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Oscar Snubs Provide Fruitful Lesson
(The Root) — During February, there has been a lot of discussion about whether Black History Month is still relevant or needed, particularly because of the “racial progress” that blacks have made over the last few decades. In the Huffington Post, Trudy Bourgeois writes that “Black History Month Needs to Go” for a variety of…
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Why the Onion's Crappy Apology Is Worthless
(The Root) — When I watched Quvenzhané Wallis telling the story of a little girl called Hushpuppy and her adventures living in a poor Bayou area in Beasts of the Southern Wild, I was enchanted by how well she articulated her life and the world around her. I had so much hope that she might…
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A Baby, the N-Word and a Slap
The 60-year-old airline passenger’s recent attack on a toddler is as American as monster trucks, writes Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., arguing that his animus toward black people is woven through the fabric of our law, economics, health care, education, news media and culture. … So now, Jonah has received a lesson in How…
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A Vivid Glimpse Into Slavery in Brazil
(The Root) — This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. This image permits a vivid glimpse of slavery in Brazil as it existed along the rough trails of its…
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Trayvon Martin's Mother: He Was 'My Baby'
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, tells Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart that she is “still in disbelief” over his death, not only because it was so sudden but also because he was just a teenager. “It was … you know, it was my baby,” she said. “From that day until now, I’m still in disbelief.…
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Obama's Credibility Gap on Black Fatherhood
(The Root) — When President Obama gave a speech in his hometown of Chicago in a bid to address the city’s stratospheric gun violence, his remarks drew criticism, but not just from the usual suspects. While his gun-control remarks often spur complaints from the National Rifle Association, this time he also found himself under attack…
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Three-Fifths Clause: Why Its Taint Persists
(The Root) — President James Wagner of Emory University recently asserted that the three-fifths clause of the Constitution is a good example of how people with differing political views can find common ground. He was referring to the provision in the U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, that counts each enslaved person as three-fifths of a…
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Black Rage: The Continued Impact of Racism on Mental Health
Notwithstanding the recent saga of Christopher Dorner, Travis L. Gosa, Ph.D., writes at Ebony that very few black people ever snap and go “Rambo” or become real-life “Djangos” despite historic and ongoing racial discrimination. He examines the impact of black rage. A fired, ex-employee returns to work and goes on a shooting rampage. Or, a…
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Sotomayor Condemns Prosecutor's Racially Charged Question
Reuters is reporting that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday condemned racially charged language used by a federal prosecutor in Texas. Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, Sotomayor took the unusual step of writing a statement to accompany the nine-member Supreme Court’s rejection of the criminal case, saying, “I hope never to…
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Trayvon Martin Timeline: 1 Year Later
One year ago, African-American Florida teen Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed at his father’s gated community by George Zimmerman, a white Hispanic resident of the community. The killing outraged thousands of Americans and launched a renewed dialogue about racial profiling, “Stand your ground” laws and gun control. About 7 p.m. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
