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Donnie McClurkin Misses Out on MLK Concert
Gospel artist Donnie McClurkin did not perform Saturday at a Washington, D.C., government-sponsored concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The Washington Post reports that gay-rights activists didn’t want McClurkin to perform because of his views on homosexuality. He has said that he dealt with homosexuality, but God brought him out from…
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Ruling: Stop-and-Frisk Practice Violates Rights
A federal judge has ruled that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department — under which mostly black and Hispanic people have been questioned by police — have violated the constitutional rights of New Yorkers, according to the New York Times. The decision calls for a federal monitor to oversee broad reform to the…
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What Was the Civil Rights Movement?
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…
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Quote of the Day: W.E.B. Du Bois on Voting Power
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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Gwen Ifill: Making News of Her Own
(The Root) — In 1999, journalist Gwen Ifill, then a congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, told the New York Times that she was “part terrified, part excited as you always are when you try something new.” She was talking about her new post as moderator of PBS’ Washington Week in Review. Now nearly…
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Obama Rodeo Clown at Missouri Fair Draws Protest
A crowd attending a rodeo show at the Missouri State Fair this weekend whooped and hollered as the announcer called for a clown wearing an Obama mask “to get gored,” according to the Raw Story. “I felt like I was at a Klan rally,” Missouri State Fair goer Perry Beam told Raw Story, his outrage…
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What Would MLK Tweet? Post on Facebook?
If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, would he tweet and post on Facebook? Robert M. Franklin, former president of Morehouse College, where King was an alum, raises the question at CNN as the nation prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a…
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Why Racism Does Not Explain Obama's Falling Approval Rating
In a piece at the Guardian that explores why the president is losing his footing among some voters of color, statistician Harry J. Enten says Barack Obama’s falling approval rating has more to do with the economy than racism. Moreover, Obama is also seeing his numbers drop among minorities. Gallup with its large sample sizes…
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Jeff Bezos: An Open Letter on Diversity at the Washington Post
Arguing that diversity is “critical for good journalism,” Farai Chideya, at her blog, Farai.com, writes an open letter congratulating new Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on his acquisition and stressing the importance of a heterogeneous staff. As I outlined in a recent article for The Nation magazine, staffing and editorial diversity is critical for good journalism, and…
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Politics Gets Its Own Cheerios Ad
(The Root) — Earlier this year, Cheerios generated extensive media attention — and countless racist comments online — for becoming the first major American brand to feature a mixed-race family in a television advertisement. Now an ad for a political campaign is poised to be just as groundbreaking, and potentially controversial. This weekend television advertisements…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
