culture
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OJ Simpson Denied New Trial in Robbery, Kidnapping
O.J. Simpson was denied a new trial Tuesday for his 2008 conviction for robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, which carries a sentence of up to 33 years in prison, the Los Angeles Times reports. The former running back was seeking a new trial, claiming incompetent legal counsel, but Clark County District Judge Linda Marie…
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Author Calls Obama ‘Grown-Up Trayvon’
Ultra-conservative writer and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza ignited a Twitter firestorm Tuesday when he referred to President Obama as “Grown-Up Trayvon,” Politico reports. “I am thankful this week when I remember that America is big enough and great enough to survive Grown-Up Trayvon in the White House!” D’Souza tweeted. After Twitter called his remarks “vile” and…
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Man Who Posted to Facebook Before Killing Baby Dies
The Colorado man who posted a chilling photo of himself and his 19-month-old daughter on Facebook moments before he shot the baby and then turned the gun himself, has died, ABC 7NEWS reports. The Adams County Coroner’s Office issued a statement confirming that Merrick McKoy, 22, had died but would not specify the cause and…
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A Quick Act Saves a Child From Slavery
“And then the paddy rollers came, and they threw me in a ditch.” For most of my mother’s life, she held on to this puzzling fragment of conversation from her paternal great-grandmother, Nancy Scott. Mrs. Scott lived into her 90s. And when she was very old she held my mother, Cynthia, on her knee, and…
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Yes, Single Women Can Send Photo Holiday Cards
“I’m a 32-year-old successful, fun, funny, energetic, attractive and—wait for it—single! African-American woman. Does that mean I can’t send a photo holiday card featuring an image of myself? I’m being serious, and in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve already done this once, two years ago (skipped a year just because of a busy travel…
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The Root 100 Season 2 Premieres on Aspire TV
Want to know why Jamal Simmons calls writer-director Issa Rae “hilarious”? You’ll find out when you tune in Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. ET to the season 2 premiere of Aspire TV’s The Root 100. The series, co-hosted by Suzanne Malveaux, features Simmons’ up-close interviews with some of the most influential African-American leaders and innovators…
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Black Los Angeles Judge Sues UCLA Police for Excessive Force During Stop
Los Angeles County Judge David Cunningham III, who is also a former Los Angeles Police Commission president, is suing UCLA police for using excessive force during a seatbelt stop. According to Cunningham, he was stopped over the weekend because, as the police put it, he only began to buckle his seat belt when he saw…
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Why It Matters That Angelina Jolie’s White Child Plays With Black Dolls
Angelina Jolie is known for her unconventional family, which includes three biological children with longtime partner Brad Pitt and adopted children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Her multiracial and multicultural family has generated headlines, most notably when critics have felt the need to weigh in on her Ethiopian daughter Zahara’s hair. Some challenged Jolie’s ability…
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French Elle Beauty Editor Wears Blackface, Complete With Afro
Fashion has been used many a time before as an excuse to wear racist costumes, like blackface, beyond Halloween. It looks as if the fashion industry—well, some of those associated with it, anyway—is at it again. Elle France Beauty Editor Jeanne Deroo posted a picture on Instagram in which she is in full-on blackface, complete…
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Horror of Slavery Turns Art Into Protest
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. This scene of heart-wrenching separation occurs on a narrow beach along…