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Conducting the show’s first interview with a sitting president and first lady: impressive. Doing it just hours after Obama’s press conference releasing his long-form birth certificate, and days before his announcement that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden: even better. Our favorite quote came from Michelle: “I always told the voters, the question is…

Words of wisdom: “Pursue success. Do not falter. When you make it, pull somebody else up. Remember, your life is richer when people around you have a shot at opportunity as well.” —April 29, Miami Captions by Kristilyn Whigham Words of wisdom: “There will always be folks who try to raise themselves up by cutting…

is an intern at The Root and senior journalism major at Howard University. Crider made her American debut with the San Diego Opera as the lead in Verdi’s Aida. Whether singing the title role in Tosca or Norma or Leonora in Il Trovatore, this soprano has made her mark at the Metropolitan Opera in New…

Oprah Gail Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Miss., to Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. She spends her early years living in rural poverty with her grandmother before being shipped off to inner-city Milwaukee to live with her mother. Captions by Lauren Williams Winfrey has always been open about some of the painful details of her…

The late rapper’s alleged right-leaning politics were famously ridiculed in the Game’s 2006 track “Dreams,” with a line about Jheri curl juice “drippin’ on Ronald Reagan’s shoes.” But the GOP had Eazy-E’s back. Three years after he released “F—- tha Police” with N.W.A, the National Republican Senatorial Committee invited him to a 1991 luncheon honoring…

Although Bob Marley was not her biological father, he adopted Sharon, wife Rita’s daughter from a previous relationship, and raised her as his own. Along with three of her siblings, Sharon was a part of the group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. Also an actress, the oldest Marley had a small role in the…

Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. Played by: Shemar Moore, Darius McCrary Malcolm has a complicated relationship with his brother, Neil, whose wife he slept with and impregnated. Known for his bad luck with the ladies, Malcolm lost his first wife to AIDS and divorced his second wife, and his fiancée left…

In an era of undying political correctness, it’s easy to forget that fervent racism still exists. I’m Not Racist but … illustrates that racism’s newest bastion may be on Facebook. Using openly accessible Facebook posts and comments, a lone college student regularly posts the unabashed racist rants of unnamed (but pictured!) Facebook users, many of…

Fleeing the life of a sharecropper in Louisiana, this bright-eyed aspiring actress headed straight for Hollywood. With an impressive 50-plus film credits, Harris is noted for her role in The Flame of New Orleans (1941). You’ll find similarities to Harris’ life in a new off-Broadway play, By the Way, Meet Vera Starks, starring Sanaa Lathan…

Florida Evans lives in the projects, yet sounds as if she’s reciting Shakespeare. Captions by Natalie Hopkinson In Coming to America, Her Majesty, Queen Aoleon of Zamunda, oozes power and checks the husband when necessary: “Put a sock in it, Joffe; the boy’s in love!” Who holds down a law-firm job and has five kids?…