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The Ladies of SWV Will Have You 'Weak' With This Black-Ass Interview
There are three types of people in this world:
Those who like flatsThose who enjoy drumsThose who don’t know we’re talking about chickenAnd one member of the Grammy-nominated group SWV fall into each of these categories.
In the latest installment of “Black Ass Game Show,” the R&B legends share their preferences between box braids and finger waves, Biggie and Tupac, and a whole lot of blackness...
Director Steve McQueen’s Art Project Offers a Haunting Look at the FBI Surveillance of Paul Robeson
When director Steve McQueen was 14, a neighbor introduced him to the work of Paul Robeson. McQueen was initially intrigued by the legendary performer and activist’s commanding presence, and he began to research his career. He, like many others who have studied Robeson, was amazed. Of the level of inspiration, he said that “it was a like a whale rising from the sea.”
McQueen went on to pursue a...
Black Voters Matter
Editor’s note: In the third installment of the four-part series After the Fire, The Root looks at how the social-justice movement—on- and offline—is influencing the presidential race for 2016. Did your candidate say, “Black lives matter”? After the Fire was reported and written by Associate Editor Danielle C. Belton. Illustration by Jada Prather. Read Part 1 and Part 2 .
Black people have the...
10 Things Afro-Brazilians Want You to Know
Back in 2002, according to the Estado do S. Paulo newspaper, former U.S. President George W. Bush reportedly asked Fernando Henrique Cardoso, then-president of Brazil, "Does Brazil have blacks, too?"
For Brazilians, this statement showed a stunning ignorance of the country, which is the fifth largest in the world and is one of the seven-largest economies. But ignorance about Afro-Brazilians...
Sisters of Comedy Is Proof That Black Women Need Entertainment That Truly Represents Us
Laughter has healing power. And with the violent climate plaguing not only our own country but the entire world, it’s obvious that we need healing right now. That’s where activist, writer and filmmaker Agunda Okeyo comes in. She understands that joy battles pain, and so she’s married her love of activism with dynamic black comediennes to create Sisters of Comedy.
“We are in a very dark time as...
Unique Views, Episode 31: 10 Minutes With Loretta Devine on a Shaky Cellphone
When we tell y’all that we are trying, I don’t think y’all understand what that really means. This podcast is held together with shoestring and bubblegum. It’s not a joke when we call ourselves the Sanford and Son of podcasts, and as Ms. Patti LaDanielle, aka The Root’s social-content producer, Danielle Young, told me, “Yeah, but Fred still made dinner for Lamont.” The point is, just like...
It’s Time to Admit It: The Police Are Racist
While the Internet was once again awash in what seems like its semimonthly outrage over cellphone footage of a police officer abusing another unarmed person of color, the New York Times published a story that was far more frustrating and scream-about-able. Selecting Greensboro, N.C.—because of the state’s detailed traffic-stop data collection—the article documented a systemized history of...
Andrea Lewis, Former Degrassi Star, Announces Women's #EmpowermentWknd
Andrea Lewis, former star of the tween classic drama Degrassi, is developing a Women’s Empowerment Weekend. Lewis, most notable for her role as Hazel, or Wheelchair Jimmy's Drake's ex-girlfriend on the hit show, will launch the inaugural Women’s Empowerment Weekend on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District.
Day 1 of the two-part weekend event features a panel discussion...
The Vilification of Marilyn Mosby
Just last week, the right-wing Media Research Center’s annual black-tie gala honored the three arresting officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray .
Officers Brian Rice, Edward Nero and Garrett Miller received standing ovations and "deafening cheers" while they explained how they have to deal with a hostile public that is down on cops in the aftermath of their trials and Baltimore City...
BET Honors 2016, a Celebration of Black Excellence: Lee Daniels, Patti LaBelle, Eric Holder Jr. and More
On Saturday, some of the biggest names in entertainment, business and politics gathered together in Washington, D.C., at the Warner Theatre to honor black excellence at the BET Honors 2016. The initial taping, which was scheduled in February for Black History Month, was postponed because of weather, but the makeup date was every bit as fabulous.
Funny man Arsenio Hall kept the jokes rolling...
When You’re Biracial, There’s No ‘Choice’ in the Matter of Your Blackness
It’s safe to wager that when well-meaning black actor Taye Diggs took a recent dip into controversy over his biracial son’s identity, there was no less than white former Mrs. Taye Diggs putting on the pressure in the background: “Hey, I’m here. White mom. Don’t forget about me.” And who knows? Taut playpen discussions might have taken an interesting turn. Somewhat understandably, but too...
Zootopia: Yes, Disney Made a Movie About White Supremacy and the War on Drugs
Last week Zootopia, the 55th animated Disney film, debuted in theaters to critical appraise and a huge box office. The previous 54 were mostly about either plucky young girls or talking animals, and Zootopia is no different in that regard, except this time it’s a plucky young girl who happens to be a talking animal.
And yet Zootopia is nothing like any Disney animated movie you’ve ever seen....
Black Women, Welcome to Your Breakdown
Author Benilde Little wants black women to know it’s OK. It’s OK to let go. It’s OK to cry. It’s OK to break down.
In fact, in her new memoir, Welcome to My Breakdown , she welcomes black women doing so, becoming vulnerable and confronting their pain.
In Breakdown, Little recounts her life as someone whom her mother described as one who “feels too much.” After her parents became older and...
More Than Microaggression: The Danger of White Obliviousness
I recently accompanied an artist friend to an out-of-town festival where he was exhibiting. As a photographer, he’s generally in the minority at these events; as a black man whose passion is creating narrative portraits of black and brown people, even more so.
For this particular show, he confessed that he’d had to carefully curate his work. Because of the festival jury’s preferences, he’d...
As Summer Ends, Tensions Remain High Between Black Community and Police
The third summer of our discontent is almost over.
The latest tensions started in Ferguson, Mo., two years ago; then came Baltimore last year, with Milwaukee the latest city to erupt in protests and upheaval as tensions continue to run high across the nation between law enforcement and black Americans living in some of the nation’s most racially segregated and poverty-stricken...
The Black Panthers and the Rise of Revolutionary Culture
Long before Black Lives Matter became a rallying cry for justice, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was demanding a similar call to action with “All power to the people.” The new documentary Black Panthers: Vanguard of a Revolution reminds us that unfortunately, so much has not changed over the years.
The revolutionary organization was founded, in part, to fight police brutality and...
3 Reasons Why It’s Dumb to Say That Black Mizzou Students Should Have Gone to HBCUs
In the wake of recent events at the University of Missouri, a troubling trend has emerged on social media. A number of black folks have decided that now is an appropriate time to openly question the college choices of the black students who enrolled at Mizzou, as well as other blacks who attend predominantly white institutions for school rather than...
For Black Scholars at PWIs, Speaking Truth to Power on Social Media Can Be ‘Professional Suicide’
African-American scholars at predominantly white institutions are faced with a challenge that resonates from the streets of Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Tiptoe lightly around white supremacy or face consequences.
Saida Grundy, an incoming associate professor of sociology and African-American studies at Boston University, faced swift condemnation this...
Black America Knows What Real Patriotism Looks Like
It used to happen every Fourth of July.
Our homeowners association would place little, cheap American flags on each lawn, and every year, ours ended up in the trash. Every. Year. My parents—born in America, raised in America, the only country they’ve ever known and will know, who had no desire to leave and will die here—were only outwardly patriotic about once every four years, when the...
