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Noma Dumezweni on Being Hermione, a Mom and a Brit on Broadway
If you ask the average American if they know the name Noma Dumezweni, the truth is, they may not. But ask any follower of live theater or, better yet, any fan of the Harry Potter wizarding world, and they are quick to answer, “Of course! She’s amazing!” That is because Dumezweni is both an award-winning…
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Suge Knight, the Red Menace, Hit With 28 Years in Prison
Murder was the case that they gave him, and days before his trial was slated to begin, the man who many (and by “many” I mean “me”) believe sucked the soul out of hip-hop, is receiving his just desserts. Marion “Suge” Knight recently entered a plea of no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter…
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Steve Harvey Loses One of His Fifty-’Leven Gigs to Kelly Clarkson
Whatever feelings you have about the Chicklet-toothed “relationship expert” who sold the Now & Later-colored Easter suit to your head deacon, you gotta give it to Steve Harvey—he’s a damn hard worker. And perhaps the man who thought it was comedy gold to tell a Flint, Mich., resident to enjoy his “nice glass of brown…
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Snochia Moseley Identified as Alleged Mass Shooter in Maryland [Updated]
Mere hours after a mass shooting at an office complex in Middleton, Wis., and another one in Masontown, Penn., law enforcement officials confirm that three people are dead and three are wounded after a shooting by a woman at a Rite Aid facility near Aberdeen, Md., a village about two hours northeast of Washington, D.C.…
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Serena Williams Serves Up Victory Once Again, Stands 1 Win Away From 24th Grand Slam Title
Although I am loath to compare the incomparable Serena Williams to any animal besides perhaps a black panther with emerald eyes, I may allow for the G.O.A.T. acronym, because damn, she can’t stop, won’t stop, showing and proving that she’s worthy of the title: greatest of all time. After making light work of Anastasija Sevastova’s…
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GirlTrek Takes Over The Root’s Instagram in Celebration of Black Women Coming Together in the Rocky Mountains for a #StressProtest
GirlTrek, the largest national public health nonprofit and movement for black women and girls, continues to offer a balm in a world that clearly still doesn’t recognize the beauty, badness and innovative brilliance of black women. More than 400 black women from around the country will gather in the Rocky Mountains for a weekend dedicated…
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The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace Pays Its Respect to Queen Aretha
For whatever issues they have (and there are many: colonialism, imperialism, Brexit, etc.) one thing that I will always love about the Brits is their love, esteem and admiration for black—specifically African-American—music. From the Rolling Stones paying homage to the blues men of Chess Records (and going to Chicago to sit at the feet of…
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Pennsylvania Prisons Locked Down Indefinitely After 29 Employees Hospitalized
This week, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections ordered a lockdown of its entire 47,000-person-prison system after yet another spate of employees was rushed to the hospital, sickened by what the DOC is calling “unknown substances,” which many believe to be illicit opioid-related drugs. The Washington Post reports that the prison in Albion, Pa., where five…
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Texas Prison System Slashes Price of Inmate Phone Calls by 77 Percent, Contractor to Set Up Video Phones
Perhaps not coincidentally during a #NationalPrisonStrike2018, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday voted to drastically slash the cost of calls from prison inmates by more than 75 percent, a boon to the cash-strapped black and brown communities that feed the prison industrial complex. Angela Davis put it best: “Mass imprisonment generates profits as…
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Jemele Hill and ESPN Get It Over With: Report
Jemele Hill, a black woman who remained so while on television, had a rough go of it at ESPN in the fallout of calling Donald Trump, a sho nuff white supremacist, just that. She’s reportedly set to completely sever ties with the company at the beginning of September. Hill’s commentary is just too direct for…
