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Slight Drama Over Obama's Morehouse Commencement Speech
The Washington Post reports that Morehouse College’s president is working to quell a controversy over what role a vocal Obama critic will play at the May 19 graduation ceremony, where the president is scheduled to deliver an address. Morehouse College President John S. Wilson, who headed the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges…
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Church Shuns Former NFL Player Over Collins Tweet
(The Root) — It looks as if former NFL player LeRoy Butler was bullied out of speaking at an anti-bullying presentation. A church in Wisconsin canceled an event featuring the former Green Bay Packer after he congratulated NBA player Jason Collins on Twitter. Collins came out as gay earlier this week, and several celebs and fellow…
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I Sided Against Him in a Family Feud; He's Mad
(The Root) — “My boyfriend invited me to a cookout with his family at his mother’s house over the weekend. It started off OK, but he got into a heated argument — yelling, cursing and all — with some of his family about an ongoing family issue. He was wrong, and I flatly told him…
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Boston Suspect's Friend in Custody: 'I'm an Average Guy'
UPDATED Thursday, May 2, 10:52 a.m. EDT: A YouTube video uploaded last year shows Robel Phillipos, one of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s three college friends currently held by police, CBS News reports. In what appears to be a clip uploaded for a March 2012 school project, Phillipos says, “I grew up in a very…
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Obama Cabinet Pick's Labor Clashes
(The Root) — Firmly putting to rest any questions about whether he is willing to tap minorities or women for major leadership and Cabinet posts in his second term, President Obama is poised to nominate longtime donor, friend and businesswoman Penny Pritzker to be his next secretary of commerce. The president has nominated minorities and…
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Celebrities Mourn Death of '90s Rap Icon
(The Root) — Hip-hop fans online and off are mourning the death of Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly, one half of the rap group Kris Kross. CBS Atlanta reports that Kelly was found dead in his home of a possible drug overdose, though the official cause of death has yet to be determined. Kelly and Chris…
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Racist Mountain Dew Ad: Everyone Involved Should Have Known Better
In a piece for Clutch magazine, Britni Danielle says that Tyler, the Creator’s online commercial — in which a battered white woman has to pick a suspect out of a lineup consisting of black men and a goat — peddles stereotypes that black men have been fighting for years. Dr. Boyce Watkins called the spot,…
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Gay Athletes and the Generational Divide
(The Root) — A far as seals of approval go, a shout-out from the president of the United States during a nationally televised press conference has to be up there with a thumbs-up from Oprah or a pat on the back from Magic Johnson. And since announcing he was gay in a self-penned essay for…
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On Blue Ivy's Hair: Leave That Baby Alone!
MyBrownBaby’s Denene Millner chastises those who have criticized the curls of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s 1-year-old. Four MyBrownBaby words about Blue Ivy’s hair: Leave. That. Baby. Alone … As if we didn’t just finish having this same stupid conversation about letting black girl hair be after folk tore Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas a new one…
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Shade and Faith: How ESPN Buried the Jason Collins Story
Writing at Racialicious, Arturo R. García examines the lackluster treatment the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” gave to one of the biggest stories of the week. If you missed it, here’s what that “respectful discussion” about Collins public declaration of his sexuality — making him the first active gay player in one of the country’s more…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
