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The Only Thing Missing From Georgia’s Neo-Nazi Rally Was Actual Neo-Nazis
When a white supremacist group planned a gathering that was supposed to surpass Charlottesville, Va.’s Unite the Right rally, the community prepared for the worst. Hundreds of police officers arrived in a small Georgia town outside Atlanta to keep the peace. Counterprotesters came out en masse to condemn the hate groups that were scheduled to…
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Could You List the ‘Positive Aspects’ of Slavery? A Teacher Asked 8th-Graders to Do So
Students at a Texas charter school recently received a homework assignment that asked them to list both the “positive aspects” and the “negative aspects” of slavery. Eighth-grade students at Great Hearts Monte Vista Charter School in San Antonio were given a worksheet titled, “The Life of Slaves: A Balanced View.” A mother posted the worksheet…
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Federal Prosecutors Want to Charge Cop Who Put Eric Garner in Choke Hold
Prosecutors in the Department of Justice have recommended federal civil rights charges against the police officer whose arms just happened to be wrapped around Eric Garner’s neck when he died on a Staten Island, N.Y., sidewalk in 2014, but some officials within the Justice Department are reportedly hesitant to do so. After the state of…
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Stans, Ranked
Rapper J. Cole’s new album, KOD, has reignited a recurring discussion about the appreciation of “real” hip-hop between his fans and the people who find him interminably boring. While I am a big fan of J. Cole’s, I cannot call myself one of his “stans” because, while I love his music, I cannot bear the…
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Listen to Prince’s Original Version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ … Then Cry
On Thursday, the estate of musical icon Prince released the original studio recording of his song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” recorded in 1984. Before Sinead O’Connor turned the song into a hit, Prince recorded the tune at the Eden Prairie, Minn., warehouse during sessions for his album Around the World in a Day. The Purple…
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We Need a Yelp for Rating White People
On Monday I was in New York to sit on a panel for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission during the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference. Since the conference was in New York, I woke up early to head to The Root’s main office to work. The day before, as I checked into my…
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LA Fitness Fires 3 Employees for Going Full Starbucks on Black Customer in Viral Video
Updated Thursday, April 19, 2018, 9:19 a.m. EDT: LA Fitness has fired the manager and two other employees at its Secaucus, N.J., location after staff members suggested that a black customer’s fitness routine should include at least one set of getting the fuck out their gym. In a statement to NJ.com on Wednesday, LA Fitness…
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Trump Tweet About Immigrant ‘Breeding’ Invokes White Supremacist Rhetoric
I’m beginning to think Donald Trump has a punch card where he gets a stamp toward his white supremacist membership every time he makes an outwardly racist statement. I have always believed that 74 percent of the “alt-right’s” ire is rooted in their obsession with brown people’s penises. Their fear of black phallus causes them…
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Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry Is More Than Just Your Paper Boi
I’ve often thought about making a list of TV and movie characters so beloved that the actors who play the roles become inextricably linked to the characters. Perhaps the greatest indicator of this phenomenon is when black audiences begin referring to actors by the roles they play. Michael K. Williams will always be Omar from…
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Exclusive: Inside the Deadly South Carolina Prison Riot Where 7 Inmates Were Killed
An inmate and a guard inside a South Carolina correctional facility spoke with The Root detailing conditions inside the facility and a massive gang fight that left seven prisoners dead and 17 inmates injured on Sunday. According to a source who spoke to the Associated Press, the fight at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, S.C.,…
