Politics
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Can the US Play a Role in Rescuing the Missing Nigerian Schoolgirls?
When the bizarre disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 captured the global imagination like missed episodes of Lost, an international military search and rescue response was swift. Two months and a dying black box ping later, no expense has been spared in the effort to find 240 passengers now presumed dead. Weeks going on a…
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Obama Mocks ‘Stellar 2013’ at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
President Barack Obama hammered failed GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his infamous comment about poor Americans and the “47 percent” during the campaign trail. On Saturday, the president turned the remark against himself during his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. “I usually start these dinners with a few self-deprecating…
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Black Jobless Rate Still Nation’s Highest
The unemployment rate among African Americans is nearly double the national rate, even as the economy appears to be improving. Unemployment among blacks was 11.6 percent in April, down from 12.4 percent in March, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor. But even with that improvement, blacks lagged behind the rest of…
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In Meeting With Paul Ryan, the CBC Was Killing It Softly
If conservative bean counter and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was expecting a packed roomful of angry black members of Congress, he got a rude awakening. They were actually mad nice about it. A nervously anticipated meeting this week between the Congressional Black Caucus and the stumbling Badger State congressman looking to reinvent…
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Black Organizations Blocked by New My Brother’s Keeper Rule?
Updated: May 2, 2014, 12:45 p.m. The Root obtained the following statement from Chairman Curley M. Dossman of 100 Black Men of America on the issue. “In an effort to address a legitimate concern our organization had about a recent RFP, we sent a letter directly to the Department of Justice to obtain clarity around…
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NJ Councilwoman Has Her Own Alleged Racist Rant on Tape
A Belleville, N.J., councilwoman is wrapped up in her own “racist rant” controversy, after she was allegedly caught slurring black folks in the background of a voice mail, NJ.com reports. The news site also reported that a forensics lab in Michigan claimed it was “85 percent” certain that the voice heard on the message was…
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The Black Congressional Budget No One Ever Talks About
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) federal budget proposal, crowded with unrealistic cuts on critical social programs, is like a scene in a bad The Lord of the Rings sequel. Long, overblown and waiting for a third act—and as unbearably outdated in its outlook on poverty as Gandalf appears in his gray beard. Yet,…
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Obama’s Biggest Regret
In a heartfelt moment on Sunday before students at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, President Barack Obama shared that he regretted not spending more time with his now-deceased mother, the ABC News reports. “I regret not having spent more time with my mother,” he said. “She died early. She got cancer right…
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‘Waterboarding Is How We’d Baptize Terrorists’ if Sarah Palin Were President
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin slammed President Barack Obama for what she sees as a lack of leadership and a soft response to terrorist threats against the nation, Yahoo News reports. “Enemies, who would utterly annihilate America, they who’d obviously have information on plots, to carry out jihad. Oh, but you can’t offend them, can’t…
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Obama Remarks on Alleged Racist Rant by LA Clippers' Owner
President Barack Obama on Sunday weighed in on the controversy embroiling Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, saying that his alleged racist remarks reflect the damaging legacy of slavery that still exists in the U.S., CNN reports. Obama said that while the country has made great strides in confronting the racial divide, the comments attributed…