-
Peru Names First Black Cabinet Member
Peru’s populist President Ollanta Humala broke a significant racial barrier by naming world-renowned singer Susana Baca as his minister of culture. This is the first time that an Afro-Peruvian or a singer has been named to the presidential cabinet in Peru and is a significant step for a country that has long discriminated against its black…
-
Michelle Rhee Challenged at Martha's Vineyard Forum
Former District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was a frequent target at a forum on education on Martha’s Vineyard last night. Rhee, who resigned as head of district schools after Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his re-election bid last year, took shots from both education historian Diane Ravitch and Harvard sociologist Lawrence Bobo. The…
-
VIDEO: Anchor Won't Hear Explanation of Riots
A remarkable interview on the BBC shows how the British media have struggled to cope with reasons behind the rioting in England. This video has been making the rounds since it aired on Tuesday. After it aired, BBC apologized for its treatment of Darcus Howe. In other news: VIDEO: Riot Cleanup Planned Via Twitter.
-
American Arrogance, Global Reality
So the Tea Party got what it wanted. The holdouts against the debt-limit deal indicated they didn’t care if the U.S. defaulted and couldn’t pay its bills. They didn’t believe Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s warnings that a credit default would be disastrous. And they didn’t want to give President Obama a victory. So they held…
-
Police Shooting Triggers London Riot
It’s a story too familiar to Americans. A questionable police shooting triggers outrage that escalates into violence. This time the scenario is playing out in London’s Tottenham district. So far a bus, two police cars and several stores have been burned. Police have made 55 arrests, 26 police officers have been injured and firefighters have responded…
-
What Now for NABJ?
The annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists kicked off in Philadelphia yesterday. I’m on my way for the umpteenth time, because I’ve had a proprietary attachment to the organization. But this year I have more than the usual trepidations I’ve had over the years. I’ve worried about the balance between substance and…
-
Urban League: Empowered Enough?
The National Urban League wrapped up its annual conference in Boston this weekend, celebrating 101 years of existence. The news backdrop was hugely significant. President Obama and the Republicans wrestled with the debt limit on the cable networks and in the back rooms, with the likely outcome of further shrinking the already fragile social safety…
-
Gates Meets Gates
It was one of those irresistible matchups: two guys named Gates facing off at the National Urban League Conference in Boston. One was our own Henry Louis Gates Jr., editor-in-chief of The Root; the other guy was Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world. Our Gates was tasked…
-
Marc Morial on NUL's Pull With Obama
The National Urban League’s National Conference opens Wednesday in Boston. The 101-year-old organization’s president, Marc Morial — a former mayor of New Orleans — sat down with The Root in the league’s New York offices overlooking the city’s waterfront. A frank, wide-ranging conversation covered the nation’s current economic struggles as well as the Urban League’s…
-
The DSK Maid Speaks
Finally, her name is made public to American audiences, although the French have long known. Nafissatou Diallo opened up to Newsweek, months after the alleged incident in New York’s Sofitel hotel that changed the course of global politics. The 32-year-old woman from Guinea reiterated her story about the encounter with the former IMF chief. She…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
