Why the Black Internet Believes Grammys Just Threw Shade at Beyoncé
Proof The ‘Absent Black Father’ Was a Big Lie
Jay-Z’s Daughter Rumi Carter Throws Up the Roc Nation Sign On Stage, Sparking Insane Illuminati Theories
Black Musicians Who Were Targeted By The FBI and Other Law Enforcement
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Weed Out the Violence, Seed in the Coffeehouse
The U.S. Department of Justice is sponsoring a new community clean-up initiative called Weed and Seed. The structure of the initiative relies on two things: local law enforcement weeds out violent criminals and drug dealers, and private community organizations seeds in prevention, treatment and neighborhood rehabilitation. Now I’m no urban planner or licensed realtor, but…
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Let’s Cuff the Western Pirates, Too
Let’s be clear: Thugs hijacking relief supplies meant for communities starved by a genocidal despot is an awful, ugly thing. But I’ve watched with some amusement as Western shipping companies and the navies that support them have grown frustrated with Somali pirates in recent years. Pirates! But there’s more to the story than Johnny Depp…
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What Recovery? Who to Blame for that "Streetlight Tax" in D.C.
This weekend, the NEW YORK TIMES provided a valuable accounting of the impact that the recession is having on state and city budgets. The short answer: not good. Nothing, it seems, is off the table. In Pima County, Ariz., the County Board of Supervisors increased an assortment of fees, including the cost of AIDS testing.…
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Did Integration Hurt Black Kids' Discipline?
Did integration negatively affect discipline for black kids? That’s the question Carol Forsloff asked at Digital Journal. Some folks claim that interaction with white teachers and the adoption of white parenting styles led to the breakdown of discipline. I haven’t stopped thinking about the post since I read it. As a young girl, I lived…
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Damon Weaver: In His Own Words
Remember Damon Weaver? The Florida fifth grader who worked tirelessly — and sadly, unsuccessfully — to get an interview with Barack Obama during the presidential race? Well, the POTUS has yet to sit down with The Root’s favorite cub reporter. Still, this 10-year-old student journalist from Canal Point Elementary in Palm Beach, Fla. has been fairing rather well on…
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How Losing My Job Helped Me Learn to Live Again
Although written light heartedly, I wrote the “Cheer Up!” entry because I’m concerned about how the current economic climate is hurting the mental health of Americans. Recent studies suggest that more than 80 percent of Americans are stressed out by financial issues. In Britain, the government is offering free therapy to victims of the global…
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South African Discomfort
I recently went to the venerable old Market Theater in an increasingly populated downtown Johannesburg. It had been all but abandoned after the end of apartheid. Now the city is coming back, and white people are coming back, and they (along with a healthy number of blacks) are coming back to the Market Theater. But…
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Polarization We Can Believe In
Even in politics, things are often exactly what they seem. So it should have been reasonable to dismiss as fiction recent reports that Barack Obama is the most polarizing president in recent history. There is nothing in our experience to support that; based on the president’s personal favorability rating and his high job approval numbers,…
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Monday's Headlines
AP: Sri Lankan Civilians Stay in War Zone Despite Lull ABC: Face Transplant Patient Doing Well; No Longer Responds to “Michael Steele” BBC: Obama to Lift Cuba Restrictions; Lovers of Freedom Hate This, Not Sure Why JJ: An Anti-Gay Marriage Commercial Parody CK: Watch the White House Easter Egg Roll; No, It’s Not a Dance…
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A Lil Bow Wow Never Hurt America
The bow thing is exactly what’s wrong with American politics; we are constantly obsessed with the inconsequential. The economy is in collapse and we’re waging two wars with no end in sight for either. Still, all anyone is talking about is whether the president of the United States bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia.…