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How Shame, Secrets and Sugar Get Between Us and Better Health
The late-night spoons of ready-made frosting were the best. The preteen thrill of sneaking downstairs to the fridge and plunging a spoon into an open can of sweet and creamy vanilla sludge made the treat all the sweeter as it melted over my tongue and then slid down my throat. My parents caught onto my…
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This Tech Entrepreneur’s Got Game
For anyone who follows the tech sector, it isn’t news that black entrepreneurs struggle to attract investors to their ventures. In 2010 a CB Insights study found that less than 1 percent of venture-capital-backed business founders were black, and access to capital for black tech entrepreneurs hasn’t improved much in recent years. That struggle is…
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Questioning the Deaths Dubbed ‘Houdini Handcuff Suicides’
A name has been given to the recently publicized rash of alleged gunshot “suicides” by young men of color who were handcuffed and in police custody: Houdini handcuff suicides. The moniker is an homage to the famed magician Harry Houdini, who staged jail escapes in shackles. It also highlights the puzzling circumstances under which Victor…
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Black American's DNA at Center of Discovery
(The Root) — An African-American family is at the center of a discovery that researchers say pushes back previous estimates of how deep the roots of the human family tree are. Analyzing DNA provided by the kin of a man from South Carolina, they estimate that the most recent common ancestor of all humans with…
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Obama Calls on 'We the People' at Inauguration
(The Root) — After a first term that saw fierce partisanship, a struggling economy and widespread disagreement on the principles that define us as a nation, President Barack Obama kicked off his second term with an address calling for unity while celebrating the nation’s growing diversity and insisting that we must respect and look out…
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Yet Another Plan to Fix the Education Gap?
(The Root) — On Wednesday the NAACP released a plan for ensuring that all children, including those who are black, brown or poor, can achieve their full potential in education. Oh, no, not another report about inequity by a civil rights organization, you say? That was the initial reaction of former Secretary of State Colin…
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Trump's Obama Bombshell Fizzles
Donald Trump’s “October surprise” announcement on Wednesday was a real snoozer. According to ABCNews.com: Donald Trump today pledged $5 million to a charity of President Obama’s choice, provided the president makes public his college applications and transcripts and releases his passport history, a far cry from the October-surprise bombshell Trump had promised. Calling the offer a…
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Will BET Viewers 'Show Up' for Obama Doc?
(The Root) — Over the years, BET has faced a generous amount of criticism for not having enough uplifting and informative programming. Only recently, network co-founder Sheila Johnson said that it had “squandered” an outlet that “really could have been the voice of black America,” and that black people are losing their voice as a…
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Film Sliming Obama Parents Hits Swing States
With President Obama pulling out ahead of Mitt Romney in some national voter polls, it’s no surprise that some right-wing partisans are resorting to tactics of pure desperation. Wild conspiracy theories and attacks on a candidate’s dead mother are about as low as anyone can go — even more troubling when they attract the endorsement…
