warrant out for his arrest over child support. And when video revealed that Officer…
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Watch: SC Police Officer Charged With Murder After Shooting Black Man in the Back
It was a familiar story: A white police officer claimed that he felt threatened, that a black man wrestled with him for his weapon and that he had to shoot him in order to protect himself. But new video showing North Charleston, S.C., Police Officer Michael T. Slager, 33, shooting Walter L. Scott, 50, in…
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Happy Birthday, Divas!
Editor’s note: This week we’re celebrating the birthdays of three phenomenal performers—Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey—who not only share late-March birthdays but who also have voices that have defined their generations. First up, on Monday, is the Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan. On Wednesday we’ll honor the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and…
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Amber Rose vs. the Kardashians: How Race and Class Reshape This Slut-Shaming Beef
If an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, what does a tweet for a tweet do? If you’re talking Khloe Kardashian’s newly minted social media beef with Amber Rose, it probably leaves most of the world entertained, while exposing the fact that even so-called sexual liberation comes with the baggage of race…
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Yes, A Different World Is a Moment in Black History
Editor’s note: During Black History Month the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…
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Bobbi Kristina Brown: A Timeline of Turmoil and Tragedy
Born of stars but seemingly star-crossed, 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown has spent her entire life in the spotlight, fighting both her and her famous parents’ demons on TV, Twitter and in the tabloids. Now the daughter of music legend Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown is fighting for her life. She was found by…
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3 Black Adoptees on Racial Identity After Growing Up in White Homes
Does love know no color? The ad campaign for Kevin Costner’s new film Black or White definitely supports that idea, pushing the hashtag #LoveKnowsNoColor while promoting the transracial custody drama. Black or White pits a child’s white maternal grandfather (Costner) against her black paternal grandmother (played by Octavia Spencer) in a legal battle for custody.…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
