Uncategorized
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The Death of a Movement
One day, one hour and 47 minutes after three bullets struck him down in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen, Robert Francis Kennedy, the junior senator from New York and likely Democratic presidential nominee, died at 1:44 a.m., June 6, 1968. It would take years, decades even, for historians to make sense of that single event.…
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Revisiting A Classic
A couple of weeks ago, I bumped into Roberto, a college classmate on the street. Since we were both class of ’82, this is a drop-everything moment: We live in the same Manhattan neighborhood, but our contact seems limited to annual chance encounters. After catching up, our dialogue turned to sports, and Roberto made a…
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Obama and the 'Women Question'
Hillary Clinton’s decision to end her campaign and endorse Barack Obama this weekend means that Obama is now assured of the Democratic nomination for president, and that Clinton’s historic bid to become the first woman to win the White House will end in disappointment. But the “women question” that has dogged Obama at times during…
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My Love is Like Premium Cable
It all started with a 30-day trial package of premium cable.I had just moved into my apartment and was enjoying the temporary pleasures of HBO On Demand. In the midst of Million Dollar Baby, I realized there were only two weeks left in my free trial period, just two weeks before a decision was required…
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Fear of a Non-Black Planet
Joshua Packwood’s march across the stage as Morehouse College’s first white valedictorian left a trail of fiery online commentary from African Americans, filled with consternation, anger and fear. For some, white participation and success in the black world means the failure and even end of blackness. For me, Packwood’s successes are but a part of…
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Obama Closes the Deal, Finally
Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, and historic does not even begin to capture the sweep of the achievement. “America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past,” Obama told a roaring crowd of 17,000 in St. Paul, Minn. “Our…
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Clinton Collateral Damage
Something is wrong. Perhaps the trouble lies with me, though I think it lies elsewhere and that I’m not the only one experiencing this creeping sense of dread at a point when I should feel ecstatic. Fighting off the scourge of political cynicism has been a more formidable challenge in the past few months than…
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And No Longer on the Street Corner…
Black professional fighters traditionally have had a way of inspiring a generation of young black men, for better or worse: Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson.Kimbo Slice is the new inspiration. What? You’ve not heard of Kimbo Slice? Well, maybe you don’t recognize him because I haven’t called him by his full name:…
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Bye-Bye Black Sheep
Until recently, political life in Switzerland was known for cozy relationships between parties and the anti-heroic stance of politicians. For the last 10 years, this rather pacific style of politics has been shattered by the rising influence of the SVP/UDC (Schweizerische Volkspartei/Union démocratique du centre), the Swiss People’s Party, and its billionaire leader,Christoph Blocher. Their demagoguery…