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March on Washington: What We Want
(The Root) — Listen to talk radio, peruse the front page of the nation’s major news sites and covers of the big magazines this week, and the 1963 March on Washington occupies a lot of real estate. There are the stories and images of a peaceful gathering of Americans committed to nothing beyond calling for social justice and legal equality.…
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Breaking News: Chris Brown Is Upset Again
(The Root) — Among the biggest news stories of the day is Chris Brown’s 500th Twitter tantrum, which began sometime last night and is still occurring in random spurts throughout the day. Last night, a thing happened and Brown took to Twitter to paint the Internet with his profanity-laced feelings, of which he has many.…
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White Undercover Informant Plants Crack at Black Shop
WNYT-TV is reporting that a Schenectady County, N.Y., black business owner’s surveillance cameras captured an undercover police informant planting and photographing crack cocaine, which ultimately led to the man’s arrest. Schenectady County police reportedly were suspicious of Donald Andrews Jr., who owns a smoke shop in Scotia, N.Y., and decided to send the undercover informant…
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President Obama Thanks Antoinette Tuff for Her Courage
In a surprise move, President Barack Obama called Antoinette Tuff, the Georgia woman credited with helping prevent a school shooting, to thank her for her courage, the Associated Press reports. The White House says Obama spoke with Antoinette Tuff on Thursday while in New York, where he is on an education-focused bus trip. The White House…
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J. Cole: 'I Might Not Be as Successful' If I Had 'Dark Skin'
Rapper J. Cole, an award nominee at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, discussed a range of issues during a recent interview with BET, including racial profiling and colorism in hip-hop. The North Carolina native said, “I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin.” He said that’s the…
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Obama Is Still Hung Up on Marijuana
(The Root) — Weeks ago, progressive activists celebrated newly announced efforts by Attorney General Eric Holder to reform drug-sentencing guidelines. According to Holder’s recent speech before the American Bar Association, “Today a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities,” because of draconian sentencing measures. The attorney…
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Quote of the Day: Dick Gregory on the Civil Rights Movement
Read more about Dick Gregory 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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March on Washington: What They Listened To
(The Root) — The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the months surrounding the historic March on Washington in August 1963. These pop jingles, R&B tunes and girl anthems boomed out of transistor radios and filled dance halls. They provided an impromptu soundtrack to a period fraught with much transition, protest and activism.…
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No Recovery for the Black Worker
(The Root) — On a sweltering day in late July, the Rev. Martin Rafanan, a St. Louis, Mo., labor organizer, led hundreds of service-industry workers, most of them African American, on a legally protected 24-hour strike. The strike was not only a St. Louis first but also part of a precedent-setting effort across four Midwestern…
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Should Mayor Ban N-Word at Upcoming Jay Z Concert?
Dom Giordano, at the Philadelphia Daily News, asks whether Mayor Michael Nutter, who was critical of Eagles player Riley Cooper’s use of the n-word, will take a similarly hard stand against Jay Z and the hip-hop industry “that profits off slurs and guns.” The hip-hop star is slated to perform in Philadelphia. I ask this because…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
