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Does Sharpton Have the White House on Speed Dial?
If you had any doubt at all about the political clout the Rev. Al Sharpton has accrued since the start of the Obama administration, seeing the political heavyweights who showed up and spoke at the 20th-anniversary convention of his National Action Network (April 6-9) should put those doubts to rest. President Barack Obama himself made…
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Black Studies Scholar Manning Marable Dead at 60
The widow of Manning Marable has told The Root that the 60-year-old scholar of black studies died this afternoon at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital of complications relating to pneumonia. According to Leith Mullings Marable, her husband had suffered from sarcoidosis for the past 25 years and had undergone a double-lung transplant in July 2010. Marable, a…
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Alabama House OKs Apology to Recy Taylor
Finally! Ninety-one-year-old Recy Taylor, whose cause was championed at one time by Rosa Parks, will receive an apology by the state of Alabama for its mishandling of her 1944 rape case. The Alabama House has reached back into history and apologized for how authorities mishandled the 1944 rape of a young black woman by a…
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GLAAD Media Awards: Ricky Martin, Russell Simmons Honored
March 19 kicked off the first of three awards ceremonies held to honor positive and accurate images of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people: the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s 22nd annual GLAAD Media Awards. Held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, Saturday’s gala included honors for True Blood (Outstanding Drama Series), a…
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D'Angelo Pleads Guilty in Hooker Case
The spell of good fortune cast by Voodoo has long since worn off for D’Angelo. According to the Associated Press: D’Angelo wrapped up a prostitution case Friday by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, ending one of the Grammy Award-winning R&B singer’s series of run-ins with the law since his heyday a decade ago. D’Angelo, 37, said…
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Tsunami Hits Hawaii, U.S. West Coast
Updated at 11:33 a.m. ET. A historic 8.9-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 200-300 people in Japan and sent a tsunami rolling across the Pacific Ocean has hit Hawaii. There have been reports of wave surges up to several feet high, but so far there are no reports of damage, reports CBS affiliate KGMB in Hawaii. However, meteorologists warn that the state isn’t…
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Gabby Sidibe on Hollywood: My Life Isn't Reflected
Are Hollywood films too removed from reality? Gabourey Sidibe said so this past weekend while at a film festival in Berlin promoting her latest film, the street drama Yelling to the Sky. Tackling violence, mental illness and drugs, the movie is actress-turned-director Victoria Mahoney‘s debut feature. She also wrote and produced it. The movie, which also features…
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Grammys' Best New Artist? Not Bieber or Drake
A Canadian teen heartthrob with serious bangs and a Canadian actor-turned-rapper were no match for an American jazz bassist-vocalist in the Grammy contest for this year’s best new artist. Defying expectations, 26-year-old Esperanza Spalding (also a 2010 Root 100 honoree) beat out Justin Bieber and Drake, as well as Florence and the Machine and Mumford &…
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British Prime Minister Calls Multiculturalism a Failure
In a speech yesterday, British Prime Minister David Cameron declared multiculturalism, his country’s long-standing policy of allowing immigrant groups to keep their own ethnic identities and cultures, to be a failure. It’s partly to blame for fostering Islamic extremism in the U.K., he said: [Cameron] said the U.K. needs a stronger national identity to prevent…
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Egypt Crisis: White House Talks Transition With Mubarak
As Egyptian protesters make plans to march on the palace of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday, the White House reportedly has been in talks with the embattled leader to resign immediately and turn over power to his vice president, Omar Suleiman. According to the New York Times: Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
