African Americans

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ATF Foils Skinhead Plot to Kill Obama

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

(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...

Race? Only Thing Obama Transcends Is Logic

Instead of putting conflict behind us, Dem's crowd perceives insult just about everywhere

(Newser) - Barack Obama is allegedly helping America “transcend race,” Jonah Goldberg writes in the National Review, but if moving beyond race “would involve making race less of an issue,” why are Obama’s fervent supporters obsessed with bringing it up? One columnist sees racism in descriptions of...

A Black President Will Boost Brand USA
 A Black President 
 Will Boost Brand USA 
OPINION

A Black President Will Boost Brand USA

Electing Obama will replace America's battered image with one of equality

(Newser) - Skin color is no reason to vote for anybody, Nick Kristof writes in the New York Times, but there's no denying that electing a black president would give America's image abroad a much-needed boost—"redefining the American 'brand' to be less about Guantánamo and more about equality."...

Miss. McCains Descended From Plantation Slaves

Mississippi descendants of McCain family slaves plan to vote for Obama

(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...

Black Politicians' Rise Signals Changing Electorate

More white voters may be growing comfortable with black officials

(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....

'Bradley Effect' Is Overblown, But Obama Can't Ignore It

Racism will play a factor, but might not boil down to simple dishonesty

(Newser) - Much has been made of the so-called Bradley effect in this year's election—the propensity of white voters to tell pollsters they've got no problem voting for a black candidate but to change their tune in the privacy of the voting booth. Patt Morrison cautions in the Los Angeles Times...

Thicke's Blue-Eyed Soul Hits Big Across Racial Divide

Hollywood-raised Canadian R&B star proud his fans are 'mostly grown black women'

(Newser) - In a society that says white men can't dance, Robin Thicke has surmounted the race barrier: His single, Lost Without U, topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for 11 weeks last year, outperforming songs by Beyonce, Usher, and Alicia Keys. "Eighty or 90% of my fans are...

Obama May Get Out the Anti-Gay Marriage Vote

Obama candidacy may bring out conservative black vote on Prop. 8

(Newser) - Black voters energized by Barack Obama’s candidacy may also support a Californian ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage, the New York Times reports, though Obama himself opposes the ban. Opponents and supporters of Proposition 8 say African Americans will play a crucial role, and each side is trying to...

New HIV Study Shows Disease Accelerating

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

(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...

Rice Laments Lack of Black Diplomats

Calls shortage of African-Americans 'unacceptable'

(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....

Detroit Mess May Hurt Obama
 Detroit Mess May Hurt Obama 
ANALYSIS

Detroit Mess May Hurt Obama

In battleground Michigan, GOP seizing on Dem's support of ousted Detroit mayor

(Newser) - The fall of Kwame Kilpatrick could hurt Barack Obama’s chances in all-important Michigan, writes Keith Naughton for Newsweek. Long before the scandal broke, Obama embraced Kilpatrick at a Detroit event and told a crowd the “great” mayor would do “astounding things for many years to come”—...

Prof Rips UCLA for 'Illegal' Race Admissions

School denies 'coverup' over rising number of black students

(Newser) - A UCLA professor is accusing the school of admitting students based on race even though the practice remains illegal in California, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tim Groseclose resigned this week from an admissions committee and posted an 89-page report online accusing the university of a "coverup." "...

Black Museums Fight for Funding
 Black Museums 
 Fight for Funding 
GLOSSIES

Black Museums Fight for Funding

Economy, depressing subject matter are issues; others cite little tradition in community

(Newser) - As Barack Obama’s fundraisers pull in huge sums of money for his historic candidacy, African-American museums across the country are struggling for cash and visitors, Portfolio reports. Part of the problem may be the flagging economy, but for the likes of the National Slavery Museum, the subject matter can...

Top Black Donors Emerge as New Force

Business leaders see parallel of their own rise in Obama

(Newser) - Barack Obama's rise to the top of the Democratic Party has a special resonance for one group: African-American business leaders who, like the candidate, were among the first blacks to enter into all-white industries. As the New York Times reports, black lawyers, bankers, and corporate titans see in Obama an...

Yeah, She Made History—What About the Guy Who Won?

DNC skirts around Obama's breakthrough

(Newser) - Last night's Hillaryfest was the culmination of a months-long homage to the New York senator's "historic" achievement of almost winning a major party's presidential nomination. But it's odd, notes Alessandra Stanley, that while an "also-ran" has made her candidacy a milestone, there's been little mention of the "...

Jesse Jackson Jr.: Obama's Like Jackie Robinson

Candidate has to endure jeers with a smile, can't strike back

(Newser) - Barack Obama is like Jackie Robinson: he’s got to perform despite racist taunts, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the civil-rights leader, said during a Politico-sponsored panel discussion today ahead of the Democratic convention. Like the baseball pioneer, Obama “has to keep smiling,” in the face of...

It's Not Race That's Holding Him Back
 It's Not Race That's
 Holding Him Back 
OPINION

It's Not Race That's Holding Him Back

Blaming white voters will only be counterproductive, says Bai

(Newser) - Barack Obama goes into this week's convention in Denver with only the slimmest of leads—or, as some polls suggest, trailing John McCain. In a year when it's widely assumed that any Democratic candidate should be a shoo-in, many in the press have suggested that Obama's race is costing him...

Some Blacks Think Obama Could Threaten Progress

Experts fear success could close discussion

(Newser) - Despite being a landmark in black American history, Barack Obama’s pending nomination could stall civil rights progress, some blacks say, because his success could fuel an argument that racial divisions have been healed, the New York Times reports. The danger is “that we declare victory,” a sociologist...

Obama's Run Forces Debate on Black Identity

Candidacy highlights growing divides in black America

(Newser) - Barack Obama's candidacy has drawn overwhelming support from the black community but also sparked debate on how much of a community it really is. The Wall Street Journal examines how Obama's international and biracial heritage highlights the growing diversity of black America, and some of the tensions this has created.

Trouble the Water Vividly Mixes Katrina, Race
Trouble the Water Vividly Mixes Katrina, Race
OPINION

Trouble the Water Vividly Mixes Katrina, Race

Documentary traces one couple's story through New Orleans disaster

(Newser) - Trouble the Water, a new documentary, is ostensibly about Hurricane Katrina, centered around home-video footage shot during the disaster by a resident of New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. But the film, which frames Kimberly Roberts’ footage within a larger context, transcends that one event to put forth a peerless discussion of...

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