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Harlem's Schomburg Research Center Gets a New Director
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a jewel in the New York Public Library system. It is also a revered touchstone for black nationalists, and the combination has often made any change at the institution a contentious event. But the announcement today may make the transition to a new leader the least controversial…
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Rangel Walks Out of Ethics Hearing
UPDATE: Despite pleas from the accused for a delay, the House ethics trial of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) went ahead as planned Monday. The eight-member committee of four Democrats and four Republicans met behind closed doors after Rangel asked for more time to replace his attorneys, and they voted to go on with the trial.…
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Limbaugh Tosses Race Card at Democratic Leaders
We knew that Rush Limbaugh couldn’t resist reaching down into the muck too long after the election. But he may have set a new low with the latest instance of his latest obsession with cars, perks and chauffeurs. The radio talk-show host accused Democratic leaders of being “white racists” because of the contest among them to choose…
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McNabb Benching Raises the Race Issue
The issue was bound to surface. When Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan pulled star quarterback Donovan McNabb in the last two minutes of a close game against Detroit, there was widespread shock in the stands, on the team and among the pundits. The D.C. team had mortgaged a sizable chunk of its future to land McNabb, who has…
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Kamala Harris Says She Will Be California's Next AG
Kamala Harris is not claiming victory yet, but she says she will be California’s next attorney general. The roundabout announcement comes in the wake of her opponent’s announcement that he had won the very close contest. Republican Steve Cooley declared victory around 11 p.m. Tuesday, but Harris, the Democratic candidate, gradually closed the gap and…
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A Reflective Obama Blames Losses on the Economy
President Obama conceded Wednesday that the voters had handed him a “shellacking” in the midterm elections and said the “humbling” losses by Democratic officeholders made him “feel bad.” But the president refused to concede that his policies were to blame for the shift in public sentiment that flipped control of the House of Representatives to…
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Obama's New Reality
Barack Obama and black America wake up today to a new political reality: a House of Representatives under control of the Republican Party and a U.S. Senate with a slim Democratic majority. The White House started putting its spin on the shift of power in the week before the election. There were hints that Obama…
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A Big Step for Chucho
On his latest release, Chucho’s Steps, the pianist offers an intriguing panorama of his talent and his taste. He pays tribute to Joe Zawinul, the pianist for the fusion-jazz pioneer band Weather Report, quoting from one of that group’s most famous tunes in “Zawinul’s Mambo.” This is a reminder that Valdés came to the attention…
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The Root Interview: Soledad O'Brien on Blacks and Debt
The third installment of Soledad O’Brien’s Black in America series airs tonight on CNN. In three years, O’Brien has delivered three long — and sometimes controversial — documentaries addressing aspects of black life in the United States. The latest installment, “Almighty Debt,” focuses on debt among African Americans and a New Jersey church leader’s attempt…
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French Perfumer Guerlain Drops the N-Word, Causes 'Scandale'
As France struggles with discontent over the Sarkozy plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, another long-standing — but often ignored — problem has reared its ugly Gallic head again: racism. This time it involves a revered figure, Jean-Paul Guerlain, descendant of the founder of the famous perfumery. In a TV…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
