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How the X-Men Reflected the Fight for Civil Rights
Picture this: A race of people who are cast out by the mainstream because of the way they were born or look or their culture. Those who oppose their existence wish to use them for their own selfish ends, while others simply want them all dead. Among the oppressed number, there rise several factions of…
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Introducing Beverly Bond’s Rock! Like a Girl
For Black Girls Rock! Executive Producer and DJ Beverly Bond, hip-hop is more than just music, and women’s voices in it are more relevant than their portion of the genre’s platform might suggest. That’s why she’s launching Rock! Like a Girl—a concert followed by a “think tank” conversation designed to tackle the unique boundaries that female…
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President Obama to Headline Sharpton’s NAN Convention
Back in 2011, when President Barack Obama last spoke at the National Action Network Convention, NAN’s founder and president, the Rev. Al Sharpton, introduced him, saying, “He took this nation from where most of us have never been in our lifetime and put us back on a solid course.” Three years later, as NAN prepares for its…
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How to Find the Art of Cool in North Carolina
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal sits down with Art of Cool Music Festival co-founder Cicely Mitchell to talk about the future of jazz and the festival, which takes place April 25-26 in Durham, N.C., with a stellar lineup of jazz artists. Mitchell explains how the festival builds interest in the artists with a series of…
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MLK’s Last Crusade Was the Poor People’s Campaign Against Poverty
Today, as we remember the 46th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, we should remember the lessons from the civil rights icon’s last great political crusade: the Poor People’s Campaign to end poverty. The less than three months between national celebrations of King’s birthday and more sober reflections on his martyrdom reveal the often…
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GOP’s Obamacare Fix; Petition to Stop Army’s Hair Rules
The News: House Republicans passed a bill that actually improves the Affordable Care Act. Departing from their usual approach to President Barack Obama’s health care law, lawmakers bypassed floor debate and approved a change that expands coverage choices for employees of small businesses. The change eliminates caps on deductibles for small-group policies. Business organizations lobbied…
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Can NY Create Economic Development With TV Diversity?
In the face of mounting criticism for its lack of on-air diversity, earlier this year Saturday Night Live hired its first black female cast member in five years—comedian Sasheer Zamata. But SNL reached another diversity milestone this year that didn’t generate quite as much attention but was arguably even more significant. For the first time, two women of…
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The Hip-Hop Fellow: Producer 9th Wonder Schools Harvard
Hip-hop has made its way into the academy and is increasingly becoming accepted as a legitimate field of inquiry, with many top universities around the country offering classes in hip-hop studies, exploring not only hip-hop as a musical genre but also the history and role of hip-hop culture in society—creating a bridge that connects the past to…
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Black Heroism Illustrated
Comic books haven’t always been a place where African Americans could find characters they related to. Black comic book characters ranged from being barely noticeable and blatantly disrespected to receiving lessened moments of racism from decade to decade. DC Comics didn’t have a black superhero who could stand on his own until 1977, when Black Lightning and…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
