culture
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Have I Wasted the Civil Rights Legacy?
(The Root) — I have a friend, a good friend, with whom I share an affliction. He, too, comes from a good family that has done many great things in the face of dire situations, which he and I would learn about only in books. We read about the “Whites Only” bathrooms, lunch counters, the…
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Following the Path Blazed by History
(The Root) — The goals of organizations heading to Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom bear a close resemblance to the goals set by the leaders who helped coordinate the event the first time around. In 1963 the leaders who helped organize the March on…
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Share Your March on Washington Photos
(The Root) — It was 50 years ago when the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The landmark event went down in history for Martin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, not to mention its legislative legacy. It’s credited with provisions of the Civil…
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Jesse Jackson Jr. to Serve Prison Time Before Wife
On Wednesday a federal judge sentenced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to 30 months in prison for misusing $750,000 in campaign funds, the Chicago Tribune reports. His wife, Sandi, received a sentence of one year after pleading guilty to falsifying tax returns. The Jacksons will be allowed to serve their sentences one at a time,…
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The Root's Guide to March on Washington Celebrations
(The Root) — On Aug. 28, 1963, there weren’t any youth organizations that had the resources to host events and sessions in tandem with what would become the iconic March on Washington. Nor was there a “Women of the Movement” symposium or a “Global Freedom Festival” designed to bring awareness to international issues in the…
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Delivering the Church From Homophobia
After listening to a pastor’s remarks, the Washington Post‘s Jonathan Capehart tries to dispel the seemingly unshakable belief among some religious leaders that “homosexuality is a sin and a choice.” He explains, rather, that it is a “God-given trait as immutable” as his skin color. I took a stand against religion-based anti-gay bigotry while sitting…
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Why Interracial Friendships Are a Struggle
Responding to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll that found that 40 percent of white people and 25 percent of nonwhites have no friends of another race, Brittney Cooper writes at Salon that it cuts both ways. “All of my close friends are black,” she says, explaining that maintaining white friendships is too much of a struggle.…
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Shonda Rhimes on Next 'Scandal' Season
So many questions and very few answers have been doled out about the upcoming season of Scandal. Shonda Rhimes, the show’s creator, has remained mum on what we should expect when the third season begins Oct. 3, but in an interview on Vulture, she indulges Gladiators with a couple of small details, specifically about the…
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After Primary Win, Cory Booker Focused on October
Cory A. Booker, the charismatic and popular mayor of Newark, N.J., won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday with 60 percent of the vote, besting his closest challenger, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., the New York Times reports. Booker is favored to win the general election in October in the heavily Democratic state, which…
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ESPN Fires Analyst Over 'Uncle Tom' Comments
ESPN fired analyst Hugh Douglas a week after it was reported that he called co-host Michael Smith an Uncle Tom, Sports Illustrated reported on Tuesday. Asked Sunday by SI.com where the situation stood, ESPN spokesperson Rob Tobias said, “We are continuing to look into it and we expect a resolution this week.” That resolution has come…