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The 150th Anniversary of 'Secession'
We’re coming upon the sesquicentennial (the 150th anniversary, that is) of the American Civil War. This means that a lot of folks who live below the Mason-Dixon Line are dusting off their their hoop skirts and Confederate uniforms and planning “secession balls.” The New York Times has a story today about how Confederate enthusiasts (read:…
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'Ugly Betty' Actor Arrested in Connection With Mother's Death
Haitian-American actor Michael Brea, who once had a brief role on Ugly Betty, was arrested early this morning on suspicion that he murdered his mother in her Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment with a three-foot sword. Police were called to the scene by neighbors and knocked on the door several times before they busted into the locked…
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Thanksgiving Memories From Black TV Land
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. Remember Gina’s (Tisha Campbell) stone-cold attempt to cook a turkey? It wasn’t enough that her parents were meeting Martin’s (Martin Lawrence) wannabe-Eddie Murphy cousin and one-eyed uncle for the first time; she was also a novice in the kitchen. Uh, pass the stuffing? Captions by Erin…
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Unforgettable Celebrity Trials
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. It wasn’t looking good for Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) when he left his House ethics trial less than an hour after it began Nov. 15 because, he said, he couldn’t afford representation. The outcome: Rangel was found guilty of 11 out of 13 violations. Before the…
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Is a White Barber Racist for Rejecting a Black Customer?
It’s not as if we haven’t heard this story before, folks. Black customer walks into a white hair-cutting establishment and asks for service. White hairstylist-barber promptly turns customer away because the supposed professional cannot manage “black hair.” Drama ensues. It recently happened to a black doctor visiting the town of Bellows Falls, near the New…
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Allen West Learns One of Many Political Lessons
Allen West, newly elected congressman from Florida, might be a Tea Party-backed, outspoken conservative, but now he’s one on the national stage. It seems he’s learning that this comes with some limitations. Someone must have finally told him that it’s a terrible idea to make his friend — conservative talk-show host Joyce Kaufman — his…
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Kanye West's Top 10 Most Egocentric Moments
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. Did someone ask Kanye West to bust out into an a cappella rendition of “Gold Digger” on a recent Delta Airlines flight? It doesn’t matter, because he was giving his fellow passengers a little taste of Kanye, whether they wanted it or not. At least he…
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The Women Behind 'For Colored Girls'
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. As a writer and performer in San Francisco in the 1970s, Shange wrote and produced the first production of her choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Captions by Lauren Williams The acclaimed production would travel from San Francisco to…
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Watching the Results: IMPACT's Election Party
No matter their political affiliation, the experts on the panel at D.C.-based emerging-leaders organization IMPACT‘s Election Night Party, which The Root co-sponsored with the CBC Institute, BET and Politic365, agreed that increased political engagement is paramount in the black community. The panel, moderated by BET White House correspondent Andre Showell, opened the evening at Washington,…
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IMPACT Hosts an Election Party
Lauren is a former Deputy Editor of The Root. Paris Dennard of the Republican National Committee; the NAACP’s Stephanie Brown; Gary Flowers of the Black Leadership Forum; Charles Ellison, host of The New School on XM/Sirius radio; panel moderator and BET White House correspondent Andre Showall; and communications professional and 2008 Barack Obama campaign aide…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
