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Baltimore Mayor Fights Bank Scheme
(The Root) — For all Baltimore’s average citizens knew prior to late June, Libor was a faraway planet or some kind of a cleaning compound (as in: “For maximum results, add a dash of Libor to your borax when laundering horse blankets”). Then the news broke that British bank Barclays had admitted to gaming a…
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End of an Era for Hal Jackson and Radio
(The Root) — Maybe he didn’t sport the deep, bottom-scraping tones of Jerry Bledsoe; the hollering, down-home hilarity of Jocko Henderson; or the aggressive, acid-tinged sophistication of Frankie “Hollywood” Crocker. But Hal Jackson — who was often dubbed the Godfather of Black Radio — had longevity. His radio style was there for the long term.…
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Behind the NAACP's Marriage-Equality Move
(The Root) — Leaders of the NAACP said on Monday that their affirmation of marriage equality — implicitly supporting widespread efforts to make same-sex marriages legal — was a response to political groups who have been using the issue of same-sex marriage as a “wedge issue.” Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the 103-year-old civil rights…
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Will Right-Wing Super PAC Topple Rangel?
(The Root) — A ham-handed attempt by a super PAC to shake things up in the Democratic primary in New York’s 13th congressional district has raised charges of “conspiracy” and outside meddling from supporters of longtime incumbent Charles Rangel. The funding group, Campaign for Primary Accountability, says that it intends to throw its weight —…
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Recognition Overdue for Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin, if he were still alive, would turn 100 years old on March 17. Among Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner circle during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the run-up to the March on Washington, Rustin rarely stepped into the spotlight and labored mostly behind the scenes before 1963. In truth, Rustin, who died in…
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The Man Who Bailed Out MLK
This profile is part of a yearlong series titled The Root’s Salute to Unsung Heroes, which will put a weekly spotlight on African Americans who have been recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service as Drum Majors for Service. The inspiration for the honor is the spirit of community service that Martin Luther…
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A Centenarian Dedicated to Giving
This profile is the second in a yearlong series titled The Root’s Salute to Unsung Heroes, which will put a weekly spotlight on African Americans who have been recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service as Drum Majors for Service. The inspiration for the honor is the spirit of community service that Martin…
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The Root 100 Close-Up: DeVon Franklin
All right, let’s get the really big question out of the way: Those movie stars that DeVon Franklin associates with on a daily basis — Will and Jada and Vivica and Angela and the rest — what are they really like? Franklin, Columbia Pictures’ 33-year-old wunderkind vice president of production and a 2011 The Root…
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WWII Vet Follows His 'Drum Major Instinct'
This profile is the first in a yearlong series titled The Root’s Salute to Unsung Heroes, which will put a weekly spotlight on African Americans who have been recognized by the Corporation for National and Community Service as Drum Majors for Service. The inspiration for the honor is the spirit of community service that Martin…
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The Root 100 Close-Up: James Shelton
James H. Shelton III’s teenage years at upscale, mostly white private schools in Washington, D.C., were painful. “I think I was kind of funny looking for a while there,” he recalls. “I didn’t have much money and my clothes didn’t fit. The other guys were wearing Members Only jackets and polo shirts, and I didn’t…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
