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Celebrating 15 Years of Finding Forrester
How does a black kid from the Bronx come to possess the skill of writing? How does a black kid from the Bronx come to befriend a reclusive, older white man who turns out to be a celebrated author? It happens in the movie Finding Forrester, which celebrated its 15th anniversary Jan. 12. But this…
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Mos Def on Recent Arrest: ‘There Are Political Motivations Behind Why I’m Being Targeted in South Africa’
Kanye West lent his eponymous website to his good friend Yasiin Bey (commonly known as Mos Def) Tuesday night so that the New York rapper and actor could explain what’s going on in South Africa and what led to Bey’s reported arrest last week for producing an unlawful passport. In a recording, Bey started off…
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Tyler Perry’s Madea Is Going to Be Fending Off Ghosts in a New Madea Halloween Movie
Who knew that a line in Chris Rock’s Top Five movie about a fictitious Madea Halloween movie would eventually make it to the big screen? According to Variety, that’s how Boo! A Madea Halloween came to be. It’s being released on Oct. 21 and will star Tyler Perry as the no-holds-barred matriarch, who will be fighting…
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George Clooney Agrees With the #OscarSoWhite Outcry, Says There Were Black Nominations ‘Left Off the Table’
The conversation that the #OscarSoWhite hashtag, Jada Pinkett Smith’s tweet and video, and Spike Lee’s Facebook post began—about the fact that black actors are not recognized and rewarded at the Academy Awards—is going full steam ahead. Academy Award winner George Clooney jumped into the fray during an interview with Variety and argued that African Americans “have a…
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Watch: The Root Chats With Director Ryan Coogler at #MLKNow
Ryan Coogler is probably best known as the director of the record-breaking blockbuster Creed. But aside from directing, Coogler has a passion for social justice and equality. He is an activist and the co-founder of the Blackout for Human Rights collective. The Root had an opportunity to catch up with Coogler and several performers at…
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Idris Elba Scolds the Lack of Diversity in His Homeland: ‘I Had to Leave the UK to Get a Leading Role’
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about how Hollywood doesn’t support or recognize black actors and actresses, especially in light of the award season we’re in the middle of. But ask Idris Elba and he’ll tell you that it’s even worse in the United Kingdom. The Guardian got ahold of a speech that it says…
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Supreme Court to Take on Obama’s Immigration Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider a legal challenge to President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, setting up an election-year review of his plan to allow up to 5 million immigrants living in the United States illegally to work in the nation legally. The Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful…
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Janet ‘Aunt Viv’ Hubert’s Video Rant Misses the Point About #OscarsSoWhite
Martin Luther King Jr. Day turned out to be quite eventful for Hollywood. Jada Pinkett Smith announced via video that she would be boycotting this year’s Academy Awards because of the exclusion of black performances in the four major acting categories. This is the second year in a row that black actors have been shut…
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Introducing the Leaders of the New School: 6 Black Actresses Are Dubbed #GenerationNoir
Kudos to Kode magazine for putting six of Hollywood’s rising African-American actresses and singers on the cover of its January issue and dubbing these six ladies #GenerationNoir. The lineup includes actress, fashion trendsetter and body-image activist Zendaya Coleman; singer and actress Kat Graham, who will play Jada Pinkett Smith in an upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic;…
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Ride Along 2 Bumps Star Wars Out of the No. 1 Spot at the Box Office
The little sequel that could knocked a beloved sci-fi franchise out of the top spot at the box office this past weekend. According to CNN, Ride Along 2, the follow-up to Ice Cube and Kevin Hart’s movie about a cop and his wide-eyed brother-in-law who wants to be a cop, premiered this weekend, raking in…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
