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Why National Dialogue on Race Is Needed
(The Root) — Trayvon Martin’s tragic death has inspired nationwide demonstrations and calls for action that have reverberated all the way to the White House. President Obama’s spontaneous and heartfelt words about the plight of race relations in America touched upon the need for a national conversation about race but expressed skepticism that politicians might…
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Sybrina Fulton on Juror B29: 'Devastating'
After juror B29 said in an interview on Thursday that she feels George Zimmerman “got away with murder” in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, his mother, Sybrina Fulton, released a statement calling the comments “devastating,” CBS News reports. Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, released a statement saying, “It is devastating for my family to…
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn Charged With Aggravated Pimping
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund, will face charges of aggravated pimping in a French court, the Associated Press reports. Strauss-Kahn was thrust into the media spotlight in 2011 after he was arrested on charges that he sexually abused a maid, Nafissatou Diallo, at a Manhattan hotel. A New York City…
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What Young Activists Could Teach Jay Z
(The Root) — When legendary humanitarian and activist Harry Belafonte slammed Jay Z for what he said was the rapper-mogul’s lackluster use of his platform for social responsibility, Jay Z’s response — that he’s doing his part simply by existing and making money, and that his “presence is charity” — missed the point entirely. That reaction…
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Why Isn't the Morning-After HIV Pill Advertised?
AIDS activists recently staged a protest in New York City about the medication that could dramatically reduce the rate of HIV infection after exposure, Colorlines reports. Over at New York Magazine, Tim Murphy recounts a recent action by ACT UP outside of a city hospital for the confusion surrounding a pill that could dramatically reduce the rate…
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9-Year-Old to Chicago School Board: 'You're Pulling Me Down'
Nine-year-old Asean Johnson, who made a splash earlier this summer when he criticized the Chicago Board of Education for massive school closures, returned on Wednesday to appeal to officials to save teachers, the Huffington Post reports. The emotional plea came after the board announced thousands of teacher layoffs last week. The Marcus Garvey Elementary student…
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry Outraged at DOJ
Texas Gov. Rick Perry expressed outrage at the Department of Justice on Thursday, after the attorney general announced plans to try to persuade a federal court to subject his state to election-law scrutiny in order to protect minority voters, MSNBC reports. Thursday morning, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would try to persuade a…
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On Racism and Jealousy
(The Root) — Few theatrical productions are the talk of the town as much as the National Theatre’s Othello currently is. Make no mistake: Shakespearean tragedy comes no better than this. Nicholas Hytner’s swan song production after a decade as artistic director at the National is nothing short of masterful. This is Hytner’s Sistine Chapel,…
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Quote of the Day: Zora Neale Hurston on Fleeting Moments
Read the full quote in 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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Who Remembers The Hustle?
(The Root) — There was a time long, long ago (OK, decades ago) when the dance everyone was doing at every party actually required a partner. The Hustle craze took off following the release of Van McCoy’s song of the same name, which hit No. 1 on the charts 39 years ago, on July 26,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
