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Gay Bashing in Uganda a Government Distraction
Uganda’s proposed legislative ban on homosexuality is nothing more than a distraction from more troubling ethical lapses among government officials, Dayo Olopade writes in an op-ed at the International Herald Tribune. KAMPALA, Uganda — On Feb. 7, Uganda took again the same large step backward it had taken in 2009. The member of parliament David…
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Goodbye to The Root!
Last April, I snapped this photo of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, mortal enemies turned thick as thieves at the White House. In the year since, I’ve lugged the same tools—recorder, camera, notepad, pens—around DC for this fine magazine, in search of words worth the thousand you see here. Starting next month, I’ll be doing…
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Nigeria's Accidental President Promises Reform
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan—the acting president of Nigeria—needs an introduction. After a political drama that makes President Barack Obama’s scuffles with centrist senators seem boring by comparison, Jonathan has emerged on top. Nigeria’s elected president, Umar Yar’Adua, fell ill. Then he disappeared to Saudi Arabia for two months. Soon, his wife, Tarai Yar’Adua, began stage managing…
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Barack Obama
On the day he had officially proclaimed United States Census Day 2010, President Barack Obama ticked off a box marked “Black, African American or Negro.” Though the form provided space for him to write in the story we know so well by now—Kenya, Kansas, Hawaii, Hyde Park—he chose the simpler, less divisive route. David Remnick,…
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Eggs Roll on the White House Lawn
Thirty-thousand kids and parents attended the Obama White House’s second annual Easter Egg Roll during a beautiful spring day in Washington Monday. The president and first lady, along with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, and first grandmother, Marian Robinson, greeted the crowds from the south portico of the White House, overlooking a stretch of lawn…
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Why Michael Steele Will Stay
It’s ironic that the first chairman of the Republican National Committee who descended from slaves might finally be ousted from power by a scandal known as “Bondage-Gate.” And yet the incident, involving RNC expenditures at an S&M-themed nightclub in West Hollywood, puts Michael Steele—the first black head of the powerful conservative arm once run by…
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The New Monster That Controls Concerts
The 2010 South by Southwest music and technology conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, earlier this month could easily be mistaken for a twisted game of musical chairs: The jambalaya of independent artists, industry suits and iPhone-carrying fanboys in attendance hopped from flea bars to dance halls to bookstores, in search of live shows—never knowing when…
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'What Change Looks Like': Health Care Bill Passes House
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, passed an enormous, politically daring overhaul of the American health insurance and health care delivery system by a margin of 219-212. President Barack Obama, expected to sign the bill into law later this week, rejoiced with a high-five. And yet in…
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Dodd Bill Supports New Consumer Finance Watchdog
Patricia Nelson took out a $550 payday loan in December 2007. By September 2009, she had rolled the loan over more than 22 times, and paid upwards of $2,700 in interest alone. In the wake of the messy and catastrophic financial market meltdown of 2008, President Barack Obama invited the 64-year-old to the White House.…
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Tomorrow's Crop of Black Women Leaders
In 2010, black politics is often written in male faces. Tomorrow, women may be the torchbearers of black political power. Today’s pantheon of African-American political talent begins with President Barack Obama, who rode into office on the strength of organized communities and an overwhelming black turnout. Add to the shining roster: Cory Booker, Rhodes Scholar…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
