Politics
-
Stop and Frisk Across America
(The Root) — Stop and frisk is a controversial term, mostly associated with New York City, but New Yorkers aren’t the only ones battling racial profiling by law enforcement. “Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly have championed the stop-and-frisk model outside of New York,” Ezekiel Edwards, head of the national ACLU’s criminal-law reform project tells The…
-
Man Charged With Threats Against Obama
(The Root) — In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced that 45-year-old Paul Kevin Curtis, of Corinth, Miss., has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with making threats against President Obama and other suspicious communications. In an affidavit in support of the complaint charging Curtis, an FBI agent…
-
What It Was Like to Be Jailed With MLK
(The Root) — The Rev. Jonathan McPherson went to jail for the first time in his life on Friday, April 12, 1963. It was Good Friday in Birmingham, Ala. Blacks on that day were defying an injunction outlawing protests, and under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth,…
-
Cory Booker and Newark: Clock's Ticking
(The Root) — With approximately 450 days left as mayor, Newark, N.J.’s Cory Booker must use his charisma to charm all of New Jersey if he indeed runs for Senate. But during Tuesday’s media breakfast for black journalists, it was clear that his first order of business is to make Newark an example of his…
-
Graduation Season: Who Gets the First Lady and Why?
(The Root) — It’s spring, and that means first lady Michelle Obama is preparing to make the graduation rounds. On the schedule this year: Commencement addresses at Eastern Kentucky University, the Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School for Health Sciences and Engineering at Historic Pearl High and HBCU Bowie State University. According to…
-
Well Done, John Lewis. Well Done
(Special to The Root) — Charlayne Hunter-Gault delivered the following remarks on April 4, 2013, at the Allen Prize Symposium at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, where Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) received the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. The first time I heard Barack Obama say that he stood on the shoulders of…
-
Obama's Not Sexist; He Flatters Too Much
In New York magazine Dan Amira says that the POTUS didn’t mean anything by noting California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ good looks — he says everyone is good-looking. Obama even extended his favorite compliment to the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. “I have to say all of you look pretty good without your playoff beards,”…
-
Are Cuts in Obama's New Budget Too Much?
As President Obama hammers out a new budget, Colorlines‘ Imara Jones notes which Americans may feel the biggest burn. This latest round of reductions would fall hardest on those hit by the recession and demand very little from the few who’ve never had it better. As such, the president would continue an unfortunate pattern on…
-
President Obama Apologizes to Kamala Harris
Following criticism for referring to Kamala Harris as “the best-looking attorney general in the country,” President Obama has apologized, reports the New York Times. He praised Ms. Harris as being “brilliant,” adding, “she is dedicated and she is tough” before commenting on her looks. There was a quick reaction on social media sites, with some people…
-
MLK III Marches in Memphis to Honor Dad
(The Root) — Forty-five years ago — on April 4, 1968 — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. He was there to march in solidarity with black sanitation workers who had gone on strike over poor working conditions and substandard…