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Michelle Obama Is Dope. These Pictures Explain Why
We. Love. Michelle. There aren’t many ways to say it, but believe us. This love is real. In 2009, Michelle Obama moved into the White House and into the hearts of Americans. Her brilliant smile and sartorial splendor caught our attention—because, yeah. She’s fly. But we attribute Michelle Obama’s staying power to her substance,…
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The Story Behind President Obama’s Cuba Policy
It all began with a chance encounter between two men with a bad habit. Officially, Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba on Sunday is the culmination of almost three years of intense diplomacy between former Cold War foes. Behind the scenes is another more human and less well-known story, of a rising black politician and…
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Gayle King Shuts Down Rumors That Oprah and Tyler Perry Are Feuding
Gayle King took to Instagram to clear up those rumors that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry aren’t on good terms because they’re not working well together. A source said that Winfrey has been sending Perry critiques about his three shows on OWN and he isn’t taking the criticism too well. King said no such thing…
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Zoë Kravitz: Black People Can Act; Stop Asking Us to Play the ‘Best Friend’ or a Caricature of Ourselves
Black Americans are thought to be on the fringes of American society, so when they’re auditioning for roles in mainstream films and TV shows, they’re often asked to play the supporting role of the best friend or the sidekick. The roles are rarely substantive or meaty—just peripheral characters that come in and out of white…
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No Hope, No Change: The GOP Buries Its Own Autopsy
The Republican Party has largely been tone-deaf to the changing electorate, adopting a hands-off approach to the increasingly heated rhetoric we have heard from the party’s presidential front-runner. It’s no coincidence that Donald Trump’s divisive, race-baiting campaign has vaulted him to the top of the Republican primary field. The Republican Party has a long history…
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Ashanti Is Grilled With Sexual Questions by Her Stalker, Who’s Representing Himself
R&B singer Ashanti had to sit in court and entertain the shenanigans of a man who has allegedly been stalking her for at least three long, long years, TMZ reports. Devar Hurd is on trial a third time for stalking her (the first trial, in 2014, ended in a mistrial because a juror got sick,…
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#ByeAnita: Change the Prosecutor, Change How the Police Are Policed
In a presidential election jam-packed with theatrics, protests and even acts of violence, it’s easy to overlook the other races on a ballot, but on Tuesday we got a reminder that a powerful group of politicians are trying to defend their seats against the movement to reform our broken criminal-justice system. In an election that…
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Seeking the Origins of a Pioneering Desegregationist
The paternal second great-grandfather of my wife, Donna Paulette Wysinger Wilson, is Edmond Edward Wysinger. He was a historical figure in California, having brought a lawsuit (Wysinger v. Crookshank) in 1890 to desegregate California schools so that his son Arthur could attend the local high school. We traced Edmond back to South Carolina, where he…
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Is DeRay Mckesson the Change-Maker Baltimore Needs?
It’s almost been a year since the death of Freddie Gray––the innocent 25-year-old, unarmed black man who was enjoying a nice April day near his home in West Baltimore when he was illegally stopped, arrested and fatally injured while in police custody. Six police officers are facing trial in his death, a death that sparked…
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Rihanna Reportedly Acquired the Masters to All Her Previous Recordings
Rihanna has reportedly done what most business-minded artists are eager to do at some point in their careers: own the masters of their recordings. Masters are typically owned by the record label to which an artist is signed. But Rihanna apparently made that move recently, acquiring “the masters of all her previous albums,” Vogue reports. During…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
