culture
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KKK Neighborhood Watch in Pa. Township Unnerving—and Unnecessary
It should come as no surprise that a proposed neighborhood-watch group, formed by members of the Ku Klux Klan, is worrying some residents in a southern-Pennsylvania township. However, according to Reuters, whether or not the Klan watch is wanted in Fairview Township, there’s little evidence that a crime watch is needed in the first place.…
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V. Stiviano for President?
The woman at the center of the Donald Sterling scandal, V. Stiviano, is working her newfound fame as a result of a leaked recording of the Los Angeles Clippers owner’s racist ranting—a recording that her lawyer claims he requested. According to the New York Post, Stiviano—hidden behind her now-trademark visor and surrounded by an entourage…
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Pentagon Will Review Grooming Guidelines Said to Be Racially Biased
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress that the Pentagon would review its grooming standards, particularly those surrounding hairstyles, after some critics called the new policies racially and culturally insensitive, CNN reports. Hagel said that he and his deputy would “work with the service secretaries and the military chiefs to review their respective policies, to address…
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Shaq Apologizes to Detroit Man With Rare Disorder
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal has apologized to a Detroit man who suffers from a rare disorder for making fun of him on Instagram. On Tuesday O’Neal tweeted, “Made a new friend today when I called and apologized to Jahmel Binion. Great dude.” O’Neal followed that tweet with another on Wednesday: “Had the opportunity to…
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NY Teen Who Got Into All 8 Ivies Makes Choice
Kwasi Enin, the New York high school teen who was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, has made his choice. Before a whole host of national media, Kwasi has decided that he will become a member of Yale University’s Class of 2018. According to the Associated Press, Kwasi explained that Yale had always been…
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Gas Explosion in Florida Jail Kills 2
Two people were killed and more than 100 injured in a gas explosion at the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola, Fla., the Associated Press reports. According to the report, the explosion occurred about 11 p.m. CDT Wednesday in a booking facility at the jail, causing the building—in which about 600 inmates were being housed—to partially…
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Woman Says BART Police Handcuffed and Beat Her in Train Station
Oakland, Calif.’s, BART system has become the location of another police injustice, charges one woman. Nubia Bowe, 19, and two friends were returning home on a BART train the night of March 21 when police accused them of solicitation, Oakland Post News Group reports. BART police had entered the Lake Merritt station to respond to…
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The Root Is Looking for Summer Interns
Is it your dream to have a cutting-edge journalism career? Do you love to tell great stories through pictures? Do you have your ears and eyes on all things black culture? Are you a promising writer or multimedia producer or social media maven? Are you a resourceful problem solver who can work well independently as well…
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Belle: Did a Biracial Woman Help End Slavery in England?
The new film Belle, which opens Friday, introduces the world not only to a black heroine from the 18th century but also to rising star Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The 30-year-old British-born actress plays the film’s lead, Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race daughter of a white English aristocratic father and black slave mother. Mbatha-Raw’s own mother, Anne Raw, is English…
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Audra McDonald Soars as the Legendary Billie Holiday
Audra McDonald’s Tony nomination this week for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill isn’t a surprise to anyone who has seen her channel Billie Holiday. I did, closing my eyes during the performance, imagining that I was in Philadelphia in 1959…