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Eric Holder to CBC: My Commitment Will Never Waver
In light of Thursday’s surprise announcement that Attorney General Eric Holder is stepping down after six years, Holder addressed the shock and unease over his pending resignation at the Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. Holder joked that he was still the attorney general and wasn’t gone yet during his opening remarks at…
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Eric Holder’s Resignation Brings Shock, Disappointment
The mood was one of disappointment on the second day of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference when news hit that Attorney General Eric Holder was stepping down after six years in the position. Little is yet known as to why Holder is stepping down, but several CBCF conference attendees expressed sadness for…
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CBC Week: Don’t Think Congress Can Get Any Worse? Think Again
It’s looking rough out there—politically, that is. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are at 46 percent. Congress’ are worse. Both ratings, and the general feeling of malaise, are attributable to the inability to get anything done in Washington, D.C., and the myriad troubles abroad. Meaning, it’s sometimes a bit more pleasant to fantasize about what…
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My Week at the CBC Convention
This week I plan to drink more than normal, stay out later than I should, put on more makeup than I’d normally bother with and wear dresses that I only wear around this time of the year. Yes. That’s right. It’s time, once again, for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 44th annual Freaknik for old people: the…
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How The Cosby Show Changed the Game for Blacks on TV
Thirty years ago The Cosby Show changed what was possible if you were black and on television, that you didn’t have to play to type and there truly was a universality of the human experience. You could finally be anything—a doctor, a lawyer, a homeboy in outer space. With the right talent and support, any TV…
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Before Social Media, Black Celebs Could Avoid the Ray Rice Treatment
Everyone wants to forgive the favorite child, the prodigal son, the hometown hero. It’s why, despite the overwhelming evidence, suspended Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice still has his online defenders. It’s why it took a video on TMZ to get the NFL to do the right thing. The mindset? Everyone knows who he is, but…
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Youth Groups Working for Ferguson’s Future
Why hold out for a hero when you can save yourself? When protests erupted in Ferguson, Mo., after the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, it wasn’t the black establishment of the St. Louis bedroom community taking it to the streets; it was Brown’s peers. Kids in their teens. Young adults in their…
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Step Aside, Iggy Azalea, It’s Time for Nicki Minaj to Appropriate … Herself
At midnight Wednesday, Nicki Minaj dropped the full video for “Anaconda,” an ode to bodacious booties with a heavily sampled shoutout to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 1992 signature “thickums” jam “Baby Got Back.” What’s endearing, in an “Oh, the ’90s” kind of way, is remembering how “Baby Got Back” and its video were highly controversial at the…
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Beverly Johnson: 40 Years Later, Her Vogue Cover Is Still Groundbreaking
America may have a black president, black billionaires and Beyoncé gracing every magazine cover in 2014, but in the world of high fashion, runways are whiter than ever. Iconic supermodel Beverly Johnson, in an interview with The Root, says that the industry she broke barriers in is actually worse and less receptive today than during…
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Dennis Rodman and North Korea: A Love Story
I guess it’s better to be a fool with “friends” than a fool alone. That’s the first thing that came to mind when I heard that NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman was bringing a cadre of “All Stars” to North Korea to play an exhibition game. I believed this even more after Rodman’s sometimes…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
