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Kanye Is the Opposite of 'Anti-Celebrity'
(The Root) — Articles like this one probably annoy Kanye West. Attempts to analyze the litany of quotables that tumble out of his mouth during any given interview are nothing but white noise to the hip-hop star, who in a recent sit-down with the New York Times, dubbed himself an “anti-celebrity” — and also the…
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Michelle Obama's Transcendent Moment
(The Root) — If it’s been true in past elections that what the average Joe Voter really wants is to share a beer with the president, then perhaps getting into a bar fight with the first lady will be 2016’s litmus test. As it stands, reaction to first lady Michelle Obama’s swift handling of a…
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Oprah: Crazy Like a Fox Executive
(The Root) — Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel, tap out and call it quits. Could it be that this entire time I’ve been lying to myself? That I am, in fact, one of Tyler Perry’s biggest fans and just didn’t know it? Nah. I still think the writer-director-producer makes a mockery of…
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'Scandal' Withdrawal: It's a Real Thing
(The Root) — Thursday nights will never be the same (at least until September). After last week’s head-exploding closing line — “Dad?!” — fans of ABC’s cultural phenomenon Scandal have been left with a gaping hole in their social calendars. What to tweet about? What to actually talk about? What’s a gladiator to do without…
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'White Girls Club' Is Neither Cool Nor Clever
(The Root) — We called ourselves “The Nubian Sisters,” Nubes for short. There were maybe seven of us, basically the entire eighth-grade population of black female students at my small private school. The “club” wasn’t much more than us hanging out by a particular bench during lunch, dressing for gym at the same time and…
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The Curious Case of the Black Viral Star
(The Root) — We knew it was coming. The formula is practically scientific: Disaster strikes; poor black person foils it (preferably in a roller set) or escapes, then gives a live interview jam-packed with ridiculous quotes that even Beyoncé can’t resist; the Internet memes flood Facebook; and the fame countdown starts at minute 15. So…
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Gay Athletes and the Generational Divide
(The Root) — A far as seals of approval go, a shout-out from the president of the United States during a nationally televised press conference has to be up there with a thumbs-up from Oprah or a pat on the back from Magic Johnson. And since announcing he was gay in a self-penned essay for…
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'Mad Men' Addresses Its Negro Problem
(The Root) — Since Mad Men premiered in 2007, the show’s diversity (or lack thereof) has been an ongoing, real-life subplot to the series’ success. For a show set against the racially charged backdrop of the 1960s, critics say, the absence of significant black characters isn’t just an oversight; it’s inaccurate. But last week —…
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Jada, Will and the Open Marriage?
(The Root) — Professor Jada Pinkett Smith is back in the building, and class is in session. Continuing her online university-esque lecture series disguised as Facebook posts on everything from haters and bullying to goddess energy and last-resort lesbianism, Pinkett Smith recently sort of addressed the persistent rumors of her alleged open marriage to fellow…
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Not What We Meant by Racial Harmony
(The Root) — Country singer Brad Paisley’s new CD is titled Wheelhouse, but if there’s any subject firmly not in his, it’s race relations. “I think it’s music’s turn to have the conversation,” explained Paisley on Ellen after his first single, “Accidental Racist,” was released online Monday to the polar opposite of rave reviews. The…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
