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A Black Pastor Reveals How He Came to Support Same-Sex Marriage
My journey toward being an unapologetic supporter of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples began in the fall of 2011 when I requested a meeting with a lesbian couple who had joined our church. I noticed they had joined on separate Sundays so as to appear not to be together, and I wanted to…
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Bobbi Kristina’s Family Gathers at Bedside Amid Concerns Over Waning Health
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s family gathered Saturday at an Atlanta-area hospice-care center where the 22-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston was moved last week amid concerns about her deteriorating health, according to People magazine. She was transferred to the facility Wednesday after her condition began to worsen. The move came at the same time her…
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Pro-Confederate Flag Rally Held at SC Statehouse
Just hours after a Black Lives Matter activist scaled a pole outside the South Carolina Statehouse to remove the Confederate flag, dozens of supporters rallied in defense of the divisive banner Saturday at the capitol in Columbia, S.C., according to USA Today. A new flag was hoisted within an hour after Black Lives Matter activist…
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Here’s Everything We Know About Bree Newsome
Brittany “Bree” Newsome became a social media rock star Saturday in Internet warp speed, of course, after she clambered up a flagpole outside the South Carolina Statehouse and removed the Confederate flag at the break of dawn. The flag was hoisted just hours after Newsome’s effort, which took place about 6:30 a.m. EDT. She and…
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Take Our Quiz: Are You More Beyonce or Nicki Minaj?
As June’s Black Music Month winds down and the BET awards heat up, The Root helps you find out if you’re King Bey or Queen Nicki. Take our quiz and find out!
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Bill Cosby’s Lawyer Fights to Keep ‘Terribly Embarrassing’ Court Docs Sealed
A lawyer representing Bill Cosby argued in court Friday that it would be “terribly embarrassing” for the comedian if documents from a 2005 sex-assault lawsuit were ever unsealed, reports the Associated Press. The embattled comedian is fighting efforts by AP to unseal motions from a civil lawsuit he settled with Andrea Constand, a former Temple…
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A Movement to Put the Church Back in the Fight Against Racism
Some say the church is irrelevant. Others say the church is more powerful than ever. One thing is for sure: Studies and polls suggest that the church has lost the millennial generation and the moral power it once had on issues of civil rights. Whatever the case, the church now finds itself once again at…
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Clarence Thomas Under Fire for Invoking Slavery in Dissent to Ruling on Gay Marriage
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday invoked examples of slavery and internment camps in his ardent dissent in response to the court’s 5-4 decision that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry. The dissent (pdf) takes issue with the use of the concepts of “liberty” and “dignity,” saying that the petitioners in Obergefell…
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3 Ex-FAMU Students Sentenced in Hazing Death
Three former Florida A&M University marching-band members who were convicted of manslaughter in the 2011 hazing death of drum major Robert Champion were sentenced Friday in Orlando, Fla., to 10 years’ supervised probation, reports the Associated Press. They were convicted in April. In announcing the sentences for Benjamin McNamee, 24, Aaron Golson, 22, and Darryl…
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Marilyn Mosby Wants Separate Trial for 2 Cops in Freddie Gray Death
Marilyn Mosby has asked a judge to order a separate trial for two of the six officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death, according to the Associated Press. For reasons that are unclear, the Baltimore state’s attorney filed court documents Friday asking a judge that the officers, William Porter and Lt. Brian Rice, be tried separately…

