culture
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Oscar Hopes Aside, We Must Celebrate Our Own Achievements
The disappointing results of last month’s Golden Globes, with so few honors going to black actors and filmmakers—with the notable exception of 12 Years a Slave for best dramatic picture—begs a perennial question. How much should blacks expect of mainstream America to validate their arts, letters, films and other creative works? This is an old…
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High School Wrestlers Suspended for Lynching Photo
Eight New Jersey high school wrestlers have been kept out of a state tournament after a photo surfaced showing the team members simulating lynching of a black wrestling dummy in a rival team’s shirt, the Associated Press reports. On Thursday, Scott Wilhelm, an attorney for the wrestlers, read a prepared statement claiming that the Phillipsburg…
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Former NFL Star Darren Sharper Pleads Not Guilty
Former football star Darren Sharper entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday during his arraignment on allegations that he drugged and raped two women in Los Angeles in a string of crimes spanning four other states, Reuters reports. Sharper, who became an on-air commentator for the NFL Network after hanging up his jersey, was suspended…
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Jordan Davis’ Parents Slam Juror No. 8: She Wasn’t Genuine
The parents of Jordan Davis slammed juror No. 8 in the Michael Dunn trial for her take in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Thursday night, saying that she was neither genuine nor paying attention to the trial. When asked by Cooper what they thought of Creshuna Miles’ comments, the parents pulled no punches. “I…
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Why Joy Reid Will Be Real About Race and Politics
As she takes her seat on a television-show set that’s right at the center of any given day’s most contentious political and cultural debates, the vitriolic attacks against Joy Reid from faceless Twitter followers are guaranteed to increase. And it’s safe to say that critics on the right would cheer if her commentary were to…
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Reacting to the Trauma in 2013’s Black Films
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal interviews Stephane Dunn and Esther Iverem about black filmmaking and the 2014 awards season. Dunn is an assistant professor of English and co-director of cinema, television and emerging media studies at Morehouse College. Iverem is the founder and editor of SeeingBlack.com. Watch: Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
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Do White Folks Fear Violence When Black Folks Are Just Being Blunt?
In the aftermath of the Michael Dunn verdict, we’re talking again about how Americans process black boys as inherently violent. And they do. Yet in an honest, and perhaps more productive, discussion of this topic, we have to allow something uncomfortable—the possibility that language plays a part in the stereotype. To whites, I highly suspect…
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Brooklyn Nets May Make Jason Collins 1st Openly Gay Player
The Brooklyn Nets worked out center Jason Collins, and if the Nets sign the big man, he would become the first openly gay NBA player, the Associated Press reports. The Nets are in the market for a center since trading Reggie Evans along with Jason Terry to Sacramento on Wednesday for guard Marcus Thornton. General…
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Police Have Video of Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice Knocking Girlfriend Unconscious
A police complaint seen by the Associated Press alleges that Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocked his fiancee unconscious during an argument at an Atlantic City casino, and there is video to prove it. According to Sports Illustrated.com, police have video evidence that shows Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his fiancee unconscious.…
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Black Juror in Dunn Trial: It Was Never About Race
A second juror from the Michael Dunn trial has broken her silence, and she reiterated the belief, first expressed by juror No. 4, that race didn’t play a role in the case, Mediaite reports. Juror No. 8, an African American, told CNN in an exclusive interview that it was never about race for her; it…