culture
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Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick Is Open to Presidential Run
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has opened the door to a potential White House run in the future, although not the immediate future, the Boston Globe reports. During an interview with Politico at a governor’s conference in Washington, D.C., Patrick was asked whether he could see himself in running for national office. “Maybe. Maybe,” he replied,…
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Being Mary Jane: Why We Watch Her Man-Stealing Mess
I used to argue that the worst thing about Being Mary Jane was, in fact, Mary Jane. Don’t get me wrong—BET’s newest scripted drama is a hit for all the right reasons: compelling and complex characters, gossipy twists and addictive cliffhangers. But its center is so unlikely. A character more easily characterized as a villainous,…
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Wal-Mart Donates $1.75 Million to Boost African-American Achievement
Wal-Mart is providing $1.75 million in grants through its foundation to three of the nation’s biggest civil rights organizations: the NAACP, National Urban League and United Negro College Fund. According to a press release, a $500,000 grant will go to UNCF to help 16 HBCUs gain financial stability to ensure their continued mission of providing black…
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Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan Calls for Black Courts
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is pushing for black Americans to have their own court system because of a U.S. legal system of racial bias, the Raw Story reports. “We want equal justice under the law,” Farrakhan said at the group’s annual convention before approximately 18,000 people—including Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)—on Sunday in Detroit.…
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Tamron Hall Becomes Today Show’s 3rd-Hour Co-Host
Veteran news anchor Tamron Hall officially joined the Today show as a third-hour co-host, supplementing the team of four other hosts, the Associated Press reports. Hall, a regular fill-in host for the show, will also continue to anchor her NewsNation show on MSNBC at 11 a.m. “You know how important the Today show is to people, to…
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Buckhead, ATL, to Justin Bieber: Don’t Move Here!
A rumor got out that Justin Bieber might be moving to the exclusive Buckhead neighborhood in Atlanta, and longtime resident Harold White wasn’t having that. According to CNN, the retiree was worried about unwanted attention should the singer indeed move to affluent area known for its old-money mansions. So White planned an organized protest for…
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Openly Gay Player Jason Collins Makes NBA History
Jason Collins not only became the NBA’s first active openly gay player Sunday afternoon by signing a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets, but he also appeared in his first game against the Los Angeles Lakers later that same day, ESPN reports. “I don’t have time to really think about history right now,” he told ESPN shortly…
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Identity Conflicts Aren’t Just for Mixed People. I’m Black and I Have Them, Too
I wish there were an option for “It’s complicated” when I’m talking about who I am and where I’m from. No, I’m not physically racially ambiguous in a way that makes people ask endless questions about my ethnicity, demand to know my heritage or call me exotic. I am, in fact, very black. I’ll never…
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A White Woman Wants to Get Rid of Her Inner George Zimmerman
In his remarks regarding the George Zimmerman verdict last summer, President Obama challenged Americans to “wring as much bias” from themselves as possible. We need to do “some soul-searching,” Obama advised the nation. Amid all the media coverage of the Zimmerman and now the Michael Dunn verdicts, I’m left wondering if we aren’t forgetting to…
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‘El Chapo’ Guzman: US to Push for Extradition
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was the stuff of modern-day legend, eluding law enforcement for nearly 13 years. But that ended Saturday, when he was arrested without incident at a hotel in Mexico’s Pacific beach town of Mazatlan, in his home state of Sinaloa, CNN reports. He was apprehended in a joint operation of…