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The Copyright Problem With MLK's 'Dream' Speech
Martin Luther King Jr.’s superlative “I Have a Dream” speech “is not free, alas,” Mother Jones‘ Lauren Williams writes. It will not be in the public domain until 2038, and until then, commercial enterprises wishing to use it must pay his estate a hefty fee. I have a dream that on the 50th anniversary of the…
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Voter Discrimination That Can't Be Prevented Now
When the Supreme Court knocked down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in June, it cleared the path for egregious acts of discrimination to occur, Lauren Williams writes at Mother Jones. She cites five examples of discrimination that were previously barred by federal law. In honor of the VRA’s anniversary [August 6, 2013], here…
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Why North Carolina's Voter-ID Bill Is the Nation's Worst
Mother Jones‘ Lauren Williams examines the North Carolina GOP Legislature’s recent revisions to a photo-ID bill. She explains why it just may be the nation’s most onerous and restrictive voter-ID law in recent history. For decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 required cities, counties and states with histories of discriminatory voting laws to seek…
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Susan Rice to Be New National Security Adviser
Susan Rice rises again. The United Nations ambassador has been tapped to replace Tom Donilon, who is resigning, as President Obama’s national security adviser, according to the Washington Post. In December of 2012, she withdrew her name from consideration for secretary of state after Obama’s opponents accused her of misleading the public in the aftermath…
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What Roger Ebert Said About Black Films
(The Root) — When Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert died on April 4 after a battle with cancer, a cross-cultural, countrywide coalition of fans expressed grief over the loss of the 70-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner. You didn’t have to be a Chicagoan to have heard of his work, which had a national audience. And…
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Remember This? Malcolm, Dru, Neil and Olivia on 'The Young and the Restless'
(The Root) — There’s been quite a bit of implausible drama over the four decades since The Young and the Restless came on the air, but to celebrate its birthday, we thought we’d dust off a clip featuring our favorite love square (?) on the soap opera: the iconic sisters, Olivia and Drucilla (Tonya Lee Williams…
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Trailblazing South African Runner Charged With Murdering Girlfriend
Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee track star from South Africa who was one of the heroes of the 2012 London Olympics, was charged Thursday with murder in the shooting death of a woman believed to be his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his home outside of Pretoria. Pistorius made history last summer as the first double-amputee…
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Viola Davis: Maid No More
Viola Davis received critical acclaim for her role as a 1960s Mississippi maid in 2011’s The Help, but the film also received quite a bit of flak for its portrayal of black female domestics. While she defended her role in the blockbuster, she feels differently about portraying a black maid in a movie set in the…
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Former Powell Chief of Staff: GOP 'Full of Racists'
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a self-identified Republican who was Gen. Colin Powell’s chief of staff during his time as secretary of state, did not take too kindly to a recent accusation — from Mitt Romney’s controversial campaign co-chair John Sununu — that Powell only endorsed Barack Obama for president because they’re both black. Sununu would later…
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Shooting at Creflo Dollar's Mega-Church Kills 1
Police say that a volunteer staff member at Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church International was leading a prayer service for a group of about 20 in the chapel Wednesday morning when he was fatally shot by a gunman. The volunteer has not been identified, but police say he was 39 years old. From the Associated Press…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
