• Quote of the Day: Ralph Ellison

    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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  • Who Said Blacks Don't Support Immigration Reform?

    (The Root) — In findings released Wednesday, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights presented poll results that the organization says counter myths about negative African-American attitudes toward immigration reform. The national poll of more than 800 African-American likely voters, conducted by Lake Research Partners, found 66 percent support for an immigration-reform proposal that…

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  • Mowry Twins React to Explicit Rap Song

    (The Root) — What is it with guys and their twin fantasies? Let’s ask J. Cole! A song of his entitled “Cole Summer,” which appears on his recently released Truly Yours 2 LP, contains some pretty explicit lyrics about having a ménage à trois with twin actresses Tia and Tamera Mowry. Last night, Tia tweeted…

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  • Fantasia Bullied on Social Media?

    (The Root) — People can be mean — especially with anonymity on their side. Since catapulting into stardom after winning American Idol in 2004, Fantasia Barrino has had her fair share of public battles, from being ridiculed for her learning disability to being attacked for her status as a single mother. Much of this backlash…

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  • Children's March 1963: A Defiant Moment

    (The Root) — Defying your parents’ orders not to march in Birmingham, Ala., in the 1960s could have meant a whipping for teens. Defying the police commissioner’s order not to march protesting segregation could have meant attacks by dogs, blasts from fire hoses and a lockup in jail. Fifty years ago in the spring of…

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  • Lil Wayne Apologizes to Emmett Till's Family

    We’re not going to get all snarky over this apology just because we can’t figure out why Lil Wayne didn’t know better in the first place. And we are not going to scoff at his statement about how his ultimate goal is to “uplift rather than degrade our community” (OK, maybe just a teeny little…

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  • Mariah Carey Renews Vows, Shares on Social Media

    (The Root) — Earlier this week, Mariah Carey and her hubby, Nick Cannon, renewed their wedding vows at Disneyland, marking five years of wedded bliss with their adorable babies, Monroe and Moroccan (referred to as #dembabies on Twitter), in tow. I’m sure you can imagine what the ceremony was like: lots of glitz, bling, sparkle,…

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  • 5 Black Celebs Who Need Vine

    (The Root) — It’s been well established that black people love Twitter — they reportedly represent 25 percent of Twitter users, though they make up 13 percent of the U.S. population. But what about Vine, Twitter’s new micro video-sharing app? The app is relatively new but seems to be growing in popularity. Celebrities are pretty…

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