Politics
-
What We Should Really Be Talking About During CBC Weekend
If Washington, D.C., is “Hollywood for ugly people,” the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference — informally known as CBC Weekend to those who skip the panels and attend the parties — is an HBCU Homecoming for grown people with jobs. It’s a Beltway Freaknic for people who favor MSNBC over BET. And I’ll…
-
The Root's Black Caucus Weekend Party List
The Root’s Black Caucus Weekend Party List: Most parties require an invitation or an RSVP; if a party is open, the price of admission is listed above. The Root is a sponsor of events marked with an asterisk.*
-
Dr. Boyce Watkins: Black Unemployment Must Be Addressed
EXCERPT FROM DR. BOYCE WATKINS OPEN LETTER to PRESIDENT OBAMA: While the black community remains inspired by your achievements and overwhelmingly sympathetic to your challenges from conservatives, there are concerns that the economic plight of black Americans has not been a priority for the Obama Administration. To be sure, opinions on this matter are far…
-
Is D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's Loss a National Defeat for Education Reform?
Four years ago, Adrian Fenty faced a well-regarded chair of the D.C. City Council in the Democratic mayoral primary — the only primary that counts in this overwhelmingly Democratic city. He carried every electoral precinct in the city. This year he faced another well-regarded City Council chair in another mayoral primary. This time he lost.…
-
Lessons for Obama in Adrian Fenty's Defeat
If one thing is clear this election season, it’s that voters — black, white or otherwise — won’t hesitate to call out the “arrogance” of their African-American elected officials when they see it. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd reported this week that her Republican sister isn’t really unhappy with what President Barack Obama has…
-
Does Race Still Matter in Politics?
This summer, Republicans in South Carolina backed an African-American businessman named Tim Scott over former Sen. Strom Thurmond’s son to fill a House seat. In picking a U.S. Senate candidate, Florida Republicans bypassed their veteran governor for the conservative Marco Rubio, who is Cuban American. Black Democrats in Alabama voted for their policy preferences (health-care…
-
D.C.: Less Black, More Green
Hey, uh, we didn’t get our 40 acres and a mule But we did get you, CC, heh, yeah —From the song “Chocolate City” (1975) by Parliament Two local disc jockeys first anointed Washington, D.C., “Chocolate City” in the early 1970s. White flight to the suburbs after the 1968 riots had left the nation’s capital…
-
Obama Can Take Care of Himself
I presume we all agree that Newt Gingrich’s latest charge against our president is so absurd that it doesn’t even deserve comment. Obama has a “Kenyan” worldview he drank in from his father when his father barely even knew him? The statement is based on stunning ignorance about the basics of Obama’s biography, and willful…
-
The Root Interview: Rep. Barbara Lee on Race in America
As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Barbara Lee, who represents northern California’s 9th District, leads one of the nation’s most prominent African-American instruments for social change. On Monday she released a memo in which she encouraged America and the media to revamp how they discuss race and racism, and called the phrase “national…
-
President Obama Authors Children's Book
President Barack Obama can add children’s-book author to his growing list of credentials. Obama has penned Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, an illustrated children’s book that will be released Nov. 16. The publication completes a three-book, $1.9 million deal Obama signed with Random House while he was still an Illinois senator, including…