-
Obama Family Visit Mandela's Former Prison
On Sunday, President Obama, along with his family, visited Robben Island and the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, reports the Los Angeles Times. Obama’s tour of the prison at Robben Island was something of a symbolic union between the first African American president of the United States and the first black president of South…
-
Ten Days in, Vine Is on Its Way Out
(The Root) — When Facebook announced Instagram’s video service, users across Twitter and Facebook heralded what they saw as the inevitable death of Vine, Twitter’s video-sharing app. They may have been on to something. Marketing Land reports that though Instagram video has only been around less than two weeks, its number of shares on Twitter…
-
Rev. Al Sharpton Blasts Mike Bloomberg Over Stop-and-Frisk Comments
Rev. Al Sharpton demanded an apology from New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg during a press conference on Saturday, according to the Daily News. On his weekly radio show, the mayor recently defended the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, saying, “I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little.” “The tone that has been set…
-
No One Cares About Jay-Z's New Music
Longevity is tough for most rappers, but Jay-Z makes it look easy. Still, Kris Ex writes in L.A. Weekly that no one is paying much attention to the rapper-cum-businessman’s music anymore, including his next album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, which fans will be able to download through a Samsung phone app in July, and Jay couldn’t…
-
When Leaning In Isn't Enough
(Special to The Root) — It seems like a lot of women — women with the time for these things — are talking about Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” project. It’s a book, a website, some kind of social network and, for all I know, probably an upcoming movie. But color me underwhelmed. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Sandberg…
-
Why 'Cracker' Can't Compare to the N-Word
Discovering the bigger racist, Kathleen Parker writes at the Washington Post, seems to be the real goal at the heart of the George Zimmerman trial. When Rachel Jeantel, friend of the late Trayvon Martin, told the jury this week that Trayvon said a “creepy-ass cracker” was following him, her words played into that very discussion.…
-
Quote of the Day: Lani Guinier on Leadership
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.
-
I'm Black, and I Forgive Paula Deen
Citing Paula Deen’s admission of racism as evidence that the former Food Network star is simply from a certain era, Medgar Evers College educator Robin R. Ford writes at Salon that she won’t hold Deen’s words against her. Still, I can’t bring myself to dislike her. Of course I’m disappointed that the N-word passed her…
-
Don West's Instagram Faux Pas
(The Root) — Don West’s poor taste seems to run in the family. The defense attorney for George Zimmerman tried to make us laugh with an ill-conceived knock-knock joke at the top of the trial, but sadly fell flat on his face. Now he’s catching heat for a picture that he took, later shared by…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
