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Progressives 2.0?
On Wednesday, before attendees of the Take Back the American Dream conference in Washington, D.C., boarded buses for a Capitol Hill rally, they first gathered at the Washington Hilton Hotel for one last pep talk. Their action plan for the day was to call on the U.S. Congress to focus urgently on job creation instead…
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American Dream Movement: The Plan
On Day 2 of the Take Back the American Dream conference in Washington, D.C., activists first discussed strategies for building a stronger progressive movement in general. Then, finally, they dove into how exactly they would channel their renewed energy. One early session looked at how issues championed by many liberal groups — gay marriage, racial…
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Van Jones Makes His Next Move
As the Occupy Wall Street protest enters its third week, spreading across the country and making headlines globally, much U.S. media coverage has downplayed the movement as unorganized and unserious, lacking leadership and clear demands. But activist and author Van Jones sees the protest as just the beginning. On Monday, speaking before attendees at the…
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Copying the Harlem Children's Zone in DC
Since the 2008 campaign trail, President Obama has talked about his vision to replicate Harlem Children’s Zones around the country. The successful program, run by educator and activist Geoffrey Canada, takes a holistic approach to educating students in a 97-block area of Harlem, N.Y., by providing charter schools, prekindergarten programs, parenting workshops and weekend community…
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Dems Call for Clarence Thomas Investigation
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife is getting him into trouble again. Last October, Virginia Thomas left a bizarre voice mail message for Anita Hill, demanding that she apologize for the sexual harassment accusations Hill brought against her husband … 19 years earlier. A month later, Mrs. Thomas drew negative attention for her post as…
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Black Caucus Speech: What Did Obama Mean?
It’s been four days since President Obama delivered remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Phoenix Awards Dinner, just one of 10 speeches that he’s given within that time. But the debate over what he said before that mostly African-American audience — and how he chose to say it — is still going strong.…
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Senate Reaches Deal to Avert Shutdown
UPDATE 9/26/2011: Senate leaders announced on Monday evening that they have reached an agreement to keep the government running. The resolution funds the federal government through Nov. 18, including $2.65 billion for FEMA that the agency can start using on Saturday. The new amount reduces $1 billion from the House’s proposed figure, instead of offsetting…
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Obama to CBC: 'Put on Your Marching Shoes'
When speaking before black audiences, President Obama tends to be more charismatic in his delivery. He just plays the room differently — gripping and galvanizing, with a preacherlike cadence that can sometimes rise to a holler at points of emphasis. That was certainly the case on Saturday night at the annual Phoenix Awards Dinner, the…
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4 Questions With Aisha Tyler
As an actress (Ghost Whisperer, CSI), stand-up comedian, author and host of the weekly iTunes podcast “Girl on Guy,” Aisha Tyler wears many hats. You can add activist and advocate to that list. On Saturday as part of the CBCF Annual Legislative Conference, Tyler is hosting the Planned Parenthood forum “African American Women and Reproductive…
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4 Questions With Aisha Moodie-Mills
At Thursday’s CBCF Annual Legislative Conference panel, “Anatomy of a Revolution” (part of the popular Emerging Leaders Series geared toward students and young professionals), activists illuminated the role that young people have played in various change movements, from Alabama to Egypt. For Aisha C. Moodie-Mills, adviser for LGBT policy and racial justice at the Center…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
