Barack Obama
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‘I Wanted to Be a Part of History’: What It Means to Work for the 1st Black President
When he was a teenager, Gregory Lorjuste didn’t dream of working in the White House someday. “Politics wasn’t discussed at our kitchen table when I was growing up,” he said in a recent interview. “We talked about work and putting food on the table.” Until the latter years of high school, he didn’t have college…
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MSNBC's O'Donnell on #DAPL: US Was Founded on Dishonesty and Genocide
In about four minutes, MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell reminded liberal white America that it has the blood of indigenous people on their hands. In a riveting segment on Aug. 26, O’Donnell called what is happening in North Dakota to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe a “morally embarrassing reminder” of the genocide that Europeans committed in the…
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'No, You’re a Racist Bigot!': Clinton and Trump's Insulting Race War Is Ridiculous
The 2016 election cycle always promised to have more questions than answers. Would expectations be higher or lower for the nation’s 44th white commander in chief than they were for President Barack Obama? What would black voters demand—or settle for—as revolutionary fire continued to burn through the streets? Would Ben Carson ever admit that he resides somewhere over…
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President Obama Grants 111 Additional Commutations
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama granted commutations for an additional 111 federal inmates, bringing the total number of grants offered up to 325 in the month of August alone—the largest number of commutations ever granted by a president in a single month, the White House reports. Earlier this month, the president had granted more commutations in…
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Why Tika Sumpter Was So Nervous About Playing Future First Lady Michelle Obama
In coming months, we will be inundated with the endless highlights from our first black president’s historic two terms. One of the most delightful developments over the first family’s eight-year stay is the emergence of first lady Michelle Obama. Is there any doubt that she helped spark the #BlackGirlMagic that is our reality more and…
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President Obama to Visit Baton Rouge
President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at the damage left by floods that have devastated the area. According to the White House, Obama will hear from local officials about the response to the disaster and will talk about how the federal government can assist and…
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Democrats for Education Reform Seek to Empower Parents and Strengthen Black Communities
In a piece entitled, “Democratic Political Infighting Over Education Harms Black Families,” which was published on The Root last month, Dr. Andre Perry claimed that our organization, Democrats for Education Reform, not only “attacked” Hillary Clinton—because our position on charter schools differs from that of the former secretary of state—but also that we have broken away…
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Pushback Against the NAACP's Anti-Charter School Stance Is Misguided and Self-Serving
In calling for a moratorium on all charter schools, the NAACP has declared, after years of discussion, that it’s concerned enough about local governance, millionaire charter school board members and public fund-spending to take a stand. While there are a plethora of arguments to be made, for me it all comes down to following the money. Full…
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Marc Lamont Hill on Voting Green, Not Being Afraid of Trump: 'We Can Afford to Lose an Election; We Can't Afford to Lose Our Values'
Marc Lamont Hill—Morehouse College Distinguished Professor of African-American Studies, New York Times best-selling author of Nobody, VH1 talk show host and a much-sought-after political and cultural commentator—swung by 105.1’s The Breakfast Club to chop it up with D.J. Envy, Charlamagne tha God and Angela Yee. Hill not only talked about his road to success—from dropping out…
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Watch: Obama Gets Hype for Blistering DNC Speech by Listening to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'
If you thought President Barack Obama bodied his swan song speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, you can thank the one and only Slim Shady for getting POTUS amped up. Obama can be seen backstage with his face screwed up, bobbing his head to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” the ultimate get-amped song, with lyrics…
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