Politics
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For Black People, Donald Trump Is America
As Donald Trump inches closer to the Oval Office, half of America seems to be coming down with a collective case of the bubble guts at the prospect of having to endure four years of an apricot-colored buffoon in chief. One of the biggest mysteries in the minds of the global coalition of handwringers (known…
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Promises and Compacts: What a Hillary Clinton Presidency Means for HBCUs
In August 2015, Hillary Clinton released a plan to make the first two years of college free at public HBCUs and dedicate $25 billion to support private nonprofit institutions that serve low- and middle-income students. In practical terms, the plan is only aspirational because presidents don’t unilaterally control the federal budget. The president proposes a…
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In VP Debate, Mike Pence Goes on 90-Minute Shaggy ‘It Wasn’t Me’ Defense
Unless you’re one of those people whose Pandora/iTunes/Tidal service features no music that dropped before “Trap Queen,” you might remember a pop-reggae song called “It Wasn’t Me” from one-hit wonder and Rick Fox look-alike Shaggy. The song notes Shaggy’s tale of woe as he is busted by his girlfriend for “creepin’ with the girl next…
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Criming While White: Why Would Trump Change a Tax System That Made Him Rich?
The 2016 election’s first manufactured “October surprise” is a full-length investigative story from the New York Times about Donald Trump’s taxes. More specifically, the fact that after running up almost a billion dollars in losses and debts in 1995, Trump has likely not paid any taxes in almost 20 years. This in and of itself…
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The Politics and Faces of Angela Rye
On the eve of the first presidential debate, Angela Rye, along with the rest of the world, was anticipating just how Donald Trump would shoot himself in the foot as he went one-on-one with Hillary Clinton. Of course, Trump seemed unprepared to match wits with Clinton, but when it comes to being one of CNN’s…
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For Black Voters, Russians and Republicans Are a Bit Too Close for Comfort
Back in the day, Russians were like the Antichrist to Republicans. Today they appear thick as thieves, both seemingly involved in a two-front, rigged-election war to blow up the black vote. A Trump presidency catapulted by angry, white populism is already a scary thought. But as bad as that is, consider the possibility of the…
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Angela Davis: 'Democratic Party Is Just as Linked to the Corporate Capitalist Structure as the Republican Party'
Previously on The Root, we reported on scholar and freedom fighter Angela Davis’ recent comments about the 2016 presidential election—and the ensuing social media controversy that followed. Davis made it clear that despite having serious problems with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton—and the electoral political system as it currently exists—she would be going to the polls next month to stop Republican…
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A Few Words on the Blatant Disrespect Being Shown to Angela Davis
There have been intense, widespread and polarizing responses to my article on a statement made by scholar, freedom fighter, former political prisoner and icon Angela Davis during her Sept. 30 keynote address at the “Black Matters: The Futures of Black Scholarship and Activism” conference at the University of Texas at Austin. During her address, Davis said, “I have serious problems…
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Donald Trump Is Fat. And Yet He's Always Fat-Shaming Women
Donald Trump is fat. If Dennis the Menace grew up to be a racist real estate tycoon with a bad tan and a huge stomach, he would look exactly like Donald Trump. Trump hasn’t been anywhere close to thin since Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears ended in 1991. And yet one of Trump’s favorite…
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Angela Davis: ‘I Am Not So Narcissistic to Say I Cannot Bring Myself to Vote for Hillary Clinton’
Angela Davis—scholar, freedom fighter, former political prisoner, icon and my personal hero—told attendees at the “Black Matters: The Futures of Black Scholarship and Activism” conference at the University of Texas at Austin that she is not so “narcissistic” to say that she won’t vote for Hillary Clinton. “I have serious problems with the other candidate, but I am…