culture
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Time to End Negative Stereotyping of Black Women
Gold diggers. Baby mamas. Uneducated sisters. Ratchet women. Angry black women. Mean black girls. Unhealthy black women. Black barbies. Negative imagery and stereotypes of black women abound in today’s media, writes Dawnie Walton at Essence, which tackles the matter in its November issue. In our November issue (on stands October 11), ESSENCE presents the sobering…
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President Obama: Silent on Racism?
Austin Kaluba, in a piece at the Zambia Daily Mail, turns a critical eye on Barack Obama’s handling of racism in America and finds the first U.S. black president’s silence worrisome. Obama, he says, has won so many battles, “apart from the race war that defines America.” No one can deny that he is among the…
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Adrian Peterson Receives Twitter Support From Fans and Celebs
(The Root) — Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson received an outpouring of support from celebrities and fans alike on Twitter this weekend after the death of his 2-year-old son. The child reportedly was hospitalized in South Dakota after he was attacked by his mother’s boyfriend, Joseph Robert Patterson, 27, who was arrested and…
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Red Lobster Waitress: Racist Receipt Leads to $10K Tip
A Red Lobster waitress who was suspended after posting an online image of a receipt containing a racial slur instead of a tip has received $10,000, after a fundraising effort by outraged supporters. Toni Christina Jenkins, of Franklin, Tenn., was suspended after posting an image of the receipt on her Facebook page Sept. 10. The…
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Adrian Peterson's Son Has Died From Injuries
Updated Fri., Oct 11, 6:50 p.m. EDT: A son of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has died from the injuries he sustained after allegedly being abused by his mother’s boyfriend, multiple sources, including USA Today and CNN, have reported. The boy was being treated at a hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he was…
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John Boehner Is Playing to Win
The Washington Post‘s Eugene Robinson writes an insightful piece about GOP House Speaker John Boehner. Although the Ohio politician may appear stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the nation’s latest debt crisis, brokered by the Tea Party, he’s not, Robinson observes. He’s playing to win. Don’t feel sorry for John Boehner. His…
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Why Kanye and Miley Represent the Death of the Diva
Admonishing what he calls an era of shameless self-promotion by artists like Kanye West and Miley Cyrus, L.Z. Granderson writes at CNN that true divas, like former opera singer Leontyne Price, did not have to demand applause because their performances commanded it. He wishes artists would listen and learn from artists like Price. In the…
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Breaking: People Are Different Colors
This is something my mother very sternly told the teacher of a ceramics class I took as a 7-year-old: You can’t have all the kids paint their vase-in-the-shape-of-a-head sculptures “flesh color,” because not everyone’s flesh is the same color. That was 1988. The concept seems to be catching on! The Cut is reporting that Christian…
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Africa Must Not Dismantle the International Criminal Court
In a poignant piece at the New York Times, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu examines the reasons behind a push by some African leaders to dismantle the International Criminal Court. He says they are “looking for a license to kill, maim and oppress their own people without consequence.” Members of the African Union will meet in Addis…
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Dr. Ben Carson: Obamacare Worst Thing Since Slavery
(The Root) — Rising Republican superstar Dr. Ben Carson slammed Obamacare in a speech on Friday, comparing it to one of the worst periods in U.S. history. Speaking at the conservative Values Voter Summit on Friday, the famed neurosurgeon told delegates, “I have to tell you, Obamacare is, really, I think, the worst thing that…