Why Black Folks Should Participant in the Black Census Project
New Study Links ‘Everywhere Chemicals’ Found in Plastics to 2 Million Premature Births
NBA Player Fired Over Anti-LGBTQ Pride Month Comments Sparks Free Speech Debate
Black Virginia Family Finds Army Discharge Papers That Unlock a Mother’s Secret WWII Legacy
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Tablet Computers Called Newspapers' Future
Will Devices Attract Blacks, Hispanics as Smartphones Do? The tablet computer — the most popular of which is Apple Inc.’s iPad — represents the future of the newspaper business, members of the American Society of News Editors were told on Monday. “This is the primary revenue generator in the digital generation,” said Roger Fidler, whose…
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Trayvon, Shooter Photos in PR Battle
“First it was the hoodie. Now photographs used in the media’s coverage of the Trayvon Martin killing are the subject of widespread debate, as supporters of both the slain 17-year-old African-American and the shooter, George Zimmerman, say selectivity by some news outlets in which photos they use is proof of bias,” Dylan Stableford wrote Wednesday…
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Racial Gap in Attention to Trayvon Story
“For African Americans, No Other Story Comes Close” “The growing controversy over the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida was the public’s top story last week, though African Americans express far greater interest in news about the killing than do whites,” the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reported on…
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Ex-Anchor Defends George Zimmerman
An African American former television anchor and reporter is emerging as one of the most vocal defenders of George Zimmerman, the white Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and sparked a national uproar. “Speaking on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America,’ Joe Oliver said George Zimmerman is not a racist and has virtually…
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Beverly Bond Wants Black Girls to Rock
Beverly Bond has reinvented herself from a disc jockey and fashion model to a self-esteem guru for black girls. In Part 3 of The Root 100 Mentorship Series, the creator of Black Girls Rock! (and member of the 2011 class of The Root 100) explains that her organization helps young women find their best selves…
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Baratunde Thurston Tries Everything
Baratunde Thurston would never have known how much he liked writing if his mother (and chief mentor, he says) hadn’t told him to try everything. The How to Be Black author, who is also a member of the 2011 class of The Root 100, now passes that important message along when he mentors young kids.…
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ESPN: Hoodies OK on Twitter
Read more of The Root’s Trayvon Martin coverage here. “We Have Decided to Allow This Particular Expression of Human Sympathy” Update: ESPN Sunday reversed its decision not to allow employees who tweet to post photos of themselves wearing hoodies in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Florida youth killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. “It’s…
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Which Ancestor Do You Wish You Could Meet?
At a panel held after the premiere screening for Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s new genealogy-themed PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in New York City on Monday, Gates asked Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) a poignant question: If you could go back in time to get to know one person from your…
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Melanie Roussell: 'We Can Always Do More'
Melanie Roussell, press secretary for the Democratic National Comittee and member of the 2011 class of The Root 100, has “made it” in her career. But she told The Root that’s not enough. Successful people, she said, have a responsibility not only to mentor but also to give back to the community, HBCUs and others.…
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The Surprise in Cory Booker's Family Tree
The Root caught up with Newark, N.J. mayor Cory Booker at a screening of an episode of the new PBS series Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Booker is featured in an episode of the series where Henry…