culture
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We Need a New ‘Straight A’ Strategy to Bridge the Digital Divide
Black History Month provides Americans an opportunity to celebrate our successes as a nation, reflect on what might have been and begin to craft a more inclusive future. Recent reports about the paucity of minority professionals in tech are all the more devastating because today’s underemployment has its roots in our collective failure to prepare…
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What to Do When Hip-Hop Profanity Comes Out of Your Baby’s Mouth
I fell in love with hip-hop in the 1980s. I remember sneaking up to my older sister’s room, blasting the Sugar Hill Gang and Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Flash. There were also the nights—cousins standing guard at the door—that we giggled and gasped our way through 2 Live Crew’s As Nasty as…
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Meet Being Mary Jane’s ‘Cutty Buddy,’ Thomas Q. Jones
The closing scenes of last Tuesday night’s Being Mary Jane threw us all for a loop. After shooing away her ex, Mary Jane returned home and seemed to be in for the night. Suddenly she was getting dressed and heading back out to see a man we were introduced to only as “Cutty Buddy,” her…
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What Happened When a Handsome, White Actor Shed a Tear Over ‘Glory’
There is nothing—nothing—like seeing a handsome, straight, cisgender, wealthy, able-bodied white man cry to remind us how horrific black people had it during the civil rights movement. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But that was the gist of the headline over at Gawker christening actor Chris Pine the “face of civil rights.” Why? Because he shed…
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Apple’s New Emojis of Color Are Almost Here
Apple unveiled its diverse emoji sets in both OS X 10.10.3 and iOS 8.3 beta 2 Monday, according to The Verge. The new selections are available in six different color schemes that change the hair and skin tones of the previously standard Caucasian options. Consumer demand has been mounting in recent years for Apple to…
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In Their Moment of ‘Glory,’ Common and John Legend Showed the World Why the Selma Struggle Truly Is ‘Now’
Despite being nominated in only two categories, Selma stole the Oscars Sunday night by virtue of a best original song victory that was preceded by an electrifying performance of the song, “Glory,” by John Legend and Common. The musical performance added heart and soul to what was an otherwise pedestrian Academy Awards telecast. Accompanied by…
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Clark Terry, Former Tonight Show Trumpeter, Dies at 94
Legendary trumpeter Clark Terry, a 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, died Saturday after suffering from the effects of advanced diabetes, according to Variety. He was 94 and entered hospice care on Feb. 13, the report says. “Our beloved Clark Terry has joined the big band in heaven where he’ll be singing and playing with…
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A Filmmaker’s Quest to Tell Unknown Slugger Pete Hill’s Story
Pete Hill. He’s a largely unsung hero in the baseball world, even as a Hall of Famer who played the majority of his career in the pre-Negro Leagues era for legendary teams such as the Pittsburgh Keystones, Cuban X Giants and Chicago American Giants; and yet most people have never heard of him. According to…
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75 Years Ago, Hattie McDaniel Made History by Winning an Oscar
Seventy-five years ago, Hattie McDaniel accepted the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role as Mammy in the civil war epic Gone With the Wind, becoming the first African American to win the prestigious prize. It was fitting that the award was handed out on a leap day, Feb. 29, 1940—the win was…
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Why She Got a Tat of Malcolm X’s ‘By Any Means Necessary’ at Age 20
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination, The Root looked for ways that people continue to demonstrate their admiration for and inspiration by Malcolm X and his message. Whether it’s getting a tattoo of a Malcolm X quote, keeping his autobiography front and center on a coffee table, hanging his poster on a dorm-room wall or donning a Malcolm X T-shirt, there are…