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Harlem Fine Arts Show Features NFL Players
Although it’s still in its infancy, the Harlem Fine Arts Show has grown in attendance year after year by drawing artists, galleries and collectors from across the country. The show is quickly becoming a staple in New York’s Harlem community as it has provided tremendous impact to nonprofit organizations such as the Harlem School of…
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Actually, Mr. President, College Isn’t for Everyone
President Barack Obama’s most recent State of the Union address has been widely praised as one of his best ever—with even conservative critics like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calling it “powerful.” It’s pretty much beyond dispute at this point that the president knows what he’s doing when he takes the podium. But with all…
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‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black’: The Roots of a Civil Rights Anthem
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal speaks to Shana Redmond about her new book, Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. Redmond is an assistant professor of American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Watch:
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2 Families: 1 Black, 1 White. Have I Found the Link?
“I have been tracing my roots on my mother’s side for a number of years. They hail from Middlesex County, Va., home of the senior Honorable Christopher Robinson. Robinson (1645-1693) came to Virginia and settled in Middlesex County, where he established the Hewick Plantation. He also fathered a family of prominent Virginians, and some of…
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George Zimmerman Challenges Celebrity to Boxing Match
Well, this is rich. According to Radar Online, George Zimmerman has agreed to participate in a celebrity boxing match for charity. Which celebrity? We don’t know, since Zimmerman is still looking for an opponent. But according to TMZ, the event promoter is not discriminating! Purple, yellow, white or black contenders can catch the fade. “It was…
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A Survival Guide for Single Girls on Valentine’s Day
“Valentine’s Day is around the corner. What would you suggest two young, single girls do so they aren’t home pining over a tub of ice cream?”—K.W. Valentine’s Day has got to be the worst holiday on earth. And I say that as a woman who hasn’t spent one alone in about six years. There’s so…
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Quote of the Day: Jay Z on His Father
You can read these lyrics by Jay Z, from his song “December 4th,” in Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations. Read the lyrics in their 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 the editor-in-chief of The…
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The Super Bowl Needs a Hip-Hop Halftime Show
It’s that time of year again. Your favorite time of year, I would imagine. The Super Bowl is what we all look forward to. But the hyped halftime show—the alleged highlight of the NFL Championship for the greater part of its 43-year history—has been a 50-50 viewing option for me over the years. The new…
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‘Thank God’: Don’t Say It If You Don’t Mean It
“First, I want to thank God … ” For decades, those words have been uttered by black performers from gospel artists to gangsta rappers on every awards-show stage, whether their lyrics encourage optimistic praise or are phrases that need to be bleeped. But Sunday night, Jay Z stopped himself short, almost correcting himself, to change…
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Sorry. Oprah’s Instagram Scholarship Contest Is Fake
Bad news for students who thought “Oprah Scholars Program,” which promised to give $20,000 to the first 50,000 people to follow an Instagram account of the same name: It’s a scam. Shocker. An Instagram post calling for entrants read, “Oprah Scholars Program Scholarships for the first 50K followers then partial scholarships to the first 100K…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
