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The New King of Pop is a Queen
The two weeks since Michael Jackson’s death have been awash in tributes and testimonies to the man and his music. Yet the tide of nostalgia and revisionism that has gripped the entire planet obscures a nagging truth: The very idea of superstardom may have died with Michael. After all, so many of the eulogies have…
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VIDEO: Obama Speaks at Slave Fort in Ghana
Barack Obama rounded out his trip abroad with a stop in Accra, Ghana over the weekend. There, he spoke to the nation’s parliament and paid a visit to a maternal health clinic in Accra, before finishing up with a moving visit to Ghana’s Cape Coast Castle—the point of no return for thousands upon thousands of…
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Dining Without the Dictator
Barack Obama and his family will touch down in Accra, Ghana this weekend, and while it’s significant that Obama comes to Africa as the first American president of African descent, the trip will have none of that Return-to-the-Motherland feel, in part because he’s already done that (see Dreams from My Father). Nor will it produce…
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Before Obama, Google Gets to Africa
Hours before president Obama touches down in Ghana, good news for Africa and Web 2.0: (Via the Stimulist) Google’s mission is well-known by this point: to organize the world’s information. But now Google is focusing on making sure that the world includes Africa. Many of their search functions to this point have been available to…
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Debate on America's Energy Future Splits Obama and Artur Davis
An incredibly important bill on climate change is being debated on the floor of the House today. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, whose lead sponsors are Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) will cut carbon emissions by 17 percent below 1990 levels, promote investments in renewable energy sources, and implement the…
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Michael Jackson: Black Or White?
Of course, the #1 jam off of Michael Jackson’s 1991 album, “Dangerous,” suggests that it “doesn’t matter if you’re black or white.” But among the most heated controversies surrounding the recently passed musician was his public struggle with his appearance, his racial identity and his skin color. Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo, a pigment-erasing skin…
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Michael Jackson is Dead: Will We Let Him RIP?
The word is out, the king is gone: International music icon Michael Jackson died today after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital following a sudden heart failure. No doubt more details will emerge as the story plays out in California, but initial speculation suggests that the 50-year old Jackson may have overtrained for a…
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Where There's Smoke…
Covers the White House and Washington for The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
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The Lost Tapes: Nixon's Rants and Racism Now Public
Fifteen years after 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon passed away, thousands of papers and over 150 hours of tapes from Nixon’s oval office—made between January and February 1973—have been dumped, via the National Archives, into the American collective consciousness. (Check the audio files and some documents here). And as you would expect, they’re quite the…
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The First Couple’s First Flick
The story of Michelle and Barack Obama has been drawn as one about black achievement, the triumph of tradition, racial healing and just plain romance. But their story has also, from day one, been a political one. It’s been that way since their first official date 20 years ago, when the couple went to see…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
