black history
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55 Years Ago, Someone Blamed a Bombing on a Racist Politician
Now, we know. When 19 sticks of dynamite planted by Klansmen exploded inside the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963, killing 11-year old Carol Denise McNair, and 14-year-olds Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins and Carole Robertson, it was not the first time white supremacists had bombed a home or place of worship in…
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Donald Trump Conveniently Ignores Anniversary of One of America's Worst Acts of Terror
Three days before a national tragedy would shake the entire world, on September 8, 2001, George Bush issued a proclamation recognizing one of the darkest hours in American history. On September 15, 2013, Barack Obama’s White House sent out an official statement recognizing the same solemn day. George W. Bush’s Proclamation 7460 reads, in part:…
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Simone Biles Is Still Making History, Is 1st Woman to Win 5 U.S. All-Around Championships
It’s still Simone Biles season, and the American gymnast is still kicking ass and taking names, which culminated in yet another historic career achievement at this year’s United States Gymnastics Championships on Sunday. The U.S. Olympic team declared that Biles is the first woman to ever win five U.S. Gymnastics all-around titles (h/t Bleacher Report.)…
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Take a Bow: Rihanna Is the 1st Black Woman to Grace the Cover of British Vogue's September Issue
When Edward Enninful took over the reins at British Vogue, we knew that big things were in store. Of the 10 issues he’s produced since becoming editor-in-chief, five have featured women of color, already marking his tenure as the first black man to hold the position one of inclusion and positive change. Supermodel Adwoa Aboah…
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Madam C.J. Walker Makes It to Netflix: Octavia Spencer to Play America's First Black Beauty Mogul
Here’s a television event bound to be binge-worthy: on Sunday, Netflix announced an upcoming limited series event on the life of black hair-care pioneer and self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker, starring Octavia Spencer as the famed mogul. The show is executive produced in part by Spencer and LeBron James, and based on the book On…
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Long-Lost Writings of Malcolm X Find a Home in Harlem
At a Manhattan auction house on Thursday, a missing chapter from Malcolm X’s autobiography, as well as a manuscript for the book containing notes exchanged between Malcolm X and his collaborator, Alex Haley, were sold to one of the country’s foremost institutions chronicling the African diaspora. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located…
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What a Newly Discovered Gravesite Can Tell Us About Black Life Post-Slavery
Earlier this year, the remains of 95 people were found just outside Houston at a construction site for a new school. After analyzing the remains, archaeologists announced on Monday that newly discovered bones belonged to former enslaved African American who were still forced to work on plantations post-emancipation. As the New York Times reports, experts…
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Black Panther Display Coming to National Museum of African American History and Culture
The blackest Marvel movie is making its way to America’s blackest museum. Objects from Marvel’s Black Panther will be coming to Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in a new exhibit celebrating the studio’s blockbuster movie. The objects that will be on display in the museum include “the…
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Oprah Winfrey Celebrated With New Exhibition at National Museum of African American History and Culture
Who is more iconic in contemporary black history than Oprah Winfrey? That was a trick question, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture is celebrating the media powerhouse and trailblazer as such, launching a new exhibition that is all about Winfrey. According to the Washington Post, the new exhibition, titled, “Watching Oprah:…