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More Nat'l Geographic First Lady Jokes: School Board Member Fired
Here’s some of what Wright County, Va., school board member Herb DeGroft thought was a good idea to send to colleagues: a depiction of bare-breasted “female warriors,” with the caption, “Michelle Obama’s high school reunion,” and a message that claimed the first lady was paid $50 to model in National Geographic. Funny? Apparently, in his…
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Charity Meets Social Media
(The Root) — Mashable, a go-to website for news about innovation in social media and the digital world, is working with other organizations to foster global relationships to bring about social change via the Internet. The website has linked with the United Nations Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UNDP, the 92Y and…
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Oprah Gets an Honorary Degree From Harvard
Oprah Winfrey teared up on Thursday as she accepted an honorary degree from Harvard University, the Mail Online reports, just hours before she was scheduled to delivered the featured commencement speech for the graduating Class of 2013. Explaining the university’s selection of Winfrey as the speaker, Harvard President Drew Faust said, “Oprah’s journey from her…
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Felon Voting Rights: A Boon for GOP?
(The Root) — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s decision this week to restore the voting rights of nonviolent felons returned to society is already different things to different people. It’s a sign of a welcome and surprising centrism from the leader of the state called “the cradle of the Confederacy.” It’s one of the most politically…
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Cheerios Ad Brings Out All the Racists
Updated Friday, May 31, 12 p.m. EDT: The Huffington Post reports that the commercial generated such a strong racist reaction on YouTube that the comments section had to be closed. The ad had received more than 1,600 likes and more than 500 dislikes, as well as references to Nazis, “troglodytes” and “racial genocide.” Earlier: It’s…
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N–gers and Redskins: Same Thing?
Earlier this month, members of Congress sent a letter to the NFL’s Washington Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, to express their disapproval of the team’s name. In the same vein, CBS Sports columnist Mike Freeman has written a satire arguing that although there may not be a huge uproar over its racially loaded meaning, the name…
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Life at HWCUs
(The Root) — As much as I loved reading it, Akoto Ofori-Atta‘s piece “19 Things Every HBCU Grad Knows” made me very uncomfortable. It’s a feeling that engulfs me whenever I hear anyone look back fondly on their collegiate years, but heavily so when the school in question is an HBCU. This is mostly because…
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Oprah: Crazy Like a Fox Executive
(The Root) — Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel, tap out and call it quits. Could it be that this entire time I’ve been lying to myself? That I am, in fact, one of Tyler Perry’s biggest fans and just didn’t know it? Nah. I still think the writer-director-producer makes a mockery of…
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Affordable Care Act: 'Colorblind' Policy and Bigoted Effects
The Atlantic‘s Ta-Nehisi Coates examines the implementation of the ACA and explains why the “lift all boats” policy often falls short. … I want to preface what I am about to say by pointing out the obvious — the ACA is a great thing. I suspect it will go down as the president’s greatest achievement…
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The Never-Ending War on Eric Holder
Writing at the Huffington Post, Earl Ofari Hutchinson says that the attorney general “is an all-purpose tool in the GOP’s relentless drive to mark Obama as a failed president.” There was nothing subtle about The Washington Times’ recent poll question: “Will Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. be forced to resign within the next six months?”…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
