Politics
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Departing Attorney General Eric Holder Was Controversial—and a Black Political Superhero
There’s quite a bit of truth to the old folks’ maxim that if they’re not talking about you, it means you didn’t bring much to the table in the first place. Just ask Eric Holder. You could never be, arguably, the most impactful attorney general since Robert F. Kennedy if your name weren’t mentioned as…
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Confirmation Vote on Loretta Lynch Expected Today
After 166 days of waiting—longer than the last seven nominees for U.S. attorney general combined—Loretta Lynch is expected to finally receive a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate this afternoon. If she is confirmed, Lynch, 55, would be the first female African-American attorney general in history, and only the second woman to serve as…
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Listen: Michael Eric Dyson’s Interview on His Break With Cornel West
It was personal. In Michael Eric Dyson’s takedown for the New Republic of his friend and mentor Cornel West, he has a come-to-Jesus moment that is neither pretty nor kind, but painfully blunt. The realization comes to Dyson that West is a parody of the intellectual he once was, that his vicious and often personal…
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How Racial Injustice Is Now Driving the ‘Fight for $15’
Almost two years ago, McDonald’s worker Nancy Salgado was arrested after calling out former McDonald’s USA President Jeff Stratton for the criminally low wages the corporation pays employees. Since that time, the #FightFor15 grassroots organization, which demands that the minimum wage be raised to $15 per hour and that a union be created for fast-food…
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Obama Brings a Dollars-and-Sense Message to Women in NC
Charlotte, N.C., Wed., April 15: In a battleground state he won in 2008 and lost in 2012—both by close margins—President Barack Obama spoke on Wednesday, Tax Day, about economic policy, particularly how it affects working families and working women. By listing his administration’s initiatives—the successful ones and those he said were obstructed by Republicans—Obama was…
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Michelle Obama: The Candidate?
Too soon, too soon, of course. After observing close-up the kind of headwinds her husband has met in Washington, D.C., and beyond, there is absolutely no indication that first lady Michelle Obama is looking to place her own name on any ballot. She has, in fact, said the opposite, although in his just-released book, Michelle…
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How Senate Republicans’ Stalling on Loretta Lynch Paves the Way for Hillary Clinton
Today is Monday, April 13, 2015. Unlike any other humdrum, “I wish every week were a three-day holiday” Monday, this Monday might be forever remembered as one of the most politically and culturally important days in the history of the United States. As a result of the U.S. Senate’s pandering to the right wing of…
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Why We Should Keep Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks Off the $20 Bill
Harriet Tubman or Rosa Parks may be the next face featured on the U.S. $20 bill—that is if Women on 20s (W20), a grassroots organization committed to the realization of female representation on the nation’s currency, has anything to say about it. After a “robust” voting process spearheaded by W20, the civil rights icons, along…
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Will Black Folks Deliver for Hillary Clinton?
As Hillary Clinton kicks off her 2016 presidential bid (splashing with all the juggernautlike brand force of an album drop), few doubt that she’ll win the Democratic nomination. But even if she skates from now into Philly next year as the party standard-bearer, there’s still no White House guarantee. A road to victory remains a foggy…