JESSE WASHINGTON

AP National Writer
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Food stamp families to critics: Walk in our shoes

Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic, young and old, homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They're all on food stamps.

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Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check `Asian'

Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.

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In New York, ambivalence over Muslim surveillance

Vicki Grouzis shook her head in disbelief. Police are watching Arabs and Muslims in New York City? Often with no evidence of wrongdoing?

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Declining numbers of blacks seen in math, science

With black unemployment reaching historic levels, banks laying off tens of thousands and law school graduates waiting tables, why aren't more African-Americans looking toward science, technology, engineering and math — the still-hiring careers known as STEM?

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Analysis: Obama carves new chapter in King legacy

Standing beneath the looming presence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Barack Obama carved out his own version of black leadership with a message of racial unity.

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UK violence raises questions about American unrest

A black man killed by police. Mobs of looters. Cities charred and shaken. The riots in London mirror some of the worst uprisings in modern U.S. history.

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'Christian terrorist'? Norway case strikes debate

When the "enemy" is different, an outsider, it's easier to draw quick conclusions, to develop stereotypes. It's simply human nature: There is "us," and there is "them." But what happens when the enemy looks like us — from the same tradition and belief system?

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Smiley and West take Obama critique on the road

Black activists Cornel West and Tavis Smiley are planning a 15-city "Poverty Tour" to bring attention to the needy and to what they say are the failings of President Barack Obama.

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Black economic gains reversed in Great Recession

Growing up black in the segregated 1960s, Deborah Goldring slept two to a bed, got evicted from apartment after apartment, and watched her stepfather climb utility poles to turn their disconnected lights back on. Yet Goldring pulled herself out of poverty and earned a middle-class life — until the Great Recession.

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High school play seizes power from the N-word

No way, Larry Ward thought to himself, emotions boiling. There's no way my grandson should have anything to do with that word.

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NAACP joins with Gingrich in urging prison reform

The NAACP is joining Newt Gingrich in calling for a reduction in the number of state and federal prisoners and spending the savings on education.

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Obama carefully courts black votes with Sharpton

He avoids race, so the story goes. He can't afford to alienate white voters, black people will vote for him again anyway, so he has little to gain by approaching such a volatile subject.

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'Uncle Tom' remark exposes pain in black community

Jalen Rose grew up poor in Detroit, the son of a single mom and an NBA player he never met. He helped transform basketball culture as a member of Michigan's iconic Fab Five team, then earned more than $100 million as a pro baller.

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Washington: the 'blackest name' in America

George Washington's name is inseparable from America, and not only from the nation's history. It identifies countless streets, buildings, mountains, bridges, monuments, cities — and people.

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For minorities, new 'digital divide' seen

When the personal computer revolution began decades ago, Latinos and blacks were much less likely to use one of the marvelous new machines. Then, when the Internet began to change life as we know it, these groups had less access to the Web and slower online connections — placing them on the wrong side of the "digital divide."

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For minorities, new 'digital divide' seen

When the personal computer revolution began decades ago, Latinos and blacks were much less likely to use one of the marvelous new machines. Then, when the Internet began to change life as we know it, these groups had less access to the Web and slower online connections — placing them on the wrong side of the "digital divide."

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Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate

One recent day at Dr. Natalie Carroll's OB-GYN practice, located inside a low-income apartment complex tucked between a gas station and a freeway, 12 pregnant black women come for consultations. Some bring their children or their mothers. Only one brings a husband.

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Latinos, blacks ride GOP wave to major wins

Republican Hispanic lawmakers had a groundbreaking year in the 2010 midterm elections, picking up two governor posts — the first ever for a Latina — while holding onto a U.S. Senate seat and adding several congressional seats.

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Racist messages pose quandary for mainstream sites

Although you rarely hear racial insults on Main Street these days, there's a place where unashamed bigotry is all too easy to find: tossed off in the comments sections of some of the Internet's most popular websites, today's virtual Main Street.

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Racial violence changes student — and school

Duong Nghe Ly can't wait to begin his senior year at South Philadelphia High School. A day of violence there last year changed his life, and he wants to learn if his school has been transformed as well.

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Black racism: a real problem, or pure politics?

Is black racism a real problem? Or is it pure politics?

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Record number of Indian-Americans seeking office

Meet Reshma, Surya, Manan, Raj, Ami, Ravi, Nimrata and Kamala — a new wave of Indian-American politicians.

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Record number of Indian-Americans seeking office

Meet Reshma, Surya, Manan, Raj, Ami, Ravi, Nimrata and Kamala — a new wave of Indian-American politicians. At least eight children of Indian immigrants are running for Congress or statewide office, the most ever. The star of this trend is Nikki Haley, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, who is favored to win the election for governor of South Carolina.

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Asian judge nominee shows community's progress

When Wendy Chang told her parents she wanted to become a lawyer, they were not enthused.

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The assimilated terrorist: An outsider no longer

He was an American citizen with a three-bedroom suburban home, a wife and two kids. He shopped at Macy's and ate Oreos. His picture was on Facebook. He had an MBA and a job as a financial analyst. His wife liked to watch "Friends." And then, authorities contend, Faisal Shahzad tried to set off a bomb in Times Square.

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