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Was My Black Ancestor a Civil War Soldier?
(The Root) — “I am trying to figure out if my Virginia ancestor, Squire Martin, is the same one in the U.S. Colored Troops from the Civil War. He is listed in the Civil War muster rolls as a private in the 55th Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry. He was 35 years old, and his birthplace…
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Quote of the Day: Marvin Gaye on Black Crime Victims
Read the complete lyrics for the Marvin Gaye song here. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute 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.
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Harriette Cole and HistoryMakers Share Success With Students
(The Root) — “Everybody here wants to be a designer, so how do you make your clothes popular?” one ambitious student asks of two established women in fashion during a career day of sorts at New York’s High School of Fashion Industries. “If anyone knew that for sure — ” starts Patti Y. Carpenter. “They’d be…
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'The Butler': Lessons We Can Still Learn
Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, writes at the New Pittsburgh Courier that Hollywood releases like Lee Daniels’ The Butler serve as poignant reminders that there are still lessons to be learned from history. He connects historical events with current events like Trayvon Martin’s death and the Supreme Court’s dismantling of the Voting…
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The Unjustified Fear of Black Men
Following the North Carolina police shooting of an unarmed black man who was actually seeking the officer’s help, Mary C. Curtis dismantles stereotypes and false perceptions in an incisive piece at the Washington Post. “Falling back on fear of a black man is a shortcut,” she writes, “unless you’re looking for something simple — like…
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Black Men in Pain: America Needs to Pay Attention
Michaela Angela Davis, in a piece at CNN, says that black male pain is rarely accurately portrayed in the media, but a spate of recent shootings highlights the importance of learning to listen to their cries for help in and outside the community. “I was suicidal in college,” a Harry Potter-looking hipster recently told me.…
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Why Are Black Voters Embracing Chris Christie?
In an unlikely — but then again not so unlikely — development, black voters have begun to embrace New Jersey’s pugnacious Republican Gov. Chris Christie, according to Real Clear Politics. It’s an unlikely scenario because he didn’t win widespread support among African Americans during his 2009 campaign. It’s not so unlikely because black voters started…
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Stripper Tweets Are Good for Cory Booker
(The Root) — Newark, N.J., mayor-turned-Senate candidate Cory Booker has enjoyed a pretty charmed existence during his decade in the national public eye. He has been on the receiving end of mostly fawning media coverage in the national press and appears regularly on national news programs that some members of Congress have a tough time…
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Kanye West and Jimmy Kimmel in a 'Rap Feud'?
(The Root) — On Thursday Kanye West engaged in an “epic” Twitter battle with Jimmy Kimmel, after the talk-show host made fun of comments the rapper made during a BBC Radio One interview. “He said a lot of weird stuff,” Kimmel said Wednesday on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “He said he’s the No. 1 rock star…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
