Black Musicians Who Were Targeted By The FBI and Other Law Enforcement
Happy Father’s Day: 15 Terrible Dads
Sole Survivor Explains How He’s Alive After Air India Crash
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Obamas Host First White House Seder; Blewish Community Rejoices
The “first” first family is proving themselves worthy of the title, indeed. In addition to seeding the first ever White House vegetable and herb garden (I’ll have more on today’s planting festivities, which are set to kick off momentarily) the AP reports that the Obamas are hosting a Seder tonight to celebrate the first night…
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Well, Will You Accept an Apology for Segregation?
Back in March, Jimi Izrael asked over at The Hardline: “Have any of you really benefited from the various apologies for slavery?” A Tennessee General Assembly bill that expressed “profound regret” for slavery inspired the question. He declared himself “adamantly opposed to slavery apologies that don’t come with some kind of recompence.” I’m not holding…
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A Singer's Chorus
PHILADELPHIA Both ladies move about rather gingerly. It’s all the years behind them. It’s the long struggle on behalf of their Marian. Blanche Burton-Lyles and Phyllis Sims are fiddling with the coffee maker in Marian Anderson’s kitchen. “Marian had this whole kitchen put in — even the bars around the windows — and it’s still…
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Since When Does The Supreme Court Stay Hush Hush?
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal for a new trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the ex-Black Panther serving a life sentence for killing a police officer in Philadelphia in 1981. He was convicted by a jury made of ten whites and two Blacks in 1982. Abu-Jamal’s lawyers’ latest appeal was filed on the…
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Thursday's Headlines
NYT: It’s Foreign Night at Club US! Obama Pushes for Drink Specials, Immigration Before 11 BBC: ‘Good’ Baby Fat Keeps Adults Slim; America Chock Full of Naughty Babies AP: In a Move Not to Be Confused with a Vendetta, French Agency Accuses Armstrong of Doping NYDN: Obama Gets His Lost Tribe On, Will Celebrate First…
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When Boxing Was King
The three boxing matches between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were the most galvanizing sporting events of the 1970s. They took on a cultural significance that readily transcended the world of sports. Each man became an icon with contrasting images. Ali—brash, articulate and handsome, easily won the war for the hearts and minds over the…
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Obama's Lifeline to Pakistan
The Obama administration’s new policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan plans to hurl a lifeline to the government of Pakistan. It outlines increased counterterrorism and counterinsurgency assistance to Pakistan’s security forces to “disrupt, dismantle and destroy” al Qaeda and its allies operating in safe havens in Pakistan. Further, the policy recognizes an urgent need to balance…
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What’s Up With Waxy Michelle?
No doubt about it, Michelle Obama’s on a roll right now, coming fresh off her triumphant G-20 It Girl World Tour: Hugging the Queen. Swarmed by schoolgirls in London. Air-kissing Carla Bruni Sarkozy. The Daily Beast’s Tina Brown asks, “Is Michelle the New Oprah?” and compares her to Princess Di. She’s been dubbed the hugger…
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Are Black Women Choosing Gay Men?
Remember back in the ’90s, how every single black man was allegedly on the “Down Low” spreading AIDS and bad fashion sense, and black women were all in a tizzy about it? Keith Boykin debunked a lot of that but uber director Bill Duke recently tried to cash in on the hysteria. Well, if you…