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Kanye West's Dichotomy of Success and Righteousness
Kanye West’s lastest track, “New Slaves,” began a dialogue among hip-hop fans and black intellectuals, and Global Grind‘s Brittany Lewis says the MC’s biggest struggle, apparent in his music, is choosing which life he wants to live. And while he jostles back and forth between luxury and speaking truth to power about America’s racial strife, listeners…
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USC Doesn't Need Dr. Dre's $70 Million. An HBCU Does
Dr. Dre recently gave USC $70 million to create a new blended arts and business degree, and Walter M. Kimbrough asks in the Los Angeles Times why the Southern California hip-hop icon couldn’t have given that sum to a struggling historically black college. A hip-hop icon is now the new black higher-ed philanthropy king. We’ve…
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Quote of the Day: James M. Washington
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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'Menace II Society': Where Are They Now?
On May 26, 1993, a gritty, violent crime drama set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and directed by twin brothers named Allen and Albert Hughes opened in theaters. Critics loved it, and in the 20 years since it was released, the film, which follows a teenage drug dealer who commits heinous crimes with…
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Tavis Smiley: White House Pressured Sponsors to Pull Support
On Friday, television and radio host Tavis Smiley celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Tavis Smiley show on PBS and defended his right to critique President Obama, reports Lynn Elber of the Associated Press (via the Huffington Post). According to Elber, Smiley says freedom of speech hasn’t come without its price and that sponsors have been…
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Black Churches Struggle as Harlem Gentrifies
As Harlem’s racial makeup changes, membership at some of the historical churches has fallen and so have the tithe amounts, reports the New York Times. The tourists often put offerings in the collection basket. But then they are gone. And so despite the draw, churches like Canaan are struggling. And at the heart of the struggle…
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What Can We Learn From Freedom Schools
(The Root) — The Children’s Defense Fund’s Cameron Van Patterson, presenting at a strategy session at the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit in Naples, Fla., on Friday, said there’s an alternative to simply pushing for reforms to a public education system that too often fails black kids. “I’m speaking in this instance in terms of the African-American community,” Van…
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Bride Sentenced for Killing Groom on Wedding Day
In Pennsylvania on Thursday, Na Cola Franklin was found guilty of stabbing her fiance, Billy Brewster, to death just hours before her wedding. The Daily News reports that Franklin was sentenced to life without parole. The couple were arguing at 2 a.m. on the day of their nuptials — Aug. 11, 2012 — after Brewster…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
