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Ebony Responds to #EbonyOwes as Writers Reveal Their Stories
Ebony has responded to the growing criticism that it doesn’t pay the mostly black freelance writers whose works actually make the magazine. On Wednesday, Jagger Blaec penned an article for The Root that followed up on a piece she’d written for The Establishment. A number of writers have since stepped out of the shadows and…
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Meet the New Military Division of White Nationalism
On March 8, Donald Trump loyalist Kyle Chapman was released from jail after being arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger when violence broke out between Trump supporters and anti-fascists in Berkeley, Calif., on March 4. Since then, Chapman has become an instant celebrity, thanks…
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Black Twitter Claps Back at Confederate-Loving Candidate for Va. Governor
The Urban Dictionary defines “big mad” as “being mad as fuck about something.” It’s a derogatory term used most often to laugh and point at people who are outraged about something stupid. Trump was big mad when a federal appeals court struck down his travel ban. White women were big mad when Beyoncé sang the…
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What’s Up With Oprah and Homophobic Preachers?
Warning: The following few paragraphs contain words that some may find critical of two-thirds of the most revered institutions in the black community: preachers and Oprah Winfrey. If you have ever experienced heart palpitations or have accused someone of blasphemy for daring to utter words of criticism toward the black trinity, please consult a physician…
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University Students Vote to Give Free Tuition as Slave Reparations
One of the most infamous tactics used in America’s history of delaying and denying justice is “sparking a conversation.” If that phrase is ever uttered, you can be sure that whatever promise follows will never come to fruition because “sparking a conversation” never results in action. When slave owners brought human beings to these shores…
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Watch: Newly Released Interviews of Officers Involved in Tamir Rice Shooting Reveal Inconsistencies, Emotion
Two-and-a-half years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was gunned down in a park by a Cleveland police officer, the investigative interviews of the two cops have been made public by Cleveland.com. Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback were the two policemen on the scene at Cudell Recreation Center on Nov. 22, 2014, when Tamir was killed. In…
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States Are Quietly Resurrecting a Law That Makes It Easier to Kill Blacks
On July 12, 2013, the Honorable Judge Debra S. Nelson addressed the jury in the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman in Florida and read her instructions to the jury (pdf). They included the following: In deciding whether George Zimmerman was justified in the use of deadly force, you must judge him by the circumstances by…
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Happy Anniversary, White Supremacy!
Because many people have accused The Root of not being inclusive and focusing on issues of race too much, please allow us to extend our most heartfelt, warmest wishes on this—your day of celebration. As Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama celebrate Confederate Memorial Day (which I have long proposed be renamed “White Tear-mas”—because who else but…
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Indiana University Bans Athletes With History of Sexual Violence
In a groundbreaking decision, the University of Indiana will no longer allow student-athletes with a history of sexual or domestic violence to compete in the school’s college athletics. The Indianapolis Star reports that in the wake of a number of scandals across the country that sparked debate on how big-time college athletics handle the troubling…
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Gun-Crazy Lawmaker Threatens Funding, Accuses Black Students of ‘Race-Baiting’ Over School Project
You probably weren’t aware of this, but conservatives have uncovered a little-known but extremely useful political theory that explains every problem in American politics, from rising health care costs to the problems in the Middle East and even police brutality: It’s Obama’s fault. Still. Take the case of Wyoming state senator and Elmer Fudd look-alike…
