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Tim Allen and the N-Word
(The Root) — Tim Allen can now be added to the list of white people who really, really want to be able to use the n-word. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Allen talks about his distaste for the euphemism “the n-word,” saying that the phrase is more offensive than the actual word…
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Does Jay Z Want to Be This Generation's Harry Belafonte?
The kerfuffle between Jay Z and Harry Belafonte over the rapper’s so-called failed activism represents the gulf between the civil rights and hip-hop generations, writes Rahiel Tesfamariam in the Washington Post. “When, if ever,” she asks, “will the two meet?” This past weekend, Jay-Z and Beyoncé attended a Trayvon Martin rally in New York City, standing…
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Feds to Probe 'Redneck Day' at Arizona High School
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a controversial “Redneck Day” celebration at an Arizona high school after civil rights leaders said that it created a racially hostile environment, the Associated Press reports. The Rev. Jarrett Maupin says the DOE will “determine the remedy, including moderating conversations between school administrators and civil rights community leaders…
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North Carolina to Pay $10 Million to Victims of Forced Sterilization
In a landmark move by lawmakers, North Carolina on Wednesday passed a budget that includes $10 million to compensate the state’s victims of forced sterilization, NBC News reports. “There were challenges, we had to better educate our members — and then of course we had to work through the fiscal challenges — but at the…
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Quote of the Day: Berry Gordy Jr. on Music
Read more of The Root’s coverage of Berry Gordy Jr. 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. Like The Root on…
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Facebook Page Celebrates Its Competitor
(The Root) — In the battle of social media video sharing, Vine is refusing to go gently into that good night. When Instagram, Facebook’s picture-sharing app, announced that it, too, would support video, many heralded it as the death of Vine, Twitter’s video-sharing app. But in an ironic twist, Facebook’s fastest-growing page is one dedicated…
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GOP Faces More Racial Controversies
(The Root) — Days ago, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) sparked cries of racism because of his comments about the children of illegal immigrants. King attacked the so-called Dreamers, who have helped drive the immigration-reform movement the last few years. These young people were the focus of the Dream Act, which was intended to ease the…
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'Fruitvale Station' Trends on Twitter
(The Root) — Ryan Coogler’s first full-length film, Fruitvale Station, officially hit theaters today, but it has been the talk of the cinema world for weeks. The Sundance winner is based on the life of Oscar Grant, a young, unarmed black man who was shot to death by police in Oakland, Calif. With the high-profile…
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Were My Ancestors African or European?
(The Root) — “For nearly two decades I’ve grasped for a connection to my family’s African heritage. I grew up in an ethnically diverse, Northern New Jersey suburb where many of the black students were first-generation Americans or recent immigrants with ancestry from countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Now in my late 20s, I’ve…
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GOP Party of Obstruction: The New Normal?
The unproductive standoff between President Barack Obama and the GOP House continues to loom as the Democratic Party appears likely to grow nationally and the Republican Party remains firmly entrenched in Washington, Eugene Robinson writes at the Washington Post. The bad news is that approval ratings for both the president and Congress are sinking, with…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
