culture
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Yes, Fried-Chicken Jokes Are Racist
(The Root) — When I heard that a golfer had made a “joke” about Tiger Woods and fried chicken, I had to double-check to make sure it wasn’t 1997 all over again. That was the year Frank “Fuzzy” Zoeller was asked for his thoughts about Woods’ impending success at the Masters, and he joked about…
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Tornado Victim Identified: Ja'Nae Hornsby
Among the first victims to be publicly identified after the tornadoes that devastated Moore, Okla., on Monday is 9-year-old Ja’Nae Hornsby, whose father told news station KJRH that her body was found in the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School. “She was just a big ball of energy; she was lovable. You couldn’t not love…
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Obama Administration Mistakes Journalism for Espionage
The Washington Post‘s Eugene Robinson gives perspective on the Associated Press scandal. The Obama administration has no business rummaging through journalists’ phone records, perusing their e-mails and tracking their movements in an attempt to keep them from gathering news. This heavy-handed business isn’t chilling, it’s just plain cold. It also may well be unconstitutional. In…
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The Obamas' Tough Talk to Black Grads
Kai Wright gives his take on Colorlines on the controversial angle of last weekend’s high-profile commencement addresses. Graduation season is upon us, and with it the time-honored ritual of big, important graduation speeches. This weekend, Barack and Michelle Obama each gave theirs at historically black colleges — the president spoke at Morehouse, the first lady…
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Kanye West, 'New Slaves' and Hypocrisy
Ernest Owens rips into Kanye West’s new single at the Huffington Post, lamenting that the singer knows more than other rappers, yet “does nothing to fix the problem.” Everyone has that one cousin in the family that never tends to shut up at the dinner table. They complain about how the world is wicked and…
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Child-Support Laws: A Boon for Gold Diggers?
(The Root) — Just when it seemed Charlie Sheen’s story couldn’t get any more depressing for him, his fans and his family, things have managed to take a turn for the worse. His estranged wife, Brooke Mueller, has been admitted to rehab for drug addiction, something she’s struggled with for years. Despite the fact that…
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Doggie Racism Is Real! Here's How to Deal
(The Root) — “We live in a diverse urban city. I am white and my husband is Filipino and white, but he’s often mistaken for Indian or black/mixed because of his dark complexion. He is great with animals in general and is a supersweet, calm, gentle person; we foster rescue dogs that are really sensitive,…
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White Dad Accused of Kidnapping Biracial Daughters
A Virginia family is understandably a little shaken up after the father, Joseph — a white man who didn’t want his last name revealed — was suspected of kidnapping two biracial girls. They just happened to be his daughters. Oops. According to the mom, Keana (whose presence at the store likely would have cleared things…
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New Yorkers Rally After Murder of Gay Man
Mother Jones reports that at least 1,500 people marched through the streets of New York City’s West Village Monday, demonstrating against the murder of 32-year-old Mark Carson and the month of homophobic violence that preceded it. Community leaders told Mother Jones that Carson’s death is part of a trend in increasing violence against gay people…
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Obama Declares State of Emergency in Oklahoma
Updated Tuesday, May 21, 9:58 a.m. EDT: After originally saying that 51 people had been killed in Monday’s tornadoes and that the number of dead might top 90, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner’s office now says that the official death toll is 24, NPR reports. Earlier: After massive tornadoes hit the Oklahoma suburbs yesterday,…