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Mom and Aunt of Baby-Shooting Suspect Arrested
The mother and aunt of 17-year-old De’Marquise Elkins, who is accused in the fatal shooting of a baby in his stroller in Georgia, were arrested on charges that they lied to authorities about the case, the Associated Press reports. Authorities haven’t yet said exactly which false statements the women made: The slain child’s mother, Sherry…
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Cool Jobs: Australian Filmmaker Brings Story of Aboriginal Singers to the States
Director Wayne Blair is bringing the story of The Sapphires, based on the 2004 stage play of the same name, to the States. The film follows four Aboriginal Australian women who are discovered by a talent scout to form one of the first music groups of its kind. It details their journey as the quartet…
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Tragic 'Phil Spector' Shines Spotlight on Black Music History
This week HBO debuted ‘Phil Spector,’ a riveting film starring Al Pacino, which centers on the last trial days of the legendary “Wall of Sound” producer convicted of murder in 2009. The film highlights the eccentric music powerhouse’s career downfall and legal defense, a fictional account based on elements of reality. Though the film brings…
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Massachusetts Keeps a Slavery Myth Alive
(The Root) — Last week Amy S. Erickson, the master teacher and academic coordinator at New Millennium Academy in Minneapolis, sent me a link to a “nonfiction” reading comprehension test (pdf) for sixth-graders from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The “nonfiction” exercise was about quilts and the Underground Railroad. The passage, titled “Women’s Quilts as…
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On Work Environments And Well-Intentioned Ish
Men—professional men, college-aged men, men in schools, seminars, classes, and conferences—are (rightly) taught that women are just as capable, smart, resourceful, determined, and tough as men are. In a business/professional sense, you’re also taught to treat women the same way you’d treat other men. If you’re not able to do this, you face possible reprimand,…
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Like Hip Hop, Black Talking Heads Are Not Dead
The sudden fall of talking head Roland Martin from CNN grace was really never all that sudden. Speculation had been mounting for months about the fate of the cable network’s Black Pack of folks like Martin, Soledad O’Brien and Donna Brazille. Jeff Zucker, balded rage, was raising the expectations game and looking to a hard-charging…
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Bill Clinton to Deliver Howard's Commencement Address
Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the May commencement address at Howard University, one of the nation’s oldest HBCUs. More fodder for the old “first black president” joke? Perhaps. But university President Sidney Ribeau said that Clinton was invited because his example as a leader, humanitarian and advocate and his commitment to public service will…
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White Student Union Begins Nighttime Campus Patrols
Members of Towson University’s White Student Union plan to begin patrolling the Maryland campus to protect students from would-be attackers, union founder Matthew Heinbach told the school newspaper Towerlight. He says the efforts will be colorblind, assuring the publication, “If we see a white person commit a crime against a person who is not white,…
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The Supreme Court vs. the Court of Public Opinion
In his column for the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson writes of his hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court will not halt the country’s rapid movement toward acceptance of same-sex marriage. The two big cases being argued before the court this week could turn out to be landmarks that confirm the nation’s progress toward marriage equality…
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Gay-Marriage Coverage: A Media Shutout?
(The Root) — Quick question: Who is the latest Democratic senator to come out in support of affirmative action? OK, another question: Who is the latest Republican senator to come out in support of affirmative action? How about this one: Do any Republican senators support affirmative action? Last question: Do you know the answer to…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
