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RNC Chair Priebus Denounces Rancher Bundy’s ‘Negro’ Rant, but GOP’s Race Problems Continue
On Thursday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus forcefully denounced Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s controversial comments about slavery. In a statement to CNN, Priebus said, “Bundy’s comments are completely beyond the pale. Both highly offensive and 100 percent wrong on race.” Bundy, who in recent weeks has become a hero on the political right for…
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The KKK’s Recent Comeback Means That They Think They’re Losing
Last week CNN sparked a backlash with its headline, “Can the Klan Rebrand?” Their story was a look at the Ku Klux Klan’s efforts to distance itself from its reputation as a violence-inciting hate group in the wake of former Klan Grand Dragon Frazier Glenn Miller being charged in a shooting spree that left three…
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Black America Needs a ‘Let’s Move’ Campaign Against Smoking
In recent years, promoting healthy eating to help prevent a bevy of health woes has become the primary focus for health advocates within the black community. Thanks in part to greater media attention and high-profile representatives, other issues have also finally begun to win much-needed attention, including breast cancer and AIDS. But one of the black…
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Wheel of Fortune: Spinning the Politics of Racial Shame
In 2008, Kevin James (the pundit, not the actor) lived the nightmare of every single one of us who has ever appeared on air: He was humiliated on national television by the host of the show on which he was appearing. James, who is white, was there to defend allegations that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama…
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Obama Could Stand to Be a Little More Like LBJ
On Thursday, President Barack Obama joined other dignitaries at a civil rights summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signature accomplishment as president—passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And in a nod to the shoulders that he stands on, Obama said, “I have lived out the promise of LBJ’s efforts.”…
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Obama Uses His Pen to Enforce Equal Pay for Women and Minorities
After spending much of his first term facing criticism that he did not do enough to address issues of particular importance to minority communities, President Barack Obama appears to be making a conscious effort to make such issues a priority of his second term. On Tuesday, the president will sign two executive orders specifically aimed…
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Can NY Create Economic Development With TV Diversity?
In the face of mounting criticism for its lack of on-air diversity, earlier this year Saturday Night Live hired its first black female cast member in five years—comedian Sasheer Zamata. But SNL reached another diversity milestone this year that didn’t generate quite as much attention but was arguably even more significant. For the first time, two women of…
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Exclusive: NYPD’s William Bratton Vows to Win Back the Black Community’s Trust
Stop and frisk, a law-enforcement policy found to disproportionately target men of color, emerged as a key issue in last year’s New York City mayoral race. Now-mayor, then-candidate, Bill de Blasio, who is white and the father of a biracial teen son, spent much of his campaign decrying the measure and vowing to stop its…
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4 Lessons From a Homeless Mother’s Tragic Dilemma
While politicians, most of whom have never been truly poor, continue, in the abstract, to debate how to best help those living in poverty, Shanesha Taylor—a homeless mother of two who was arrested for leaving her children unattended in her car in order to go to a job interview—just helped give the debate a human…
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5 Ways the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Cases Affect Black Women
Today, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in what has been dubbed the Hobby Lobby case, a catch-all name for two separate cases—Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. The cases could determine whether employers can be exempted on religious grounds from a mandate of the Affordable Care Act…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
