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Why Were My Freedmen Ancestors Split Between Tribes?
Dear Professor Gates: My ancestor Billy Postoak (aka Taylor and possibly Perryman) was born about 1820 in Alabama and was a slave of Taylor Postoak (Creek Indian). He married a Lizzie Smith and they had a son named Isaac Nivens (born about 1840-1842) in Alabama. A slave schedule shows Isaac was a slave of Cherokee…
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Talladega College Marching Band Must Walk Away From Habanero Hitler’s Inauguration
In the wake of harsh criticism from alumni and across social media, Talladega College President Billy C. Hawkins was at one point “still weighing his options” with respect to accepting the invitation for the school’s marching band to take part in President-Elect Donald Trump’s inaugural parade. It appears that the weight crashed on the racist…
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Ex-Coach Bobby Bowden Is an Old-School Racist Who Doesn’t Think He’s Racist
Former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden strikes me as one of those Southern racists who are so racist, they don’t truthfully believe that they’re racist. The kind of racists who will pat a black man on the head or call his closest black male friend “boy”—you know, a Paula Deen-style racist. During media…
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Duke Guard Grayson Allen Is a Thug, and His Indefinite Suspension Was a Joke
Duke guard Grayson Allen is a thug. He’s a full-fledged habitual thug who happens to be good at basketball. He’s also a temperamental, whiny brat, but make no mistake about it, he’s a thug. Mainstream media has been reluctant to call him that, and the handling of his on-court violence has been a joke, by…
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Black Fashion Designers Get Some Long-Overdue Love in New Exhibit
Black style is so prominent that the first word of the couplet is practically unnecessary; very little that’s stylish doesn’t have some black antecedent. On the other hand, black fashion designers? They are some of the other hidden figures on the cultural landscape. That’s what makes “Black Fashion Designers,” the exhibit that runs until May…
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Will Megyn Kelly Be Less Racist Now That She’s on NBC?
If one were in need of confirmation that you, too, can get away with Bill O’Reilly’s type of racism so long as you’re a pretty, blond white woman, look no further than the news that Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox News for NBC. According to reports, Kelly will host her own daytime talk show and…
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When Dabbing Goes Wrong: Lawmaker’s Son Gets Punished for Dabbing in Photo
Somehow, all of this, this great big dabbing debacle, is all Cam Newton’s fault. That’s because the reigning NFL MVP made dabbing a thing for white kids all across the country by making this his end zone dance. Truthfully, I just don’t like the fact that Newton has declared “All Lives Matter,” and I will…
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6 NAACP Members Arrested in Protest of Jeff Sessions Bid for US Attorney General
Six NAACP members were arrested late Tuesday at Sen. Jeff Sessions’ Mobile, Ala., office ending a sit-in to protest the nomination of Sessions (R-Ala.) as U.S. attorney general. According to CNN, five men and one woman, including NAACP President Cornell W. Brooks, were arrested and charged with criminal trespass in the second degree. The protesters…
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How JaVale McGee's Terrible Haircut Got Shaq Compared to a Minstrel Act
At this point, Golden State Warriors reserve center JaVale McGee doesn’t find it funny. In fact, McGee believes that the jokes about him stopped being funny long ago. Sure, McGee seems spaced out a lot of the time. You can see a montage of McVale’s greatest moments below: But he’s tired of being the butt…
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You Called Out The Root, Umar Johnson, and You Played Yourself; Here’s Why
Umar Johnson, aka the Prince of Pan-Africanism, has said our name. In his last posting from a hotel room somewhere in the continental United States, a much more subdued and skullcap-less Johnson has apologized for his behavior and profanity-laced tirade to everyone but black media and, more specifically, The Root. According to Johnson, black media…
