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Can You Grant Permission to Use the N-Word?
No one can grant anyone else permission to use the n-word, Gene Demby argues at the NPR blog Code Switch. There isn’t a consensus on whether or not black people should use it, and although white people aren’t encouraged to use it, there’s wiggle room there, too, depending on the person and context. There’s this…
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Black Women and 'Strip Club Chic'
Even though celebs like Nicki Minaj frequent strip clubs, black women should think critically about supporting such venues, Monique John argues at For Harriet. Historical exploitation of the black female body makes the decision all the more personal, political and complicated. Nicki Minaj. Rihanna. Diamond. Young B. These celebrities have made going to the strip…
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George Zimmerman Involved in Gun-Related Incident
Twitter is in an absolute uproar in response to reports that George Zimmerman, the man acquitted of murder in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, has been involved in another incident involving a firearm. The Associated Press is reporting that George Zimmerman’s wife summoned police to her father’s house in Florida on Monday…
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Obama's Syria Plan: Ill Conceived, Ill Timed
(The Root) — President Obama’s decision to pursue military action against Syria (he’s currently trying to rally congressional and public support) in response to the Bashar al-Assad government’s use of chemical weapons is unfolding as a major foreign policy error, one that may severely undermine American credibility abroad and domestic priorities at home. Obama’s march…
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Black Jobs Crisis: Could GOP Do Better?
(The Root) — After five years of nonstop bad news regarding black unemployment, the Obama administration was finally able to celebrate some good news last month, or so it seemed. In July African-American unemployment dipped to 12.6 percent, a small but significant change from June’s 13.7 percent unemployment rate — and substantially lower than the…
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Lessons From the Birmingham Bombing
(The Root) — Sept. 15 marks the 50th anniversary of perhaps the most tragic episode of the civil rights movement. On that day Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, Addie Mae Collins, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14, were killed in a terrorist-sponsored explosion at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Their deaths overtook…
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Who Is the Real Black Candidate?
(The Root) — While the New York City mayoral campaign may appear issues-based, a closer look reveals blurred lines linked to race. In elections, perception is often everything, and politicians charming the public with their families is nothing new. But a white candidate wooing potential African-American voters with his black family and liberal politics is…
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Quote of the Day: Florynce Kennedy on Reproductive Rights
Read more from Florynce Kennedy 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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Which African Prince Was Sold Into Slavery?
Editor’s note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. (The Root) — Amazing Fact About the…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
