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Why Black South African Women Are Protesting at the Oscar Pistorius Trial
As Oscar Pistorius faces trial for murder, a large group of South African women have become like a shadow that the runner seems unable to shake. In this notoriously violent country, a vocal group of women, most of them black, say they believe Pistorius’ girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was a victim of an all-too-common crime, one…
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Obama’s ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ Initiative Isn’t Discriminatory
It’s a luxury to sit from a perch of prosperity and privilege and then look down upon others, deeming what is right or wrong as viewed from the lens of willful ignorance or convenient denial. But that’s exactly what Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin did when she attacked President Barack Obama for his unveiling of…
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Kenyan Pastor Says No To Panties
A pastor in Kenya has reportedly banned women from wearing underwear to church in order to receive Christ “free in body and spirit”. Ok, sir. While the rest of us must have missed that order in Sunday School, Reverend Njohi of the Lord’s Propeller Redemption Church in Nairobi, is adamant that his parishioners follow the new rules.…
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Will 12 Years a Slave Change Hollywood’s Race Problem?
Admirers of 12 Years a Slave are still basking in the Academy Awards’ afterglow. The fact that a film by a black screenwriter and black director—depicting a black man’s painful but ultimately triumphant true life story—won several Oscars, including the top prize for best picture, is a dream come true, particularly for moviegoers of color.…
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Lupita Nyong’o and What It Means to Be Black
When I posted a picture on my Instagram of newly minted Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o giving her acceptance speech at Sunday night’s awards ceremony, I didn’t know or even suspect that there was any question about whether she was black. The photo was of a beaming Nyong’o holding up her award in triumph. Her…
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The Root Live: Bring It to the Table Tackles Job Loss
In many African-American families, when we have an important issue to discuss, we gather in the kitchen and bring it to the table. That’s especially true of financial discussions, whether about how to pay the bills, how to send Junior to college or where to start looking for a new job. For the next seven…
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Oscar-Nominated Actor Barkhad Abdi Is Broke
This isn’t a Hollywood rags-to-riches story, yet. Despite being Oscar-nominated for his role in the movie Captain Phillips, actor Barkhad Abdi is allegedly broke. According to the New Yorker, the actor was paid only $65,000 for his role as Muse, a Somali pirate. Captain Phillips went on to earn $210 million worldwide. The New Yorker…
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Miracle of the Black Leg: Honorable Act or Exploitation?
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. In a startling re-enactment of a pious medieval legend, two doctors…
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Quote of the Day: Lupita Nyong’o on Her Oscar
You can read this quote, from Lupita Nyong’o’s acceptance speech at the 2014 Academy Awards for her performance as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, in its full context here. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and founding director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He is…
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Ben Jealous Continues His Civil Rights Fight ‘by Any Means That Works’
Benjamin Jealous left the NAACP in January, but, he says, he plans to “stay on track with my life’s mission of leveling the playing field in this country.” And in the next phase of his career—as a venture partner at the Kapor Center for Social Impact—he’ll be focused on “trying new ways” to expand opportunities…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
