-
Fired BP Exec Told to Save Braids and Dashiki for Black History Month
A former BP executive has sued her former employer in California’s Orange County Superior Court, saying she was fired by British Petroleum Oil Co. and replaced with a younger white male, after a series of racial complaints, the Courthouse News Service reports. Melphine Evans filed the suit against BP West Coast Products, BP Products North…
-
South Africans and African Americans Bound by Struggle
We often hear about the “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain—rooted in history and personified by the close personal friendship between President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair during the 1990s. But there’s another “special relationship,” one less commented upon but equally noteworthy, between the African-American community and black South Africans.…
-
Quote of the Day: Marvin Gaye on Artists
Read The Root’s coverage of Marvin Gaye 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 Root. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
-
Day of Action Unites Students, Teachers in Protest
Eighteen-year-old Tre Murphy, a native of Baltimore, has been active in social justice concerns since the age of 12, he says. But on Monday, his activism will take an urgent and personal turn when he plans to participate in the National Day of Action for education. He is among thousands of young people from more…
-
SC Sheriff Won’t Lower Flag to Honor Mandela
A South Carolina sheriff has refused to lower the American flag to honor former South African president Nelson Mandela, arguing that the singular leader was not an American. Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95. The decision by Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark essentially ignores an executive order from President Obama calling on all flags at…
-
St. Louis Woman Lied About ‘Knockout Game’ Attack
A 23-year-old St. Louis woman and her 25-year-old boyfriend have been charged with filing a false report to police, just weeks after claiming that the woman was the victim of a knockout-game attack. St. Louis Police said that Ashley Depew was not a victim of one of the random attacks that have commanded nationwide attention,…
-
Give Obama Credit for Jobs Turnaround
By any measure the last few months have not been a high point for the Obama administration. The rollout of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) has been a disaster of epic proportions. The technical glitches have been embarrassing, but the communications strategy accompanying it has been worse. It is as though the technologically advanced,…
-
Biracial Teen’s White Mom Suspected in Racist Graffiti Probe
A white Massachusetts mother, whose biracial son was the alleged target of racist graffiti scrawled on the side of their home, is now at the center of the investigation, the Huffington Post reports. Police are examining handwriting samples of the mother, Andrea Brazier, after she reportedly said, “OK” when an FBI agent investigating the potential…
-
Scandal to Air 4 Fewer Episodes This Season
Fans of ABC’s Scandal will have to make do with four fewer episodes this season. Yes, it’s a scandal for acolytes of the stylishly smart and transgressive Olivia Pope character, but there’s likely a good reason. Although the network did not offer an explanation for why it will broadcast 18 instead of 22 episodes, the Associated Press…
-
Limbaugh Accuses Media of Making Nelson Mandela’s Death About Obama
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh railed against the White House and the media on Friday, complaining that both were trying to make Nelson Mandela’s death all about President Barack Obama. During the broadcast, Limbaugh knocked Obama for releasing a statement shortly after Mandela’s death was announced Thursday. “I am one of the countless millions who…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
