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NYC Discount-Store Workers Sue for $2,000,000, Claim They Were Paid $2.27 an Hour
Fifteen people—most of them undocumented immigrants—who worked at a chain of discount stores in the Bronx and Queens in New York City filed a lawsuit against the owners, claiming that they were paid well below minimum wage at $2.27 an hour and routinely worked 11-hour days, six days a week, the New York Daily News…
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A Cane River Tale: From Slave to Free Woman to Slave Owner
Editor’s note: For Women’s History Month, The Root is spotlighting less famous figures from the African American National Biography, whose stories exemplify the extraordinary, and often unsung, accomplishments of African-American women from our past. Regular readers of The Root are likely familiar with the fact that a small number of African Americans owned slaves, from the earliest days…
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This Marble Black Acrobat Is More Than Just a Simple Ornament
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Among the most original treasures of the British Museum, a marble figure of a young black acrobat performs the daring…
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Ferguson Is America and the Time to Act Is Now
Last week the Department of Justice released its report documenting the racial discrimination and bias that is endemic to policing in Ferguson, Mo. The deep problems unveiled by the DOJ’s investigation reflect a harsh reality that exists in many places across the country—not just Ferguson: At every level of our criminal-justice system, African Americans are…
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Behind-the-Scenes Images of First Family in Selma
While the nation was riveted by President Barack Obama’s stirring tribute to the legacy of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., this past Saturday, the White House’s chief photographer, Pete Souza, was behind the scenes capturing some brilliant images of the historic day. He shares why the occasion was so meaningful in an essay at Medium.com. Here are some…
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Wis. Police Chief Prayed With the Family of Unarmed Man Shot by Police
Having learned from the protests that engulfed Ferguson, Mo., after unarmed teen Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in August 2014, the police chief of Madison, Wis., immediately reached out to Tony Robinson’s family to express his condolences after the unarmed 19-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer late…
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Beauty and Influence: Vintage Black Glamour
Nicole L. Cvetnic is The Root’s multimedia editor and producer. Whether they’re bold, sophisticated or classic, there is no doubt that African-American women have been fashion trendsetters for generations. To celebrate their style and elegance this Women’s History Month, we turned to the new book Vintage Black Glamour by Nichelle Gainer, who presents a carefully…
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What a Slave-Reparations Claim Has to Do With Harvard Law School
Who was the first person to ask for reparations for slavery? In America the concept of reparations for slavery is generally thought to have originated during the Civil War era, with the failed promise of 40 acres and a mule. But it actually dates back to Revolutionary America, when a former slave named Belinda went…
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Watch: Syracuse University Student Found Dead in Times Square Hotel
New York City police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old Syracuse University student who was found dead Saturday in her hotel room in New York City’s Times Square, the New York Daily News reports. Sabrina Cammack, a senior on the school’s track team, was discovered dead about 9:20 a.m. in her hotel room at…
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Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance to ISIS
In an audio message published Saturday on the Twitter account of Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the terrorists pledged allegiance to another group of terrorists: the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, according to the Huffington Post. The recording features a man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abu Bakr Shekau pledging support to the…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
