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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: black

black stories: 18 news summaries

 French Vogue 
 'Black Face' 
 Sparks Row 

October edition triggers debate on racism

Oct 14, 09 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Dutch model painted black from face to toe in French Vogue has triggered angry charges of racism. The photos of model Lara Stone, taken by US photographer Steven Klein, are part of the magazine's October issue honoring models and photo shoots through history. What French Vogue and the photographer... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fashion • racism • model • Vogue • black • photographers • blackface • French Vogue • Lara Stone • Steven Klein

White Philly Cop Busted Down to Desk for Cornrows

Hair didn't look 'professional,' though several black officers wear cornrows

Sep 22, 09 5:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - A white Philadelphia police officer with cornrows was ordered by a black superior to cut his hair and was temporarily busted down to desk duty because of the braids, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. Thomas Strain was ordered to cut his hair to look more "professional," even though... More »

MORE ABOUT:
discrimination • Philadelphia • discipline • black • police state • white men • cornrows • police officer

OPINION

 With Race in Play, 
 Obama's White 
 Support Softens 

Poll numbers plummeted amid Sotomayor, Gates controversies

Sep 14, 09 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s downward opinion-poll trajectory among whites seems to be linked to the “blackening” of his image, writes Joan Walsh in Salon. It accelerated during two racially charged moments this summer: Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, marked with debate over her “wise Latina” comment,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
race • politics • Joan Walsh • poll • racism • black • US Supreme Court • approval ratings • white voters • opinion polls • Obama administration • President Obama • Sonia Sotomayor • Henry Louis Gates Jr

 How the Little Black Dress 
 Got to Be Black, and Little 

Coco Chanel didn't create, just popularized

Jun 22, 09 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The ubiquitous little black dress can be the foundation of a recession-friendly wardrobe. But Coco Chanel—widely credited with inventing the LBD—actually just brought it from strict and severe to chic and sophisticated. Double X explores the history of this staple in women’s closets:
  • Centuries ago, black
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • fashion • black • Chanel • fashion industry • Jay-ZTV • designer fashion

High Court Pick's Gender, Race Not an Issue: Poll

Proportion wanting female appointee shrinks from 2005

May 13, 09 12:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Americans don’t feel strongly that the next Supreme Court appointee should be a woman, Hispanic, or black, Gallup Poll results suggest: most say it’s a non-issue. Some 64% say it “doesn’t matter” whether the appointee is a woman; 68% say it doesn’t matter whether he... More »

MORE ABOUT:
minority • female • black • diversity • Hispanic • US Supreme Court • David Souter • President Obama • presidential appointment

(Newser) - A British milk ad showing an angry black-spotted bull "purifying" himself white is racist, consumers are bellowing—charges a UK advertising council has labeled bull. "Viewers were likely to understand that the black-and-white bulls were intended as a metaphor for milk and were unlikely to interpret the purification... More »

MORE ABOUT:
milk • cows • racism • bulls • black • advertisements • racist • television advertising • tainted milk

 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 »

MORE ABOUT:
race • African Americans • employment • black • African-American voters • African-Americans • incarceration

(AP) - The Supreme Court ruled today that a part of the Voting Rights Act aimed at helping minorities elect their preferred candidates only applies in electoral districts where minorities make up more than half the population, the AP reports. The decision could make it harder for some minority candidates to win... More »

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • North Carolina • voting • Voting Rights Act • black • US Supreme Court • Scotus

(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 »

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

opinion

From Hair to Eternity: Michelle's Black 'Do Puzzle

Letting hair go 'natural' could be first lady's most political move

Feb 5, 09 2:24 PM CST
(Newser) - With fashion mags touting makeovers monthly, will Michelle Obama change her signature look? The first lady’s straight locks are “already starting to look locked in, like armor,” Erin Aubry Kaplan writes for Salon, but a new ‘do is a risky endeavor for a black woman: “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • Michelle Obama • White House • hair • black • first lady

opinion

 Well Played, Blago 

'Skin pigment trumps ideas' among Dems: Kass

Dec 31, 08 7:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Roland Burris says this is his media moment, but Illinois' "circus of the politically bizarre" still belongs to Rod Blagojevich, John Kass writes in the Chicago Tribune. No hapless jester, the brazenly calculated governor has dumped Democrats back into the racial politics Obama was supposed to transcend. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • race • African Americans • Senate • corruption • Illinois • black • governor • Rod Blagojevich • Roland Burris

OPINION

 Fellow Black Woman 
 Hails Michelle's Butt 

Obama's 'statuesque' figure celebrates a long 'vilified' feature

Nov 18, 08 4:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Among the top qualities Michelle Obama brings to the White House is a “class-A boo-tay,” Erin Aubry Kaplan writes in Salon, hailing an era in which black women (like herself) no longer have to cover up their, er, assets. Too occupied with her words during the campaign, Kaplan... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fashion • African Americans • Michelle Obama • beauty • black • President Obama

Obama Brings Radical Change
—for Black Comedians

Hope infuses acts built on raging at system

Nov 10, 08 2:41 PM CST
(Newser) - The 2008 election was a game-changer for many facets of US society, and not least for black comedians, the LA Times reports. Many have made careers out of lampooning and railing against a system that seems stacked against them. “Now, there’s this self-made black man, and they don’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • race relations • black community • black • comedian • President Obama

ANALYSIS

Race Scholars Weigh Job Woes —Their Own

Obama win could make field inconsequential, or more vital than ever

Aug 14, 08 12:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama's historic run for the White House is dividing scholars of race in America, writes Jonathan Tilove, who covers race for Newhouse News Service. Some see a black president as an antidote to racism, but others view a potential Obama presidency as an empty symbol with few practical implications.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • race • scholarship • black • Election 2008

Analysis

Obama Treads Lightly
on Issue of Race

Democrats try to avoid race war with McCain

Aug 2, 08 2:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Race has once again crept into the presidential race this week, and Barack Obama did his best to ignore it, the New York Times reports. John McCain’s campaign accused Obama of “playing the race card…from the bottom of the deck” when the Dem said McCain might... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • race relations • black community • Obama 2008 • black • the race card

OPINION

What Makes a Black Sellout?

New book defends Clarence Thomas, complicates race debate: Salon

Jan 21, 08 8:59 PM CST
(Newser) - A black intellectual's new book, Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal, goes easy on Clarence Thomas for dissing the very affirmative action that helped him succeed, Salon's James Hannaham writes. Does that make Sellout author Randall Kennedy a sellout? Maybe Kennedy is able to do what free-thinking blacks must: "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
race • African Americans • affirmative action • black • Clarence Thomas • orthodoxy • selling out

Really Black Is the New Black

Scientists create darkest black ever, and it may have practical uses

Jan 16, 08 9:29 AM CST
(Newser) - What's the blackest thing you can think of? If you said a carpet of carbon nanotubes, you probably work with a Rice University team of scientists whose current project is "pushing the limit of how much light can be absorbed into one material." Their new material could lead... More »

MORE ABOUT:
black • carbon nanotubes • Pulickel Ajayan • Rice University • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute • stealth

Number of
Black Recruits Plummets

Job market, family pressure contribute
to 38% decline

Jun 25, 07 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - The number of blacks signing up for the military has dropped 38% since the beginning of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, reports the AP. The number of new active-duty and reserve recruits fell from 51,500 in 2001 to less than 32,000 in 2006, reflecting both greater job opportunities... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • military • African Americans • recruits • Iraq death toll • US troops • black community • black • Iraq war

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