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Single Parents Aren't the Problem
(The Root) — Do black children have natural disadvantages in school because most are from single-parent homes? Recently, comedian Bill Cosby chided the “apathy” he observed among black parents. He, like many others, believes that the fading presence of the black nuclear family places black children at a social disadvantage and creates a burden on…
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B. Scott Refuses BET's Apology
(The Root) — Apparently BET figured that between Paula Deen and Serena Williams, we haven’t had enough unapologetic apologies this year and decided to issue one of its own. Internet personality B. Scott recently spoke out about being forced to change his preapproved look minutes before he was scheduled to host the BET Awards preshow,…
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BET Apologizes Not Really to B. Scott
We wouldn’t quite call it an apology, but two days after the BET Awards aired, the network has responded to fashion blogger B. Scott, who said the network made him tone down his feminine look before he made his appearance on the pre-awards show. A BET representative called the incident (in which Scott, who is…
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Twitter Talks the N-Word — Again
(The Root) — The n-word has been getting an awful lot of attention since Paula Deen’s fall from grace, and the discussion was compounded by references to Trayvon Martin’s use of the word “cracker” in the Zimmerman trial. Jumping at the chance to mediate the discussion, CNN gathered a varied panel, including actor LeVar Burton,…
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'Reading Rainbow' Host's New Lesson: How to Avoid Being Shot by Police
Depressing (but not surprising) statement of the week: LeVar Burton told CNN on Monday that he has a whole routine every time he’s stopped by police, designed to avoid the potentially deadly confrontation that could result from racial profiling. He removes his hat and sunglasses, rolls down his window and puts out his hands to…
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Obama Finishes Africa Trip in Tanzania
In the last leg of his trip to Africa, President Barack Obama visited with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and business leaders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the New York Times reports. Crowds of Tanzanians, including the military band, greeted the president on his arrival. Obama seemed optimistic about what’s ahead for the growing continent. “We…
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Zimmerman Tapes: Facts Don't Add Up
(The Root) — For the first time in the second-degree-murder trial of George Zimmerman, jurors Monday heard a gripping narrative in the defendant’s own words about his fatal shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. But much of what was presented in audio and video recordings of his statements to police investigators didn’t quite add up.…
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No Shame Day
(The Root) — Yesterday was the first day of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. For the second year in a row, people on Twitter kicked off the month by sharing stories of their own experiences with mental illness, marked with the tag #NoShameDay. It has always been said that black people don’t go to…
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Mother and Toddler Shot in Chicago Park
On Sunday evening, when a pair of gunmen fired at least a dozen shots at a van packed with women and children at Chicago’s Murray Park, Leslie Freeman, 27, and her 2-year-old son, Demonte, were both struck and now remain in the hospitalized, reports the Huffington Post. It’s not the first time this family has…
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Quote of the Day: Anna Deavere Smith on Literature
Read the entire 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.
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
