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A Judge and a Baby Named Messiah
CNN‘s L.Z. Granderson says a Tennessee judge overstepped her bounds when she ordered a mother to change her son’s name from Messiah. “Ultimately what we name our children is no one else’s business,” he writes, and it’s certainly not something in which the government should be involved. In an egregious abuse of power, Lu Ann Ballew,…
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Why White Feminists Should Stay in Their Lane
Aura Bogado at the Nation exhorts white feminists to stop exploiting the painful experiences of black women for their benefit. Provoked by the popular Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, she writes that a white woman’s “prison stint can never be a substitute for the violence institutionally carried out against women of color in…
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The GOP's Losing Fight Against Racism
Writing at his Hutchinson Report News, Earl Ofari Hutchinson says that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is failing miserably at his mission to improve minority outreach and eradicate racism in his party because, well, racists abound. Priebus could save his breath. A few choice and timely words against a loose cannon congressman, and a…
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Family: NYPD Scared 43-Year-Old Man to Death
Forty-three-year-old Carlos Alcis’ family says he was literally scared to death when New York City police officers entered his home chasing a cellphone thief, the Daily News reports. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office on Friday announced an investigation into the incident, which occurred Thursday. Word of the DA’s probe emerged Friday just before police arrested…
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'The Butler' Is No. 1 at the Box Office
Lee Daniels’ The Butler defied expectations this weekend as it became the No. 1 film at the box office, Deadline Hollywood reports. Universal’s Kick Ass 2 was on track to be the top ticket-seller. Tracking showed Universal’s Kick Ass 2 (playing in 2,940 theaters) would be the #1 film this weekend. In fact Lee Daniels‘ The Butler (2,933 theaters) from The Weinstein…
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Celebs Who've Been Racially Profiled
Keli Goff is The Root’s special correspondent. Follow her on Twitter. (The Root) — Because of the tragic death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin and the acquittal last month of his killer, George Zimmerman, the issue of racial profiling has been in the news more than ever. A number of black celebrities have shared their…
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Quote of the Day: Marian Anderson on Color and Character
Read the quote in its full context 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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Gates Forum: '1 Nation, Diverse & Divided'
(The Root) — They could have been lining up final putts at Mink Meadows Golf Course or stuffing clams for a “5-7” with friends. Instead, the several hundred vacationers swarmed into the Old Whaling Church on Martha’s Vineyard Thursday evening, clutching some of the most coveted tickets of the island’s summer season. For those with…
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Who's Coming to the March on Washington?
(The Root) — With just 11 days left on the calendar before the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Americans are busy readying themselves to converge on the nation’s capital. Kim Moore, 28, is a consultant who lives in the San Diego area.…
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March on Twitter With The Root
(The Root) — On Aug. 28, 2013, The Root will recognize the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with a full-day digital forum on Twitter, dedicated to today’s most pressing civil rights issues. Experts, activists and celebrities will lead the global Twitter community in a virtual march, highlighting a variety of topics — including criminal justice, education and immigration…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
