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NEWS ABOUT: African Americans

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Falling From Favor: The Term 'African American'

Changing tastes have many preferring 'black'—or just 'American'

(Newser) - African Americans are increasingly shunning, well, the very term "African American," with many just preferring "black" amid increasingly complex origins and loyalties, reports the AP . "African American" rose to popularity in the 1980s, thanks in large part of Jesse Jackson's 1988 run for the presidency,... More »

All-White Urban Neighborhoods 'Effectively Extinct'

But Manhattan Institute report finds that racial inequality persists

(Newser) - As America prepares to celebrate Black History Month, revelations both encouraging and discouraging from the Manhattan Institute: A report released yesterday finds that the segregation of blacks in America's cities has hit its lowest point since 1910, thanks in part to the rise of black suburbanization, changes in the... More »

Best Black President? Still Might Be Clinton

Obama has work to do to take that title: L. Douglas Wilder

(Newser) - When Bill Clinton got tagged as the nation's "first black president," L. Douglas Wilder—the first black governor of Virginia—never quite bought it. When Barack Obama got elected, Wilder figured the US finally had the real deal. Three years in, however, Wilder isn't so sure... More »

Black Atheists Dare to 'Come Out'

But face ostracism in highly religious community

(Newser) - African American atheism is not exactly a time-worn tradition. It's so rare, in fact, that black atheists risk losing friends and family, and having a much smaller pool of potential life partners, if they dare speak up, the New York Times reports. Washington resident Ronnelle Adams first told his... More »

Glenn Beck: Let's Go Back to 'Colored'

'African Americans should be proud to be just American,' he says

(Newser) - Glenn Beck thinks it's time to ditch "African American" and go back to using "black" or even "colored," or so he said on his radio program earlier this week, reports the Cleveland Leader . "Didn't you feel ridiculously stupid everywhere in Africa, in Europe,... More »

Breastfeeding Reduces Black Women's Cancer Risk

It might counteract susceptibility to specific form of breast cancer: Study

(Newser) - If you’re a black woman with plans to have a lot of kids, you might want to breastfeed them. Why? Because African-American women are especially susceptible to a specific form of breast cancer that isn’t linked to estrogen or progesterone levels—unless, a new study suggests, they breastfeed.... More »

Black Northerners Migrating South in Record Numbers

More opportunity and a spiritual return among main reasons

(Newser) - The Great Migration may have come full circle. African-Americans are leaving large cities in the East and Midwest and moving to the South in the greatest numbers in decades, say demographers. Black New Yorkers especially have taken to the South—more than half of those who left the state in... More »

Unemployment Rate for African-Americans: 16.2%

It's even higher for black males, black teens

(Newser) - CBS News reports on the jobless rate for African-Americans, and the figures aren't pretty: While the national unemployment rate hovers around 9.1%, for blacks it stands at 16.2%. For black males the rate is even higher, at 17.5%. Things get even worse in NYC, where... More »

Dear Muslims: 'I’m Sorry'

American should be ashamed of anti-Muslim extremism

(Newser) - America has learned better than to make sweeping statements about Jewish people, Japanese Americans, and African Americans, so why, asks Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times , in the 21ist century is it OK to equate Muslims with terrorism? It's not, he says. Those who follow Islam are not a... More »

DEA Seeks Ebonics Experts

Justice requests linguists to 'translate' wiretaps

(Newser) - Fluent in Ebonics? The Justice Department may have a job for you. It put out a call for 2,100 linguists fluent in 114 languages in May, and plans to hire up to nine Ebonics specialists to help the DEA's Atlanta field division catch drug traffickers. They'll "translate" wiretaps... More »

Derby's Forgotten Legacy: Black Jockeys

They once ruled the sport, until Jim Crow came along

(Newser) - When the Kentucky Derby gets under way today, not one black jockey will be in the race. Which isn't exactly news. But consider this: For the first Derby, in 1875, 13 of the 15 jockeys were black. In fact, black jockeys—the first were slaves—thoroughly dominated the sport through... More »

Steele: Blacks Have No Reason to Vote Republican

'We haven't done a very good job of giving you one'

(Newser) - Maybe someone should explain Michael Steele's job to him. In an event at DePaul University Tuesday, the RNC Chairman was asked why African-Americans should vote for Republicans. “You really don't have a reason, to be honest,” he replied, according to Politico . “We haven't done a very good... More »

Black Tea Partiers Take Heat

Talk about a minority

(AP) - Black conservatives are used to having to defend their values, but they now are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white "tea party" movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of America's first black president. "I've been told I hate myself,"... More »

Obama to Meet With Black Church Leaders

White House meeting comes amid criticism from African Americans

(Newser) - Barack Obama will meet with about 20 black religious leaders at the White House today, following a broader Easter prayer breakfast, in his latest attempt to reach out to the African-American community. Criticism of Obama within those ranks heated up last month, the Washington Post notes, but a White House... More »

For Census Purposes, Obama's African-American

In response to question about race, president checks one box

(Newser) - When he filled out his census form yesterday, President Obama identified himself as African-American. The son of a black Kenyan and a white Kansan, Obama had the option to check more than one box. He didn't hesitate before choosing "Black, African Am., or Negro," White House press secretary... More »

Catholics Push Sainthood for First Black US Priest

Rev. Augustus Tolton led Chicago mission

(Newser) - Chicago’s Roman Catholic leader is making a case that the faith’s first known black priest in the US should be made a saint, with Cardinal Francis George today asking a commission to bring the Vatican evidence of the “heroic virtues” of the Rev. Augustus Tolton. Tolton, the... More »

Meet Al Sharpton, Obama Booster, White House Insider

Formerly combative Rev. now key Obama ally on black issues

(Newser) - The Rev. Al Sharpton used to be one of the prime—and most belligerent—practitioners of the “protest politics” black activists used to get the ear of politicians, but times have changed, and he is now officially an Obama administration insider. The Rev. meets often at the White House,... More »

Arizona Rep.: Blacks Better Off as Slaves

Current policy killing community, GOP's Trent Franks says

(Newser) - Asked today by a conservative blogger about the role of race in the hyper-partisan, talk-radio-addled atmosphere in Washington, Republican Rep. Trent Franks took the opportunity to say that he thinks African Americans were better off under slavery. Go here for the full interview. Some excerpts: More »

American Shani Davis Takes Speedskating Gold

Turin winner defends his title in 1,000 meters

(AP) - Shani Davis won his second consecutive gold medal in men's 1,000-meter speedskating tonight at the Vancouver Olympics. Davis, 27, defended the title he won 4 years ago in Turin, when he became the first African-American to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Games. Mo Tae-bum of South... More »

Michael Steele Suggests Racism Fuels His Critics

'Is it because a black man is chairman?'

(Newser) - Michael Steele suggests his race has something to do with the knocks he's taken since becoming chairman of the RNC in an interview with Washingtonian magazine. The interview isn't online yet, but Greg Sargent of Plum Line has an early peek: Steele acknowledges that he can "take things too... More »

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