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How Casual Racism Can Help Supreme Court
(The Root) — Every now and then someone says something so colossally stupid and offensive that the offended party ends up thanking him. The reason? Because the offending remark ends up costing the offender what remaining credibility he or she had, and ultimately ends up benefiting the offended party. One of the most famous examples…
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SCOTUS Dispatch: 'Hush Fell' Over Courtroom
(Special to The Root) — When our clients from Shelby County, Ala., arrived at the Washington, D.C., offices of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund the night before Supreme Court oral argument in the case challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, they had a lot to say. They had stories to tell…
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The Coolest Black Nerds You Know
(The Root) — As Black History Month comes to a close, so, too, does our series on the history of the blerd. It’s been a wild, informative ride, no? From Crispus Attucks to Jack Johnson to Public Enemy, blerds are everywhere. They have been forever, and you didn’t even know it. Today’s blerds are loud…
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Will Sotomayor Get Her Wish for Unbiased Law?
(Special to The Root) — “I hope never to see a case like this again.” With these words, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ended a rare and sharp rebuke (pdf) of a federal prosecutor in Texas for racially charged remarks he made during the criminal trial of Bongani Charles Calhoun. Calhoun, an African American, was…
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How Can More Black People Finish College?
(Special to The Root) — “What is being done to help black college students actually finish college?” —Ellis Anthony Sutton Jr. You are asking exactly the right question. For a long time, people defined our national education goal as going to college. Now I think everybody is coming to understand that our goal has to…
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10 Things Everyone Should Know by Now About Black Women
Responding in a piece for Clutch magazine to recent headlines highlighting disrespect toward black women, The Root’s contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas offers some remedial guidelines for potential line-crossers. Humbly, I submit a basic list, my Rules of Engagement, and ask you NOT to do the following (and encourage Black women to add to the list…
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More Black Men in Jail Than in College? Wrong
(The Root) — What does the line “There are more black men in jail than in college” have in common with the Jheri curl? Answer: They were invented by white men (Jheri Redding and Vincent Schiraldi, respectively) and adopted enthusiastically by black people, and they left a nasty stain on the shoulders of millions of…
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First Lady Needs to Raise Her Game
The Washington Post’s Courtland Milloy wishes Michelle Obama would do serious work for the education of girls and skip the lighthearted television appearances. It’s time for first lady Michelle Obama to raise her game. Nothing wrong with telling kids to eat their peas or showing them how to Hula-Hoop. But after four years of focusing…
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I Want to Sell My Home. Why Is He Mad?
(The Root) — “My fiance is mad because I’m putting my house that we live in on the market, simply because I bought it, and I would like us to buy something together. Yet I can tell he’s crazy insecure with it being mine. I feel I can’t win. Advice?” —R.T. Ma’am, your fiance has…
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'Nation of Immigrants' Mantra Doesn't Really Work for Blacks
It’s important to remember how most African Americans’ ancestors actually came to this country, Maya Rupert writes at the Huffington Post. For a phrase designed to inspire feelings of inclusion and acceptance, the familiar mantra “we are a nation of immigrants” makes many in the black community feel excluded and uncomfortable. And now that efforts…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
