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How Do I Connect With Kin of My Ancestor’s Slave Owners?
I have uncovered an interesting and tragic family story. I was able to trace my family to a couple of former slaves: my great-great-grandfather Joseph Hoosier and his uncle Timothy Hoosier (Hauser). Both were former slaves in Yadkinville, N.C. A front-page newspaper article on Dec. 26, 1913, tells of the death of Timothy Hoosier, who died…
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To Black Church Folks Just Waking Up: A Welcome and a Warning
The past few weeks have been rough. We are dying daily, and yet many of you have been sound asleep. You saw Mike Mike’s body lying in the middle of Canfield Green in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, but you did not “cry aloud and spare not.” Some of you prayed, and others recited…
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Hillary Clinton’s Speech May Finally Start That Long-Overdue Conversation on Race
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, waded into the national crisis of race, democracy and criminal justice with a stirring call for racial justice in Springfield, Ill., on Wednesday. In the city that President Abraham Lincoln once called home, Clinton echoed the iconic president’s warning about the dangers of a “house divided” being…
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My Boyfriend Knows How to Act Right When I Threaten to End It. Why Can’t He Act Right All the Time?
Why does my boyfriend straighten up when I basically say, “I’m ending this”? I’ve noticed that when I’m silent or tell him we need space after a huge argument, he gets all, “Gina, Gina, Gina,” like on the episode of Martin when he told her to step and she left. —Anonymous I have seen every…
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Hits and Misses From VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors
Who run the world? Girls. With hip-hop being a male-dominated industry, the accomplishments of female artists who have pioneered the industry are often forgotten. But not Monday night. After a six-year hiatus, VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors returned with a star-studded program dedicated to female rappers. “All Hail the Queens” was special, mostly because it was a…
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Boyz n the Hood Cast at 25: Where Are They Now?
Twenty-five years ago, Boyz n the Hood, John Singleton’s movie about life in South Central Los Angeles, revolutionized black film and launched the big-screen careers of its stars, including Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut and Regina King. The critically acclaimed film was also Singleton’s directorial debut. And today, Boyz n the Hood sits on several lists of top…
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White Kansas Cop Threatens Little Black Girl on Facebook, Loses Job
Social media giveth—truth, laughs, info—and it taketh away—jobs, reputation, dignity. One police officer from Kansas found out the downside of being online this weekend when he decided to randomly threaten a black woman’s daughter on Facebook and promptly lost his job. The Daily Mail identifies the disgraced public servant as Rodney Lee Wilson, a rookie…
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Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree Calls His Alzheimer’s Diagnosis a ‘Blessing’
Charles Ogletree, author, activist and Harvard law professor, who taught both Barack and Michelle Obama, revealed that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease but that it has been a “blessing.” Ogletree, 63, who said he was diagnosed by a neurologist, shared the news at a bicentennial message at the 50th quadrennial General Conference of the…
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Thousands of Protesters Take to the Streets Across US; Hundreds Arrested
Despite the fact that five police officers were killed in Dallas on Thursday, protests over the deaths of 37-year-old Alton Sterling and 32-year-old Philando Castile, two black men killed by police in the last week, continued across the nation throughout the weekend. From London and New York City to Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Baltimore and…
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Chaka Khan Bows Out of Concerts, Enters Rehab
Chaka Khan, one of our national treasures, canceled her concert at the California State Fair two days before her show, announcing that she has entered rehab for drug addiction. Fair officials reportedly received a message from Khan’s rep on Saturday, saying that the 10-time Grammy winner was entering an inpatient and after-care program for addiction…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
