Politics
-
First Lady Enjoys a Girls' Night Out in DC
(The Root) — First lady Michelle Obama enjoyed a rare girls’ night out to see Sweet Honey in the Rock at Washington, D.C.’s Howard Theatre, according to a source who did not wish to be identified. She was spied with fellow Chicagoan Valerie Jarrett, who is senior adviser to the president, catching the 7 p.m.…
-
Retire the Myth: Black Men, Jail and College
(The Root) — “There are more black men in jail than in college” is a line that has transfigured our understanding of persistent problems among black men in the United States. Many activists and scholars recite it to invoke urgency to fight unjust social structures, while culture critics say it to condemn the social failings…
-
Thank God We're Not Stuck With Romneys
(The Root) — Here’s yet another very good reason to rejoice over Barack Obama’s triumph in last year’s presidential election: Mitt and Ann Romney are not our first family. We have thus been spared four years of hyperexposure to the self-absorbed utterances of this shockingly out-of-touch political couple. From now on we can ignore them.…
-
How the Sequester Crosses the Color Line
(The Root) — For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Voters have twice elected an African-American president, and Republicans have twice responded with obstinance — by waging an intellectual civil war. Voter-suppression efforts were insufficient to deliver a Romney victory, but strategically gerrymandered districts guaranteed that Speaker John Boehner and his Republican-dominated…
-
6 of Hip-Hop's Least Likely Supporters
(The Root) — With the debate raging over gun control, the folks behind creative enterprises from video games to Hollywood are facing criticism regarding their potentially negative influence on impressionable Americans. Music is not immune. Hip-hop has long been one of conservative America’s favorite punching bags, with Republicans and Democrats alike criticizing the genre for…
-
Romney on 47 Percent Gaffe: 'Not What I Meant'
Mitt Romney is back and reflecting on how he lost the White House to President Obama. On Sunday, the former Republican presidential hopeful talked to Fox News about one of his biggest campaign mistakes and his struggle to connect with minority voters, writes the Hill. Looking back at his presidential bid, Romney said he was hurt by…
-
How Climate Change Affects People of Color
(Special to The Root) — Chances are, if you are a person of color, climate change isn’t at the top of your list of concerns. President Barack Obama’s remarks on the issue in his State of the Union address and inaugural speech weren’t what made you cheer. Finding a job, keeping the lights and heat…
-
Angola 3 Member Wins Court Order
A Louisiana man whose more than 40 years of solitary confinement was driven, his supporters say, by the racial bias of state prison officials and prosecutors has won a court order that ostensibly overturns what his international coterie of advocates also contend was a wrongful murder conviction. Louisiana Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell said…
-
Michelle O's Polite Dismissal of Oscar Haters: 'Not Surprising'
In certain circles, Michelle Obama gets criticized just for existing in the body and skin she was born with. So it’s no shock at all that plenty of Americans had negative reactions to the first lady’s Sunday-night satellite appearance at the Academy Awards. As the Associated Press put it, the broadcast “provoked a national conversation…
-
SCOTUS Dispatch: 'Hush Fell' Over Courtroom
(Special to The Root) — When our clients from Shelby County, Ala., arrived at the Washington, D.C., offices of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund the night before Supreme Court oral argument in the case challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, they had a lot to say. They had stories to tell…