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Roots, Past and Present: A Look Back at the Original Cast and a Sneak Peek at the New Stars
Nearly 40 years after Roots made its epic network-television debut, the History Channel, along with Lifetime and A&E, is set to air a four-night reboot of the epic slavery saga based on Alex Haley’s book for today’s generation. In 1977, nearly 100 million people tuned in to the eight-part miniseries on ABC. It went on…
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The Lynching of My Husband’s Ancestor Shocked a Nation
Dear Professor Gates: I am seeking help with finding the parents of my husband’s four-times-great-grandmother Leanna Donegan Knox (born in 1794 in Hopkinsville, Ky.). She was mulatto and, according to an Illinois Servitude and Emancipation record, the daughter of a white woman. She owned land in Todd, Ky., until 1847, when she was “removed” to Illinois. I found…
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Watch: Misty Copeland Bedazzles the World and Offers Food for Thought
Misty Copeland has gone from living in a motel to dancing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. Literally. In June 2015, Copeland became the first African-American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Still, she strives for more. At 33, the prima ballerina has amassed innumerable accolades, and…
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She’s in Love With a ‘Nice’ Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Trust Her and Still Has a Wife
Dear Demetria: I’m in love with my boyfriend, but he is always accusing me of cheating. I’m not and never have, but I have thought about it because he doesn’t satisfy me sexually. His penis is small and [the oral sex] isn’t good, either. I knew this before we got together, but I gave him…
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Trump’s Secret Plan to Win the Presidency: Pitting Minorities Against One Another
In this election, Donald Trump has used a grieving black father’s loss to try to pit black voters against Mexican immigrants. He employs black spokespeople to tell black voters that immigrants are taking their jobs. He tweets false crime statistics as a ploy to get black people to talk about “black-on-black” crime and distract from…
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Black Music Month Means Studio Sessions at The Root
June is almost here—that means sunny skies, warm weather and black music, of course! For Black Music Month, The Root and McDonald’s will honor and celebrate the music (and musicians) of the African Diaspora with Studio Sessions at The Root. This video series will feature contemporary artists from a gamut of genres: global, hip-hop, soul—we’ve…
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Watch: Morris Brown’s Herndon Stadium Now in Shambles
Morris Brown has had a bit of a time since its founding. In fact, the school, established in 1881—one of only a handful of HBCUs founded by African Americans—has had some serious struggles in recent years. The college has filed for bankruptcy its once flush enrollment of 2,700 students in 2003 has dwindled to fewer than 20. And yet…
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‘Negro,’ ‘Oriental’ and ‘Indian’ to Be Scrubbed From All Federal Laws
As the country begins to reconcile its sometimes inglorious past, as with Confederate statues and heroes being swept into the dustbin of history, President Barack Obama signed a bill taking racially offensive words such as “negro” and “Oriental” out of all Federal laws, reports Mediaite. Sponsored by Congresswoman Grace Meng and co-sponsored by all 51 members of…
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Tamar Braxton Reportedly Fired From The Real
Tamar Braxton, a staple in the two-year old morning gab fest, The Real, has been fired, reports B.Scott. Scott says that a “very reliable source” says the youngest Braxton was axed because she wasn’t “reading too well with the audience,” nor was she a good fit with advertisers. Also, that she was “difficult” with production.…
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Convicted Rapist Daniel Holtzclaw Speaks: And We Wish He Hadn’t
Daniel Holtzclaw, the disgraced former Oklahoma City police officer convicted in the rape and sexual assault of seven black women and one underage black girl, has broken his silence, proclaiming his innocence and denigrating everyone who worked on the case from the prosecution and detectives to the victims. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone,” Holtzclaw…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
