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Watch: Celebs Make Fun of the #OscarsSoWhite Diversity Issue at the NAACP Image Awards
Everyone is waiting to see how Chris Rock will address the #OscarsSoWhite controversy at the Academy Awards, since he’s hosting. But Anthony Anderson did a pretty good job addressing it head-on as host of the NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 5. “Look at all these beautiful shades of people in the audience. Hollywood needs to…
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Ralph Bunche: A Diplomat Who Would Not Negotiate on Race
In April 1949, President Harry S. Truman offered Ralph Bunche a coveted position as the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern, South Asian and African affairs. The position would make Bunche, then the United Nations’ chief mediator between Israel and the Arab states, the highest-ranking African American in the federal government and would position…
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It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby: Jealous Endorses Sanders, While Crump Backs Clinton
Two major African-American activists made their presidential endorsements known Friday as former NAACP head Benjamin Jealous released a statement sanctioning Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. On the same day, civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump threw his support behind Sanders’ rival in the race, Hillary Clinton. Jealous, who went to New Hampshire on Friday to stump…
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Solange Loses Her Wedding Ring on Mardi Gras Float
Solange Knowles, who has made New Orleans her home for years, lost her wedding ring Friday while she participated in weekend Mardi Gras festivities, reports People Style Watch. Seen below in this video before she hopped aboard the stiletto-shaped float hosted by Krewe of Muses, Solange, 29, says she’s “Bout to be hype!” #kreweofmuses here…
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Federal Court Invalidates 2 NC Districts for Racial Gerrymandering
Voter suppression gets a blow as as a federal court panel ruled Friday that two of North Carolina’s congressional districts were racially gerrymandered and must be redrawn, reports the Charlotte Observer. The ruling, handed down by a three-judge panel, has sparked uncertainty about whether the March primary elections can proceed as planned. The order bars…
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Jay Z’s Tidal Donates $1,500,000 to Black Lives Matter
Jay Z’s fledgling music-streaming platform, Tidal, is donating $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and several other local and national social-justice organizations from money raised at an October concert, reports Mic. The announcement was made Friday, the same day Trayvon Martin would have turned 21 years old. The Trayvon Martin Foundation will receive a portion…
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Police Kill Unarmed Black Man in Texas; Say They Mistook Cellphone for Gun
San Antonio police say that they vow to do a thorough investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by cops, Reuters reports. Police say that Antronie Scott, 36, was spotted early Friday morning by undercover detectives and fatally shot as he exited a vehicle in an apartment…
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HBCU Football Stars Had a Coming-Out Party at Super Bowl I
When the Kansas City Chiefs took the field against the Green Bay Packers nearly a half-century ago in the first Super Bowl, they embodied the most obvious plotline of the game: How would the champions of the upstart American Football League fare against the established titans of the NFL? Less overtly, though, the Chiefs were…
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My Son Is Gone Because Someone Deemed Him a Criminal and Not My Child
My son is gone. It’s been two years since my husband left our home—on Feb. 7, 2014—to pick up our 14-year-old son, Andrew Joseph III, from the state fair, after he was late for curfew. We understood him being late this particular Friday night because Saturday would be Andrew’s confirmation—a Catholic ceremony where he would…
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Before Cam, There Was Clyde, a Model of Sartorial Splendor
Tight. Zebra. Pants. By now you’ve heard of them—laughed at a few memes, or perhaps created a few memes of your own. But whether or not you’re fond of the fitted, ankle-length, zebra-print Versace pants, which Cam Newton placed into infamy, you’ve got to admit that the black-and-gold britches made a lot of noise. And…