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Detroit's Emergency Financial Manager Takes Over: 'Dangerous Precedent'?
Monday is bankruptcy attorney Kevyn Orr’s first day on the job as emergency financial manager for Detroit, the largest city in the country to come under state oversight. He’s tasked with taking over the finances of the city and developing a plan to tackle its fiscal crisis. But not everyone is welcoming the “turnaround specialist.”…
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Chinua Achebe on How Colonization Changed Africa
African literary legend Chinua Achebe died last week at the age of 82. While revisiting his work, The Burton Wire came across a video of Achebe discussing the devastating impact of colonization. It’s definitely worth a listen. Read More: http://theburtonwire.com/2013/03/24/education/video-chinua-achebe-discusses-colonization-and-africa/ TheBurtonWire.com is the premiere online destination for news, informed opinion and culture of the African…
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What's Bringing Out Racism in Gaming?
According to a study in the latest issue of the New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, black gamers suffer racial abuse “on a daily basis” while using Microsoft’s online gaming platform, Xbox Live, the Guardian reports. Researchers followed a group of African Americans who made their race identifiable to other players, and found that their interactions were characterized…
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Despite Change in Cuba, Racism Still Looms Large
Economic and political changes are afoot in Cuba, but according to Roberto Zurbano in the New York Times, not enough has shifted for Afro Cubans. It’s true that Cubans still have a strong safety net: most do not pay rent, and education and health care are free. But the economic divergence created two contrasting realities…
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Kimani Gray's Funeral Highlights 'Stop and Frisk' Effects
On Saturday, the funeral of slain teenager Kimani Gray was held in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Janell Ross writes at the Huffington Post that his death is a reminder of the harmful effects of “stop and frisk.” No one talked about what it has done to alter the lives of the nearly 5 million people —…
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Who Really Ran the Underground Railroad?
Editor’s note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. (The Root) — Amazing Facts About the Negro: No. 24:…
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Not Like My Kind: One Man's Experience With Racism
Kiese Laymon remembers on Gawker the summer when he was a graduate student and he and his girlfriend lived below a poor white family. One day, the cash-strapped family patriarch asked Laymon for $10, and then told him that he wasn’t like his “kind.” After he answered all my questions, Kurt got really close to…
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'West Africa Meets Brooklyn' in Menswear Line
Ikiré Jones is the brainchild of Wale Oyejide, crowned by Esquire Magazine as one of the “Best Dressed Real Men in America.” His clothing line is a sly mix of fashion forward eclectic designs with an urban sensibility. Rather than creating beautiful garments that lack the functionality to be worn every day, Ikiré Jones designs…
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President Obama Meets First Black Miss Israel
The United States’ first black President Barack Obama meets Yityish “Titi” Aynaw, Israel’s first black Miss Israel, during his recent visit to Israel. Find out what happened at The Burton Wire Read More: http://theburtonwire.com/2013/03/24/education/first-black-president-obama-meets-first-black-miss-israel/ TheBurtonWire.com is the premiere online destination for news, informed opinion and culture of the African Diaspora (including black populations in Latin…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
