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Aspiring Club Owners: Read These Tips
Who wouldn’t want to own a nightclub? You’d get to mark up bottles of liquor for partiers eager to impress their friends, scrutinize the line on Friday nights to admit only the most desirable patrons and hopefully host a few celebrities during their visits to your city. Oh, and the DJ would pretty much have…
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Should All Americans Embrace Their Blackness?
Terrorism. Labor struggles. Intrusive searches. Melissa Harris-Perry argues in a provocative piece for the Nation that the issues that have mainstream America up in arms these days have always been around for black people. One example: Tea Party activists have argued for swift economic intervention to combat a near 10 percent unemployment rate. But when…
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Jada: Willow Is Creative, Not 'Too Grown'
The criticism of 10-year-old singer Willow Smith that just won’t die: She’s way “too grown.” (She has a trendy haircut! She dresses like a 16-year-old! What will become of her?) Since she’s just a child, everyone (from Terry McMillan to armchair-parenting experts weighing in via comments sections all over the Internet) wants to blame Will…
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The Root Recommends: 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'
If you aren’t familiar with HeLa cells, you have to pick up Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, available in paperback now. The book tells the remarkable life story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her consent and later used as cell samples to research diseases like…
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Arizona Criminalizes Abortions Based on Race or Gender
Reuters reports that Arizona has become the first state in the nation to outlaw abortions performed on the basis of the race or gender of the fetus. This represents one of the biggest gains yet for the anti-abortion groups who have sought to further restrict abortions in the wake of conservative political gains made during…
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Five-Year-Old Stars in Award-Winning SXSW Film
Five-year-old actor Myles Brooks put himself on the map when his first film, Pioneer, took home the Best Narrative Short award at the South by Southwest festival this year. The 15-minute production is the story of a father telling an epic and violent tale about an absent mother to his young son. Director David Lowery…
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The Root Recommends: 'Desert Flower'
Based on the book of the same name, Desert Flower is at its core a story of courage and hope and one girl’s journey. The biopic examines the life of Waris Dirie (played by supermodel Liya Kebede), a Somalian woman who at the age of 13 fled her home before her impending marriage and ultimately…
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Obama Honors First Black Commerce Secretary
Today in New York City, President Barack Obama participated in the United States Mission to the United Nations Building dedication of the federal building in memory of the late Ron Brown, a Democratic trailblazer and the first black commerce secretary. Brown served in the Clinton administration after helping him win the 1992 presidential election as…
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The Root Recommends: 'Songs for Japan'
In an effort to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan, recording artists from around the world have lent some of their hits to Songs for Japan, a new compilation album. The 38-song album, which features songs from the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo and Adele, to name a few, inspires you…
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White Celebs Announce, 'I am African'
Update: The “I am African” campaign was first launched in 2006. AOL Black Voices is taking a critical look at the AIDS nonprofit Keep a Child Alive‘s ad campaign featuring Hollywood stars in what is meant to be traditional tribal face paint. Each celeb’s image is accompanied by the text, “I am African.” In addition to African-Americans…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
