culture
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‘I Love Howard’ Campaign: A Fundraising Valentine From Alumni
At a time when many historically black colleges and universities are facing economic challenges, thanks in large part to slashed federal appropriations and decreased availability of financial aid, Howard University alumni have chosen Valentine’s Day to launch a fundraising initiative that rejects the panic about scarcity and the alumni-giving guilt trips that have accompanied recent…
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Rihanna: Accountant Left Me Bankrupt
In 2009 singer Rihanna was down to her last $2 million thanks to bad business advice from financial advisers, causing the singer to file suit against New York-based firm Burden LLC for mishandling her money. Rihanna is worth $40 million today, but in 2009 she was effectively bankrupt and didn’t know. In recently filed paperwork,…
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Brooklyn District Attorney Vows to Decriminalize Marijuana
Ken Thompson, Brooklyn’s new district attorney, is making some drastic changes. While he doesn’t have the authority to legalize marijuana in his New York City borough, he can decide who is charged, and Thompson has vowed not to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses. According to the Huffington Post, Ken Thompson said during his inaugural address last…
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Is There Room for Intellectuals in the Black Church?
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by the Rev. Raphael Warnock to talk about the state of the black church and his new book, The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety, and Public Witness. The Rev. Warnock is the senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church.
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Stars of About Last Night Offer Relationship Advice
In the new romantic comedy About Last Night, Kevin Hart and Regina Hall’s explosive chemistry is pure date-night movie magic. The film is a contemporary take on the 1986 version with Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. Starring Michael Ealy as Danny, originally played by Lowe; Joy Bryant as Moore’s Debbie; Kevin Hart as Bernie, originally played…
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How Bobsledding Became a Black Winter Sport
Willie Davenport was born in central Alabama and was a college track standout in Baton Rouge, La. He qualified for four consecutive U.S. Olympic track teams as a hurdler, winning the gold medal at 110 meters in Mexico City in 1968 and a bronze eight years later in Montreal, and, in 1982, was inducted into…
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Why Michael Sam’s Coming Out Is Good for Gay—and Straight—Black Men
Last year in the pages of The Root, I tried my best to explain “Why I Love Being a Black Man.” Read for yourself, but for me it boiled down to the complexities of embracing what it means to be a black man while embracing my own individuality, as well. And to me, Missouri defensive…
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Michael Dunn’s Fate and National Debate Rest in Jury’s Hands
The fate of Michael Dunn, the 47-year-old man who pumped nine bullets into a parked SUV carrying three teenagers and killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis, lies with a Florida jury. On the first full day of jury deliberations in the first-degree-murder charges against Dunn, the jury has asked to see a foam mannequin used as a…
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Michael Sam’s Father Says His Words Were ‘Twisted’
Michael Sam Sr. says the New York Times read him all wrong and took his words out of context in a Tuesday interview, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sam Sr. was portrayed as critical about his son’s admission that he’s gay. He was quoted in the article saying, “I’m old school. I’m a man-and-a-woman…
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Myrlie Evers-Williams Leaving NAACP Board After 3 Decades
Civil rights leader Myrlie Evers-Williams will step down from the board of the NAACP, marking an end to her 30 years as an official of the civil rights organization. Evers-Williams, who will retain the honorary title of chair emeritus, had hoped to be in New York for the NAACP’s board meeting on Friday to officially make the…