Politics

In Johannesburg, anti-Obama protesters who had gathered in front of the University of Johannesburg, where the U.S. president is slated to receive an honorary degree today, were greeted with rubber bullets, reports USA Today.  Protests have been planned at the university over Obama’s visit and the news that he is expected to receive an honorary doctorate…

President Obama was expected to visit the ailing Nelson Mandela during his trip to South Africa, but instead will meet with Madiba’s family, according to the New York Times. The presidential limousine slipped past a gate at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Saturday afternoon, leaving the media behind as Mr. Obama met for about…

(The Root) — In the annals of American political history, President Barack Obama’s droll remark that “I’m not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker” isn’t going to rank with “Ask not what your country can do for you” or “Nothing to fear but fear itself,” but for a president looking to…

(The Root) — Something occult was taking place at the Home for Retired Racial Stereotypes. Smoky incense filled the air of a darkened room where Kingfish, the Frito Bandito, Charlie Chan, Tonto and the rest of the crew were gathered in a circle, chanting to the sound of exotic music. In the middle of the circle stood…

(Special to The Root) — Three years ago I wrote a piece for The Root entitled, “Supreme Court Saves Voting Rights Act and Itself.” The occasion was the court’s recent consideration of the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which Congress had reauthorized by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in 2006. In that…

(Special to The Root) — The U.S. Supreme Court has finally issued its long-awaited ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the latest case challenging affirmative action in higher education. Although many pundits expected a resounding defeat for defenders of diversity, their predictions proved to be wrong. The court sent the case back…

(The Root) — The Supreme Court decision this week in Fisher v. University of Texas upheld the winning argument and vision that my late husband, John Payton, put forward as the lead attorney in Grutter/Gratz v. Bollinger (the University of Michigan affirmative action case). That was the landmark decision decided exactly 10 years ago, in…

(The Root) — In the second explicitly race-related ruling this week, which legal analysts and Supreme Court observers have described as far more restrained than had been expected from the conservative-dominated court, the Supreme Court invalidated an essential portion of the Voting Rights Act.  The court’s 5-4 decision voided parts of Section 4, which provided…

(The Root) — Now that the Supreme Court has kicked Fisher v. University of Texas, its first major affirmative action case in a decade, back to the lower court, the outcome is still up on the air. But something that experts interviewed by The Root appear to be in agreement on is that regardless of what…