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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: African-Americans

African-Americans stories: 46 news summaries

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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 Obama Honors Senate 
 Trailblazer Brooke 

Republican senator wins Congress' highest honor

Oct 29, 09 3:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hundreds of people packed into the Capitol Rotunda yesterday to honor Edward Brooke, the Massachusetts politician who in 1967 became the first black senator since Reconstruction. Now 90, Brooke was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the legislature's highest honor. Sitting to his right was another trailblazer—President Obama, who had... More »

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Barack Obama • Senate • Senate Republicans • Congressional Gold Medal • African-Americans • Edward Brooke • Congressional Republicans

(Newser) - Henry Louis Gates and Barack Obama have been “very publicly slapped down for speaking up and speaking out about police misbehavior,” but African-Americans “need to roar out their anger at such treatment,” Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times. Gates, not the officer who arrested... More »

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Barack Obama • racial profiling • police brutality • African-Americans • blacks • Henry Louis Gates Jr • Skip Gates

OPINION

Stimulus Cash Isn't Making
It to Hard-Hit Minorities

African-Americans, Hispanics pummeled by recession

Jul 15, 09 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - With unemployment at 14.7% among African Americans and 12.2% among Hispanics, the recession is hitting minority communities particularly hard. But as is often the case with so-called “colorblind” spending, stimulus funds, intended to be equal-opportunity, aren’t making it to these groups. The government must “start... More »

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recession • unemployment • cities • minorities • economic stimulus package • African-Americans • Hispanics • jobless • economic recovery

 US Gets Its 
 First Black 
 Female Rabbi 



'I will not be boxed in,' says newly ordained Stanton

Jun 16, 09 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Last week Alysa Stanton was ordained as a rabbi at the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati, one of the country's oldest synagogues, and a little history was made—the US had its first black female leader of a Jewish congregation. Stanton, born a Pentecostal Christian, converted in 1987, enduring hostility... More »

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Jews • religion • Judaism • Cincinnati • African-Americans • rabbi • blacks

 Time to Get Tough 
 on Obama, Say 
 Some Blacks 

Making 'history is not enough,' argue commentators

Apr 6, 09 10:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - He made history on January 20—but some black politicos say the honeymoon is over with President Obama, the Washington Post reports. Taking the president to task will ultimately help him lead, says talk show host Tavis Smiley. “History is not enough,” notes black media personality Jeff Johnson.... More »

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black community • African-Americans • President Obama

 Blacks Still Unequal 
 in US: Report 

African-Americans remain less employed, more often imprisoned than whites

Mar 25, 09 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Though a black family occupies the White House, inequality between African-Americans and whites persists in the US, a study by the Urban League says. Blacks are twice as likely to be jobless, three times more likely to be poor, six times more likely to have spent time in prison. A... More »

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race • African Americans • employment • black • African-American voters • African-Americans • incarceration

(Newser) - A Chicago family is trying to use its household spending to invest in the black community by buying exclusively from black-owned businesses for 1 year, the Tribune reports. The Andersons’ ambitious “Ebony Experiment” has them driving 14 miles for groceries (and farther for other stuff) and has earned hate... More »

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race • Chicago • African Americans • economics • business • black • experiments • African-Americans • Northwestern University

(Newser) - From churches to hair salons, Washington’s black institutions are gunning for the Obamas’ patronage, the Washington Post reports. Many in the largely black city feel a sense of camaraderie with the first couple—and know that making a connection with the town's hottest celebrities would be “a tremendous... More »

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Barack Obama • Michelle Obama • black community • Washington, DC • African-Americans • President Obama

Black Leaders Pin High Hopes on New AG

Civil rights advocates see opportunity for change under Holder

Feb 5, 09 9:23 AM CST
(Newser) - For decades, black men have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to execution at disproportionate rates. Now, with the appointment of the country's first African-American attorney general, black leaders are hoping Eric Holder will help the Justice Department reform what they see as a broken system. "The most important thing... More »

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Department of Justice • civil rights • racial profiling • prison population • attorney general • African-Americans • Eric Holder • Obama administration

Black-White Cancer Death Gap Persists

Colorectal disease rate falls overall, but racial disparity grows

Dec 15, 08 4:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Even as instances of colorectal cancer in the US decrease, the gap between whites and blacks is growing, new research shows. Black men and women are 45% more likely to die from the disease than whites, HealthDay reports. While rates are lower for both white and black men, the difference... More »

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colorectal cancer • cancer screening • cancer prevention • African-Americans • racial gap

GLOSSIES

 A Big Win for 
 Black Nerds  

Scorn for 'thinking they're white' long an obstacle

Nov 11, 08 3:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama provides a boost for black educational achievement that is much more powerful than any policy. His bookish example may throw a lifeline to black nerds who, scorned for "acting white," feel pressure to slack academically to stay cool, John McWhorter writes in New York. Research shows... More »

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education • Barack Obama • school • grades • nerdiness • African-Americans • President Obama

 Black Kids 
 Think Big 
 Thanks to 
 Obama 

New York's black children dream of becoming president

Nov 9, 08 3:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama made more than history when he won the election this week: He also inspired black school kids to believe they could do the same, the New York Daily News reports. "It means people can be anything they want," says 9-year-old Elijah Timmons, who sees himself... More »

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Barack Obama • race • New York • children • African-Americans • President Obama

Prop 8 Splits California's
Gays, Blacks

African-Americans argue gay marriage isn't a civil rights issue

Nov 8, 08 11:14 AM CST
(Newser) - California's narrowly passed ban on gay marriage has divided many of the state's gays and blacks on the issue, the Los Angeles Times reports. Exit polls show that black voters—who turned out in record numbers—backed the ban by around 70%, the biggest margin of any ethnic group. Some... More »

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gay rights • California • gay marriage • civil rights • Election 2008 • civil rights movement • African-Americans • Proposition 8

Influential Blacks Eye Fresh Opportunities

Obama backers stand to gain status in wake of historic victory

Nov 6, 08 9:58 AM CST
(Newser) - A circle of black power brokers who helped Barack Obama in his rise to the White House are ready to see their influence grow under his administration, Wall Street Journal reports. The close-knit group of fundraisers, execs, and Harvard grads believe their presidential connections will pay major dividends in the... More »

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Barack Obama • Valerie Jarrett • Election 2008 • African-Americans • Obama administration • President Obama

 On Film, a Black 
 President Is 
 Nothing New 

From 24 to The Fifth Element

Oct 27, 08 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - America may be on the verge of electing its first black president, but pop culture is way ahead of reality. James Earl Jones portrayed the first in The Man (1972), and several have followed. As an entertainment-obsessed nation, asks Slate, might these fictional forebears affect our perception of the real... More »

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Barack Obama • pop culture • president • America • racism • Dennis Haysbert • Election 2008 • African-Americans

 ATF Foils Skinhead 
 Plot to Kill Obama 

Tenn. neo-Nazis would have shot, decapitated 102 blacks before going after candidate

Oct 27, 08 5:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Federal agents have broken up a plot by two neo-Nazi skinheads to assassinate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 88 black people, the AP reports. ATF agents said the pair planned to rob a gun store and target a predominantly African-American high school in a murder spree that was to... More »

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Barack Obama • high school • ATF • Tennessee • shooting rampage • assassination attempt • Neo-Nazi • Election 2008 • African-Americans

Miss. McCains Descended From Plantation Slaves

Mississippi descendants of McCain family slaves plan to vote for Obama

Oct 17, 08 8:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The McCain family of Teoc, Miss., is watching this year's election with particular interest, the Wall Street Journal reports. The African-American clan is descended from plantation slaves owned by the family of John McCain's great-great-grandfather. The white and black McCains meet for regular family reunions, although the senator himself has... More »

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John McCain • slave • Mississippi • slavery • Election 2008 • African-Americans

Black Politicians' Rise
Signals Changing Electorate

More white voters may be growing comfortable with black officials

Oct 14, 08 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A change in the electorate may be under way as a growing number of blacks are winning local elections nationwide—more and more often across color lines, the New York Times reports. Some 16% of black legislators represented mainly white districts in 2001; by 2007, that figure had nearly doubled.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
race • candidate • electorate • white voters • African-Americans

New HIV Study Shows Disease Accelerating

CDC finds 40% more cases than thought; blacks' rate alarming

Sep 12, 08 7:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new CDC study of Americans with HIV conducted with new technology shows that the virus is spreading faster than previously thought, reports the New York Times. In 2006, more than 56,000 were newly infected with the virus that causes AIDS—40% more than anticipated. The study also showed... More »

MORE ABOUT:
AIDS • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • HIV • public health • infection • STD • HIV/AIDS • African-Americans • white people

 Rice Laments 
 Lack of Black 
 Diplomats 

Calls shortage of African-Americans 'unacceptable'

Sep 9, 08 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice may be the second African American to become secretary of state, but she remains unimpressed by the number of blacks in the foreign service. "I can go into a whole day of meetings at the Department of State and actually rarely see somebody who looks like me.... More »

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Condoleezza Rice • State Department • colleges and universities • African-Americans

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


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