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Just a Reminder: The NCAA Is a Plantation, and the Players Are the Sharecroppers
One of the biggest bait and switches ever pulled on American citizens was the ruse of collectively shared farming. It was a simple but effective long con. Farmers and plantation owners convinced newly freed slaves and poor people to work a portion of their land in exchange for a share of the harvest. In theory,…
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This Is All James Comeyâs Fault
On Thursday morning, news surfaced that the experimental humanoid who somehow got a job as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (youâre not fooling us, James Comey; we know a Frankenstein monster when we see one) wanted to tell the public about Russiaâs interference in the 2016 election as early as last summer. He…
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How Gentrification Destroys Black Voting Power
Remember when the nationâs capital was so black that Parliament Funkadelic nicknamed Washington, D.C., âChocolate Cityâ? Maybe youâre old enough to remember when Californiaâs Bay Area was so black that it birthed the Black Panthers and everyone knew what Sir Mix-a-Lot meant when he rapped about an âOakland booty.â If youâre too young for that,…
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The War at Morehouse
The phrase âblack Americaâ may often be overlooked as a trite colloquialism, but it gives voice to the collective experiences of a community forged in fire. Black America is not enveloped inside or beneath the United States of America that we love to hate and hate to love. No, black America exists alongside a nation…
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The Rootâs Jason Johnson Called a Conservative Out for Whitesplaining Racism on MSNBC and It Got Heated
On Wednesday morning The Rootâs political editor, Jason Johnson, appeared on MSNBC Live, as he often does, alongside Matt Schlapp of the American Conservative Union. Johnson is a veteran political analyst, writer and politics professor at Morgan State University. (Although I have no idea how he does all of this, because every time I turn…
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Jeff Sessions Met With Emmett Tillâs Family, but Will He Give Emmett Justice?Â
Emmett Tillâs family members met privately with Jeff Sessions, head of the U.S. Department of Justice, to ask him for … well … justice. The U.S. attorney general met with Emmettâs cousinâDeborah Watts, the co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundationâand Alvin Sykes, a member of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, on Tuesday. Emmettâs relatives…
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The World Changed, but Dave Chappelle Didnât
Remember Evel Knievel? In the 1970s and â80s, Robert âEvelâ Knievel Jr. leaped into the American zeitgeist and became one of the most famous people in the country by electrifying audiences with his motorcycle stunts. He leaped over 14 buses on a motorcycle. Millions of people watched him attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon.…
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In Case You Forgot, Cops Are Still Killing Black People
Does Donald Trump go to the beauty-supply store to buy his Remy hair or does he send the Secret Service? Will Blue Ivy be the lead singer of Destinyâs Grandchildren, or will the BeyHov twins form their own rap group? When Republicans pass the Affordable Health Care Act, will you be able to purchase handguns…
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Leaked Documents Reveal How the NYPD Ignored Abusive History of the Cop Who Killed Eric Garner
On July 17, 2014, New York City Police Department Officer Daniel Pantaleo grabbed Eric Garner, wrapped his arm around Garnerâs neck andâeven though the NYPD banned the use of choke holds in 1993âsqueezed. When Garner muttered, âI canât breathe,â Pantaleo still squeezed. Pantaleo continued to press Garnerâs face into the sidewalk as the victim repeatedly…
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Trump Gonâ Make Us Lose Our Minds
Maybe The Root is insane. Maybe all the newspapers, cable news shows and pundits that evenhandedly cover Donald Trump, constantly offering him the benefit of the doubt, are doing it right and we are doing it wrong. Perhaps we are the crazy ones for calling out the salmon-colored, sandpaper-faced president every time he sends a…
