Barack Obama
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8 Years a President: Thoughts on 2 Terms of a Black President and Black First Family
It’s a tall task to assess the entirety of President Barack Obama’s two terms in office, to cull an ultimate judgment from all the success and missteps of his administration, and then measure that against the unprecedented obstructions it faced. One can point to the decline in deficit and the growth of gross domestic product,…
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#GenForward: Obama’s Popularity Helps Clinton With Black Millennials
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has cobbled together a multiracial coalition of young voters who agree that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s supporters are a “basket of deplorables,” but fewer black millennials support Clinton than supported President Barack Obama in 2008, according to a new GenForward survey. “Overall, the level of youth support for Hillary Clinton looks…
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President Obama and First Lady, Please Do These 10 Blackest Things Before You Leave
The Obamas haven’t been the typical presidential family. From moving Michelle’s mama into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to hosting rappers and poetry sessions, this couple has done away with tradition and brought some much-needed life (and color) to the White House. Now, with only a few months until they leave the Oval Office, there are 10…
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The Unfinished Business of The First Black President
There’s a huge difference between having a President that’s Black and having a Black President. With Barack, we thought we hit the jackpot and were finally gonna get both, but boy were we wrong. Almost eight years into the Obama Era and we’ve still not grappled with some of the vexing issues of negritude and…
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Green Party VP Nominee Ajamu Baraka: We Must Disrupt Our Relationship to Democratic Party
When Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein tapped Ajamu Baraka to be her running mate back in August, there was a flurry of news stories. Most tried to paint him as the anti-Obama—too radical, too intense, too left to occupy the space just a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. All of these characterizations of Baraka amounted to attempts…
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High School Graduation Rates in US Reach Record High
Federal data released Monday shows that the nation’s high school graduation rate rose again during the 2014-2015 school year, reaching a record high as more than 83 percent of students earned their diplomas on time. The Washington Post reports that gains were made in every student group, including low-income, black, white, Asian, Hispanic and Native…
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Bill Clinton Bashes Obamacare During Rally, Then Tries to Moonwalk Away From His Statements
Rule No. 1 when stumping for the next president who happens to be your wife: Don’t criticize the current president’s signature policy, especially when he and his wife are extremely popular and are also stumping for your wife. That’s exactly what Bill Clinton did during a Democratic rally in Flint, Mich., on Monday. In an…
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On Slowly But Surely Accepting The Fact That President Obama Kinda Sucks When Talking To And About Black People
A few months ago, I was asked to contribute to The Meaning of Michelle — a collection of essays about Michelle Obama’s influence and legacy. My chapter (“Crushing on Michelle: Or the Unapologetic Power of Blackness”) makes a reference to the psychic impact the Obama family’s presence has had on Black America, and how our collective cathartic…
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A Historic Museum Featuring #APeoplesJourney Opens on the National Mall
Saturday morning marked a monumental day for America, a day that many believed would never come: the opening day of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution. NMAAHC was established by an act of Congress in 2003 under the authorization of President George W. Bush. But that, of course, was not…
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10 Breakups That Would Totally Absolutely Devastate Black America More Than Brangelina's
My cousin, the unsinkable sarah huny young, and I regularly frequent the same coffee shop. But we rarely see each other there because she’s usually there early (9am to 1:30-ishpm) and I usually don’t get there until after 2pm. Today, however, I had a meeting there at noon and was able to chop it up…
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