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King Daughter on the Dual Honors for Jan. 21
(Special to The Root) — President Barack Obama is marking this Saturday with a National Day of Service in honor of my father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have turned 84 years old today. It means a lot to my family that the weekend honoring my father is dedicated to serving others. I…
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Obama's Day, Jan. 15: Presidential Daily Briefing
THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FORTUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 In the morning, the President and the Vice President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press. In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet for lunch…
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The View of Black Men Across the Pond
(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. Joshua Reynolds’ sensitive depiction of a black man, clearly of an actual sitter, is one of several portraits…
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Liking 'Scandal' Doesn't Mean Condoning Cheating
The Root’s contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas argues at Essence that women like the ABC show despite the main character’s affair, not because of it. As with anything that becomes quickly popular, a backlash is imminent, and Scandal’s time apparently has come. Writing for CBS Atlanta, Mo Ivory summed up the show’s main character as…
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Kevin Hart Is Ready to Act a Fool
(The Root) — BET is keeping it not really real with its new, semiscripted reality spoof, The Real Husbands of Hollywood. The show, which premieres on Jan. 15, stars Kevin Hart, Boris Kodjoe, Duane Martin, J.B. Smoove, Robin Thicke and Nick Cannon as buddies who often dis one another but don’t take it to the…
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How Black Viewers Are Saving OWN
Writing at BlackAmericaWeb, Michael H. Cottman says it’s no coincidence that a show about an African-American family has boosted the ratings for Oprah’s cable network. Sweetie Pie’s is saving Oprah Winfrey’s television network. Actually, a more strategic effort to offer exclusive black programming is significantly boosting ratings for OWN, Winfrey’s struggling two-year-old network that has…
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100 Years of Sisterhood, Captured in a Night
(The Root) — I wasn’t entirely sure it would be worth all the fuss. It was a half hour before midnight on Sunday, and a surprise fog had dimmed the neighborhood’s streetlights to spooky. Recovering on the couch after a hard day of being out seemed like the smart thing to do. Did we really…
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Mammy Candlestick, Brought to You by Anthropologie
Mammy candlestick, brought to you by Anthropologie: The retailer has issued an apology and pulled its handmade, no-two-are-alike, $289 “Trinket and Treasure Candlesticks” after stereotypical African-American and Asian figures included in some versions by the “independent artisan” who designed them caused an outrage. The “mammy” doll is marked with the text “souvenir of Washington, D.C.”…
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Really? Guns Would Have Prevented Slavery?
Gun advocates should be able to speak out about their cause all they want. But having already scheduled Gun Appreciation Day right on top of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, we think the least they could do is to keep the civil rights giant’s name out of the conversation — and especially out of…
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Robin Roberts: I'm Coming Back to 'GMA'
Great news from Robin Roberts, the charismatic Good Morning America anchor who’s been providing fans with regular updates about her recovery since she took medical leave from the program in September to undergo a bone marrow transplant. The Huffington Post reports that she’ll be returning within weeks. In her announcement, she also explained how she’ll…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
