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The Original Black Russian
As Americans observe Black History Month, Russians will celebrate their own link to black history. This year marks the 171st anniversary of the death of their greatest national poet, Alexander Pushkin. Yes, Pushkin, who died on Feb 10, 1837, was part black. Pushkin’s great-grandfather, Abram Gannibal, was born in Sub-Saharan Africa, probably on the territory…
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Grand Old Party Can Be Grand for Blacks
The question per what is going on in the Republican Party can be summed up succinctly: the conservative base – in particular the evangelical Christian contingent of same – has no viable candidate left in the presidential nominee selection contest – but they do have a choice to which they strenuously object. Accordingly, for Republicans…
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Hillary's Scarlett O'Hara Act
There’s been a lot of talk about women and their choices since Super Tuesday, when African American women overwhelmingly voted for Sen. Barack Obama, while white women picked Sen. Hillary Clinton. Some pundits automatically concluded that “race trumped gender” among black women. I hate this analysis because it relegates black women to junior-partner status in…
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Don't Sleep on the Black Immigrant Vote
Watching Sen. Barack Obama trounce Sen. Hillary Clinton week after week in primary sweeps this month has made it easy for his supporters to imagine him cakewalking his way to the White House. After all, the man has been leaving fans breathless as he rides a wave of momentum from one state to another. Maybe…
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Depends on What You Mean by 'Black'
For many months, the media has saturated American audiences with analysis of the impact of race on the 2008 presidential campaign. There has also been much discussion about how closely the world is tracking the election. However, there has been remarkably little discussion about whether some of our basic assumptions about race and ethnicity actually…
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The Wonders Down Under
How does your daughter learn about her body? From magazines that feature nipped, tucked and airbrushed size-2 celebrity cover models? From X-rated authors like Karrine Steffans and Zane, and the “Gossip Girls”? From music videos? From her boyfriend? Or from you? This is a rhetorical question. Of course it should be you. Starting around school-age,…
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Why My Great Grandmother's Name Matters
The first time I got a deep glimpse into my family history, I had to leave the room to gather myself. It was around seven years ago, and a genealogist, Rafi Guber, and the comedian Billy Crystal had come to my home to present me with previously unknown information about my great-grandmother, a steely woman…
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Why Blacks Should Consider McCain
The old saying holds that in politics you don’t have to win, you just have to not lose. But what the saying doesn’t tell you is that sometimes what looks like victory is actually a step backward. And that will be the case for black folk should Hillary Clinton win the Democratic Party nomination and…
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Does Race Trump Gender?
Oprah Winfrey has been widely criticized by white feminists who saw her decision to support Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton as a betrayal that put race before gender. Oprah’s pointed response spoke for many black women whose loyalty to gender and race is also being questioned — and tested. “You know, after Iowa, there were…
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Seeing Green In Africa
Last week, much of the world was focused on Microsoft’s attempt to shape the Internet with its $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. But just a week earlier, without nearly as much fanfare, Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced his new retirement project that could alter the lives of millions throughout Africa and other parts of the…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
