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Who Will Teach the Children?
President Barack Obama had more homework than usual this week. In the wee hours of Monday morning, Obama surprised administrators at Washington’s Sidwell Friends Academy, where his two daughters attend school. He and his wife showed up for the quarterly ritual known as the parent-teacher conference. After hearing about Malia and Sasha from their teachers,…
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"The Wire"'s Omar Little Lives in New Jersey, Believes in Obama
Actor Michael Kenneth Williams, best known for playing Omar Little, Barack Obama’s favorite character on HBO’s “The Wire,” is jumping into the political fray with an endorsement of sitting New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine: Williams’ Obama-centric pitch mixed a few metaphors, but made a point: This is real life, this is not TV…it’s not a…
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Words From the Other Mr. (Cornel) West
Cornel West, distinguished professor in the Princeton Center for African American Studies, and author of best sellers such as Race Matters (Vintage, 1994) Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (Penguin, 2004) and Keeping Faith: Philosophy and Faith in America (Routledge, 1994),has a new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud (Smiley Books) in…
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How the (Dr. Cornel) West Was Won
Cornel West, distinguished professor in the Princeton Center for African American Studies, and author of bestsellers such as Race Matters (Vintage, 1994) Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (Penguin, 2004) and Keeping Faith: Philosophy and Faith in America (Routledge, 1994), has a new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud (Smiley Books) in…
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Beat The (Black) Press: White House Launches E-Magazine
The Obama administration today released the first edition of White House Wire, a special newsletter aimed at the black community. Aggregating recent news such as UN Ambassador Susan Rice’s speech at Howard University Law School, Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s trip to Chicago to address youth violence, the naming of a…
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Health Care Bill Passes. No Public Option. Yet?
After five months of congressional debate and five hours of tense discussion, the Senate Finance Committee passed the makings of significant health care reform. Backed by 13 Democrats and Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, the wide-ranging bill introduced by committee chairman Max Baucus will cover needed reforms on which there is almost no partisan disagreement—comparative effectiveness…
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Barack Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize
President Barack Obama today won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first sitting American president to win the award since Woodrow Wilson. As day broke across the United States, the International Nobel Committee announced the decision in Oslo, Norway—taking both foreign policy watchers and ordinary citizens by surprise. The Nobel citation emphasized Obama’s efforts to…
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Welcome to the Fun House: Obama Plays Ball With Cabinet
I imagine keeping house where one works—running the free world, no less—can be decidedly unfun at times. Yet the stack of problems and tough decisions on US domestic and foreign policy haven’t stopped the multitasking president Barack Obama from trying to have a little fun at home. To wit: The whole Obama family hosted what’s…
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On Chicago Violence, Eric Holder Top Cops Out
The brutal killing of Chicago high schooler Derrion Albert left countless Americans stunned. In an attempt at damage control—in an immediate and long-term sense—White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder and former Chicago Schools superintendent and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to confront the constellation of issues that led…
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First African–American Studies Program Launches in Turkey
I am in Istanbul, Turkey for the next few days, and have had the opportunity to take in a number of fascinating aspects of contemporary Turkish culture. My vague forethoughts of dervishes, fundamentalists and stern Ottoman raiders has been displaced by visions of a thoroughly modern, yet ancient city. In Istanbul, which literally straddles East…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
