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Supreme Court: Time for a Black Woman?
Keli Goff is The Root’s special correspondent. Follow her on Twitter. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Shelby County v. Holder, which overturned a key prevision of the Voting Rights Act, rattled civil rights proponents who see it as a major setback in the quest for racial equality and justice. The role of the court’s lone…
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Why Nubian Skin Lingerie Matters for Women of Color
At the end of a summer when unarmed black men seem to have become, increasingly, routine targets of law enforcement, it would be easy to overstate the significance of an advance for people of color in the world of fashion. But with the caveat that this obviously isn’t the most pressing news of the day,…
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Why the 50 Cent-Floyd Mayweather Beef Is No Laughing Matter
For the last several days, rapper 50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather have engaged in the favorite pastime of any 21st-century celebrity with a Twitter account and an ego: feuding. While in the old days you might have had to stand on a street corner and shout insults at a nemesis face-to-face, with a few…
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Both Sides of the Aisle Back Bob Johnson’s ‘Rooney Rule’—and That’s a Good Thing
These days, a conservative expressing public support for Obamacare is considered controversial. But a conservative expressing support for the idea that racial inequality still plays a significant-enough role in society that we need policy remedies to address it? That may be considered politically suicidal. But Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone black Republican…
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Tell Me More About the Return of the White-Guy Era in Broadcast Media
Though we often ridicule those who find themselves on the wrong side of a racial controversy and fall back on the “but I have a black friend” defense, this time I figured it actually might not be a bad idea for me to start this piece with a similar disclaimer: Some of my best friends…
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Will More Black Democratic Political Staffers Shift the Midterms’ Outcome?
During a press call Tuesday, Rep. Steve Israel of New York, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, laid out what he sees as the Democrats’ best chance at victory in the upcoming midterm elections. Unlike previous election cycles, when much of the party’s outreach focused almost exclusively on mobilizing key groups to go to…
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How Media Missed That Black Women Do ‘Have It All’
The only thing I have grown to hate more than the term “having it all” is the debate about whether or not women can have it all. To be clear, I have been roped into this debate myself on more than one occasion, but I usually find myself doing what I just did: critiquing how pointless it…
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Why Won’t More Wealthy Black Celebs Dig Deeper in Their Wallets?
Though the outsized influence of wealthy conservative donors like the Koch brothers tend to dominate debates about the role of money in politics, a new report indicates progressives now appear to have a fundraising advantage. According to the Sunlight Foundation, the top donors to super PACs for the past year have leaned progressive. But none…
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Really, NY Magazine? Couldn’t Find a Black Rom-Com for Top 25?
I’m a big fan of New York magazine, in large part because of its cultural coverage and willingness to give a platform to artists, institutions and subjects that other mainstream publications might not. A case in point is the slide show the site just devoted to the upcoming coffee table book Vintage Black Glamour, which…
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If AFSCME Breaks With Black Colleges Over Koch Money, It’s Not Being Principled, It’s Grandstanding
Let’s say, hypothetically, that a charity that serves veterans, based in my home state of Texas—where 23 percent of folks polled believe that President Barack Obama is Muslim—accepts a sizable donation from the Obama family. But after the Obamas’ donation becomes public, the charity winds up losing significant financial support from some of its conservative…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
