culture
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40 Percent of Whites: No Friends of Color
An estimated 40 percent of white Americans and about 25 percent of nonwhites have friends only of their own race, according to the Raw Story, which cites a recent ongoing poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos. The figures highlight how segregated the United States remains in the wake of a debate on race sparked by last month’s…
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Oprah Among 4 Blacks to Receive Medal of Freedom
(The Root) — Four African Americans are among 16 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, according to a statement released by the White House on Thursday. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the award established by President John F. Kennedy. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their…
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Why It's Time for Tavis and Cornel to Stop
Tavis Smiley and Cornel West are raking in major profits while making wildly inflammatory statements about President Barack Obama, Eric L. Wattree writes at his blog, the Wattree Chronicle. These comments, in turn, are damaging the black community. … And please keep this in mind — the worse the Black community is doing, the more…
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The Correlation Between Violence and Racism
In a piece for the New York Times, author Jesmyn Ward explores the close connection between violence and racism by casting a decades-long lens at what it was like for members of her family to be black growing up in Mississippi. There are moments from childhood that attract heat in our memories, some for their…
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Beyoncé's Hair Might Not Change the World
(The Root) — The only thing that might have possibly caused more black hair buzz than this would have been if Oprah decided to go all the way natural and appear on her magazine cover post “big chop.” You’ve certainly heard by now: Beyoncé has ditched her weave for either a brand-new pixie cut or…
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Henrietta Lacks: Family Consents to Her Medical Gift
Sixty-two years after Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer and doctors removed tumor cells from her body, her family is now being brought into the decision-making process concerning research with those cells. The study of her cells has netted profound medical and biological discoveries, the New York Times reports. Henrietta Lacks was only 31 when…
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NY Police Won't Store Names of People They Stop and Frisk
In a deal announced Wednesday, New York City will no longer store the names and addresses of people who were targets of the police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program and whose cases have been resolved or dismissed, according to CBS. The deal signed Tuesday resulted from a May 2010 lawsuit brought in state court in Manhattan…
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Pastor Fired for Attending Rick Ross Concert
A North Carolina pastor, Rodney Wills, faced the wrath of his congregation after attending a Rick Ross concert. Ross was described by a deacon in the church as “tearing down the kingdom of God,” according to BlackAmericaWeb. Wills was also spotted nine months ago at a Lil Wayne concert. [Twenty-six-year-old] Rodney Wills was fired from…
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Jackie Robinson Statue Vandalized With N-Word
“Die N—ger.” “F—k Jackie Robinson and all N—gers.” Those are the words that were discovered at the base of the Jackie Robinson statue outside Cyclones Stadium in Brooklyn, N.Y., Wednesday morning. According to the Daily News, which showed close-up pictures of the graffiti, there were also swastikas drawn on the monument. While the New York…
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'Cute for a Black Girl': Should I Be Insulted?
(The Root) — “A guy contacted me on a dating site and started off with ‘I don’t normally date outside my race or my comfort zone, but you’re beautiful and caught my eye.’ I feel a certain way about that statement. I want someone who will be comfy with dating a black woman. Am I…