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Biden on Voting Rights and Black History: ‘Hatred Never Goes Away’
For the second year in a row, Vice President Joe Biden used his remarks at his Black History Month reception to emphasize that the fight for voting rights didn’t end during the civil rights movement and to lament that fair access to the ballot remains an unsettled political issue. “The zealotry of those who wish…
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Quote of the Day: Bayard Rustin on Racial Identity
You can read this quote by Bayard Rustin, from a 1960 radio show with Malcolm X, in Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations. Read the quote 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 also…
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Black History Month Reminds Us That Black History Is Living History
During this final week of Black History Month, it’s vital to acknowledge the ways in which this month—as well as the activists, students and scholars who support it—transcends mere historical commemorations and academic analysis. It is actively helping to reshape national race relations. Consider the example of the award-winning film 12 Years a Slave. The companion-book…
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How Not to Panic When Your Toddler Sounds a Little Racist
“My 3-year-old daughter attends preschool at a public charter in Washington, D.C. The school draws students citywide through a lottery system and is very diverse (a black plurality, with significant Latino and Asian populations). In her classroom of 18, she is one of four white children. “We opt to pay for the school-provided lunch, for…
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Get Happy With The Root
We’re two months into 2014, and Pharrell Williams’ Oscar-nominated hit song “Happy” is helping the team at The Root have the best year ever! We’re so happy, in fact, that we want to share it with the world, and we want the world to share it with us! So send us your vids in tune…
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The Tiger Mom on Why Nigerian Americans Are More Successful Than You
Depending on who is asked, the following news lies somewhere between Nigeria’s low ranking in the upcoming World Cup Games (frustrating) and the air conditioning system now operating in Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport (promising). “Nigerian” is the only black ethnicity listed among the eight social groups that have a “cultural edge” when it comes to…
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Model Shares Graphic Domestic Violence Photos on Instagram
Gabriella Bambii, an aspiring model based in the United Kingdom, shocked Instagram when she shared harrowing images of injuries she sustained after being thrown out of a moving vehicle by her ex-boyfriend. Bambii wrote: This night be a little graphic but I just want to let everyone know that I am okay. I am a…
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Fashion Producer Celebrates Black History With Fried Chicken
Fashion producer Elana Rosenblatt, of the environmentally friendly fashion house Reformation, wished everyone a happy Black History Month by posting the above photo to her Instagram account over the weekend, according to Fashionista.com. But it’s fine, ya’ll, because she snapped the pic at her black friend’s house during a Black History Month celebration, according to…
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If Paula Patton Is Looking for ‘Something New,’ We Can Help
When news broke of Paula Patton and Robin Thicke’s separation, our first thought was about who she might date next. So we put together a collection of white guys many black women swoon over. These guys have total crossover appeal. You’re welcome, Paula. What black woman didn’t envision herself taking Sanaa Lathan’s place in Something…
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The Root Live: Bring It to the Table Tackles Debt
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 eight…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
