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Zimmerman Verdict: How Upset Are Blacks?
According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 86 percent of African Americans “strongly disagree” with the not-guilty verdict in George Zimmerman’s trial. The Washington Post found that while the racial gap is “extremely wide” when it comes to reactions on the shooting of Trayvon Martin, most of the divide comes from differing points of…
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Rand Paul Aide With Racist Past Resigns
(The Root) — Jack Hunter, the controversial aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), has resigned nearly two weeks after his previous ties to a white separatist group were revealed. Hunter announced his resignation in an email to the conservative news site the Daily Caller. He expressed embarrassment for some of his previous racially inflammatory behavior,…
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Quote of the Day: Booker T. Washington on Economic Independence
Read the full quote 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 Was the Sultan of Jazz?
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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Zimmerman: Do the Feds Have a Case?
(The Root) — If the state of Florida’s prosecution of George Zimmerman was an uphill battle, any Department of Justice effort to prove that he violated Trayvon Martin’s civil rights would face the legal equivalent of Mount Everest. The federal government faces intensifying pressure to indict the former neighborhood-watch volunteer on civil rights charges that…
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5 Schools With Higher Black Grad Rates
(The Root) — There’s been a lot of talk about the lack of black student success at our nation’s colleges. Nationwide, the black college graduation rate is a dismal 42 percent. But what about schools that are graduating high rates of black students? For the last seven years, college-completion rates of black students at high-ranked…
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Police Identify Suspect in Slayings of 3 Ohio Women
East Cleveland police on Sunday publicly identified the suspect in the deaths of three women who were discovered wrapped in trash bags, the Associated Press reports. And no more bodies were discovered following a search by officers and volunteers, reports show. [East Cleveland Police Chief Ralph] Spotts says Sunday that 35-year-old registered sex offender Michael Madison…
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How to Ask Someone About Their Ethnicity
At a time when America is supposed to be postracial, at Jezebel, Meher Ahmad, creates a list of what not to say for people trying to learn her ethnicity. But really, don’t bother asking, because we should be beyond such questions. If you haven’t been able to surmise from my little avatar photo off to the side…
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Lee Daniels Free to Use 'The Butler' in Film Title
The Wrap is reporting that the Motion Picture Association of America on Friday overturned an earlier ruling that will permit the Weinstein Company to use the titles Lee Daniels’ The Butler or The White House Butler, following a hard-fought battle with Warner Bros. The Association, however, upheld its decision that the Weinstein Company could not…
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Tavis Smiley Defends Twitter Hit on Obama
Despite the outrage over his Twitter attack on President Obama’s remarks on race in America following George Zimmerman’s acquittal, Black America Web reports that Tavis Smiley defended his comments Sunday during an appearance on Meet the Press. During the interview, he restated his tweet, saying he thought the president’s remarks were too little, too late,…

