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Louisiana Prosecutors Try but Can’t Stop Ex-Felons From Regaining Voting Rights
Despite a last-ditch effort to overturn a recent bill restoring voting rights to ex-felons in Louisiana, legislators in the Statehouse recently passed a bill doing just that, another victory for criminal-justice reform. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that of the 70,000 ex-felons who served time in Louisiana prisons and who are currently on probation or…
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Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser Adopts Newborn in Surprise Announcement
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser recently shared some exciting and unexpected news: Her family has expanded by one! Bowser announced via social media Monday night that she has adopted a newborn. “It is with great joy and excitement that I share with you that late last year, I decided to begin the adoption journey,” Bowser…
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BlacKkKlansMan Wins Top Prize at Cannes, Spike Lee’s 1st-Ever Nod From the French Film Fest
Love Spike Lee to death, but we wouldn’t be throwing that much shade if we said that sometimes the big homie’s films are about as good as his beloved Knicks in the playoffs. But if reports from the 2018 Cannes Film Festival are accurate, Lee’s got a winner in BlacKkKlansman, which not only received a…
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Call Me ‘Master’: Ex Says Former New York Attorney General Was Into Racist Role-Playing During Sex
On Monday the New Yorker published a 6,000-plus-word exposé on now-former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, in which at least four women in past relationships with him accused the Democratic operator of physical, sexual, verbal and emotional abuse. Hours later, Schneiderman denied the allegations but resigned his position. The irony for many was that…
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Virginia Newspaper Runs KKK Flyer on Its Front Page. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
This has been said before, but it is worth repeating: To those allies who want to expose racism in 2018, think first about your tactics before you pat yourself on the back. To not even consider how the “big reveal” might affect those who experience racism the most (like the time the New York Daily…
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The Root’s Guide to the 10 Blackest Experiences of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival
If Beyoncé can bring Wakanda to Coachella, we’re going to do the same for Tribeca, the annual film festival that reps the grit and greatness of New York City. As with last year, we here at The Root are here to give it to you, racks on racks of that beautiful black (except, perhaps, No. 5).…
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Brittney Cooper Talks Beyoncé, White Feminists and Black Women’s Oh-So-Eloquent Rage
The anger of black girls is potent. And given what we deal with, it’s sometimes masked. Or internalized and regurgitated in harmful ways. But Brittney Cooper—Professor Crunk to you, sir— is here to tell y’all all about it. Her book Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower is about how we can use rage to…
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California Police Balk as Calls Grow Louder for LAPD to Change Its Use-of-Force Policy
As more people look to the Los Angeles Police Department to change its use-of-force policy, a throng of police chiefs in Northern California came together on Monday to denounce proposed legislation that would raise the standard for legal review of such action—after the fact. The Mercury News reports that police chiefs gathered in Fairfield, Calif.,…
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Matt Barnes Announces Scholarships for #StephonClark’s Sons at Sacramento, Calif., Rally
Updated Saturday, March 31, 2018, 9 p.m. EDT: Hours before a Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors game on Saturday, former King Matt Barnes held a rally “for unity and action” around the March 18 police execution of 22-year-old Stephon Clark. The last two Kings’ games were blocked by protesters who descended on the downtown…
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US Supreme Court Rules Dreamers Are Safe … for Now
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to immediately review lower-court decisions that keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from going kaput, in what has to be a huge relief to DACA recipients, and is yet another blow to the Trump administration. The DACA program gives at least 700,000 young immigrants a path…
