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John Hope Franklin on Obama's Presidency
In a June 2008 recording, the historian and author ponders the possibility of seeing a black president in his lifetime. Franklin passed away on March 25, 2009 at age 94.
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Tavis Smiley: Holding Barack Obama 'Accountable'
In our ongoing video series Bookmark, The Root talks to authors to find out the personal stories behind their talked-about books. Here, Tavis Smiley reveals the nail-biting process of preparing completely different versions of his new book, Accountable: Making America As Good As Its Promise. And of course, he promises to hold President Obama’s feet to the fire and…
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Ruby Dee Looks Back at 50 Years of 'Raisin'
‘A Raisin in the Sun’ opened on Broadway on March 11, 1959, rattling the theater world and the country. The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. visited with Ruby Dee at her home to reminisce about the play’s place in history and relevance today. Read the rest of The Root’s Raisin @ 50 coverage: Gates…
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(Black) Presidents Day
Presidents Day at the museum has a whole new meaning, now that there’s a brother on the wall. Read the related article by Teresa Wiltz.
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The Next Generation of Black Medical Genius
In part of a regular conversations series for The Root on the new black visionaries, famed neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, has a conversation with his young protege, Dr. James Frazier. The colleagues at Johns Hopkins Medical Center discuss everything from what every child should know, to how to pay it forward to why Carson rarely…
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The End of Black History Month (?)
A multicultural swirl of faces came to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for The Root Inaugural Ball to fete the arrival of our new president. The iconic setting and diverse crowd of revelers begged the question: Is it time to end the segregation of teaching history? Watch as The Root correspondents Helena Andrews…
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The New Visionaries: Dr. Ben Carson and Dr. James Frazier
The Root’s ongoing video series in the newest generation of black thought leaders.
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Bush, The Lincoln Bedroom, and Me
In this segment of the PBS special, ‘Looking for Lincoln,’ premiering on Feb. 11, The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. gets a White House tour from President Bush and the two men compare the 16th and 43rd presidencies. In other segments, Doris Kearns Goodwin explains how Lincoln co-opted his rivals, and Gates touches the hat of the…
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How Lincoln Tamed His Rivals
In this clip from the PBS series ‘Looking for Lincoln,’ The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. talks to “Team of Rivals” author Doris Kearns Goodwin about how Lincoln used his political instincts and powerful oratory to co-opt his rivals.