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Livestream: Aretha Franklin’s Funeral in Detroit
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is being laid to rest today in Detroit in what will be a star-studded celebration of her life, music and legacy. Shirley Caesar, Chaka Khan, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former President Bill Clinton and Stevie Wonder are just a few of the luminaries who will pay their R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts to…
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The Queen of Soul Reigns Supreme: Our Top 6 Aretha Franklin Live Performances
It may seem like a fool’s errand to try and pick the top live performances of Aretha Franklin’s storied career, which spanned 60 years, because, frankly, whenever she was on stage, that performance was likely going to become a moment. (I’ve had the good fortune to see her live twice and both performances will make…
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Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, Has Died at 76
Aretha Franklin, the Grammy Award-winning R&B singer who inspired countless generations of singers and whose powerful, gospel-infused voice earned her the title of Queen of Soul, has died. She was 76. The cause of death was advanced pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. In a family statement to the AP, Franklin’s publicist Gwendolyn Quinn…
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Muslim Travel Ban? There Has Never Been an America Without Islam or Muslims
I am an American Muslim, and like thousands of American-Muslim families, my family has been in America for over 10 generations. I am also one of tens of thousands of American-Muslim military veterans. I served honorably in the U.S. Navy, earning two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals while deployed abroad. Like other service members,…
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Joe Jackson, Controversial Patriarch of a Musical Dynasty, Has Died at 89
Joseph Walter Jackson, who aspired to be a musician himself, instead became the mastermind behind the most successful musical family in pop history, attracting much controversy along the way. He died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, according to TMZ. He was 89. Family sources told TMZ that Jackson died of cancer. He was surrounded by…
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Black Women Will Save Us, but Who Will Save Black Women?
During the Alabama special election between Roy Moore, a man with a history of predatory behavior toward teen girls, and now-Sen. Doug Jones, we heard again what has become a mantra for progressives: “Black women will save us.” Black women turn out at incredibly high and reliable voting rates, something that institutions like the Democratic…
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Some Did Choose to Return to Slavery Because They Chose Family Over Everything
It is 1857 and Kanye, a carpenter, has finally saved up enough money to buy his freedom from Massa West. Trouble is, he has to leave his wife, Kimba, and five children on the plantation until he can buy them out of slavery as well. Kanye is free from the constant threat of the lash…
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Exclusive: Lezley McSpadden on Why She’s Considering a Run for Ferguson, Mo., City Council
On April 23, something unexpected happened to me. I woke up that morning to fly to Boston for a screening and panel discussion about my new documentary, Stranger Fruit, at Harvard’s prestigious Institute of Politics. The panel—with the film’s director, Jason Pollock, and my attorney, Benjamin Crump—was very moving. At one point during the panel,…
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Ending the Policing of Black Bodies in Public Spaces Requires Not Just a Change of Policy but a Change of Heart
Chikesia Clemons at the Waffle House in Saraland, Ala. Myneca Ojo, Sandra Thompson, Sandra Harrison and a friend at Grandview Golf Club in York, Pa. Tshyrad Oates and a friend at LA Fitness in Secaucus, N.J. Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson at a Starbucks in Philadelphia. Brandon Ward at a Los Angeles-area Starbucks. Ezell A.…
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Rikers Doesn’t Put Teens in Solitary; Other New York Jails Do
This article was published in partnership with Caught, the new podcast on juvenile justice from WNYC Studios and the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal-justice system. Sign up for its newsletter or follow the Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter. When the police approached Imani and her friends outside a Syracuse,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
