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False Panic Over Howard? Official Calls 'Gone in 3 Years' Letter 'Unduly Alarming'
If Renee Higginbotham-Brooks, the vice chair of Howard University’s board of trustees, was hoping to bring attention to the school’s financial situation in a letter she wrote that was published last week in the Chronicle of Higher Education, she was successful. In it, Higginbotham-Brooks predicted that, barring major changes to the school’s finances, it would…
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Could a Tax Credit Fix the Black Jobs Crisis?
(The Root) — The May jobs report didn’t bring worse news than the April jobs report. But it was still bad news for African Americans, for whom unemployment remains in the double digits. Although unemployment among whites is 6.7 percent, 13.5 percent of black Americans are unemployed. As America slowly recovers from the recession, black America…
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OWN's Focus on Real Black Women: It's Working. What Took So Long?
In a piece for the Daily Beast, Allison Samuels reflects on the announcement of the renewal of three of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s top reality shows: Iyanla: Fix My Life, starring Iyanla Vanzant; Life With La Toya, starring La Toya Jackson; and Raising Whitley, starring Kim Whitley, all of which feature black women as their starring characters. They’re…
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How To Be A Good Dad In 1300 Words or Less
So Father’s Day is right around the corner. It’s Sunday in fact. Unlike Mother’s Day, there’s not nearly as much pomp and fanfare surrounding the day of fathers. I get it. Mothers are the givers of life and hugs and they kiss the boo-boo. On the “we give a flying fig about you” totem pole,…
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End of White America: Should We Care?
(The Root) — Is it time to start saying goodbye to majority-white America? Maybe, according to census data and estimates out on Thursday. The highlights that are getting the most attention: a prediction that, based on current rates of growth, whites in the under-5 age group are expected to slip to a minority this year…
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Mariah Carey Photo Causes a Stir
(The Root) — A still from Lee Daniel’s latest movie, The Butler, is causing a bit of a ruckus on Twitter. The movie is about Eugene Allen, who retired as head butler of the White House in 1986. The photo shows Mariah Carey as a slave working in a cotton field with two other darker-skinned…
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No, You and I Will Not Be Dating. Here's Why
Niesha Davis outlines at Clutch magazine the various reasons that she will not date a guy. Her list comes as she is getting back to dating after a two-year hiatus. … It seems that the men who approach me find someway to eliminate themselves from the running before we even start. Take one fellow that…
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Voting Rights' Future: A 'Shelby' Refresher
(The Root) — It won’t be long before the Supreme Court announces its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, in a major ruling that will determine whether Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is struck down. The court heard arguments in the case back in February. So why is Section 5 important, again? Quick refresher:…
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Zimmerman Trial: Just 1 Scene in a Gun-Culture Drama
In a piece for the New Yorker, Jelani Cobb discusses the George Zimmerman trial, which began on Monday, in terms of America’s gun culture and perceptions of race. It’s possible — no, reasonable — to look at Martin’s death as the opening scene in a four-act drama centering on American gun culture. The subsequent scenes…
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Obama Fooled the Hip-Hop Community
Erik Nielson, writing at the Huffington Post, says that President Obama deceived many who supported him during his first presidential campaign, including hip-hop artists. He says that Obama’s policies haven’t helped the minorities who elected him to office. There was something remarkable about seeing rappers pledge their support to a mainstream presidential candidate, especially given…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
