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The (Not So) New World Order
Yinka Shonibare MBE’s career retrospective at the Smithsonian just goes to show how strange things get when the empire strikes black.
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Maybe Your Great-Grandmother Really Was Cherokee
A new exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian traces black-Native American relations from the 1500s to the present.
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Is the USDA Still the Last Plantation?
During the Bush administration, 13,999 racial discrimination cases were swept under the rug at the Agriculture Department. What will Secretary Tom Vilsack do about it?
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Rakim's Back
Def Jam is 25. "Rapper’s Delight" is 30. And Rakim is 41. But with his latest album, The Seventh Seal, hip-hop heads can remember the best of the golden age.
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Sonia Sotomayor Supreme
From humble beginnings in the Bronx to her Supreme Court nod, a look at judge Sonia Sotomayor's road to Washington.
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Pulpit Pimps?
Some mega-church pastors are living large. From T.D. Jakes' $45 million sanctuary to Creflo Dollar's two Rolls-Royces. Take a look at some of the high rollers in the pulpit.
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A New Way to See the Old Congo
For the real deal on race relations in the early 20th century colonial Africa, check out my collection of Congo postcards.
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Black Hipsters Unite!
We've seen white hipsters for years now—but what makes a "blipster" tick? The Root takes a look at blipster style throughout history.
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Vlogging While Black
Like the many types of media that came before YouTube, the black vloggers who get noticed can often fit a stereotype. From the bizarre to the hilarious to the inspirational, here’s a sampling of some of the up-and-coming black vloggers and their winning formula by The Root contributor Aymar Jean Christian.
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100 Days Worth of Fashion
Michelle Obama has been using her first 100 days as first lady to shape her personal image. Once pegged as a fist-bumping, angry black woman, Mrs. Obama has quieted critics with sweater sets and a smile. The former executive turned mom in chief has crafted a style that that blends high-end designs with off the rack options, garnering a 79 percent approval rating in the process. Take a look at how our new first lady has fashioned herself as the CEO of her own image.
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Green Collar Heroes
The green movement is about more than celebrities driving hybrid cars and building green homes. It's about everyday people around the country doing grassroots work to reshape their streets, blocks, neighborhoods and cities. Through strategies ranging from hip-hop to children's television to beekeeping--yes, beekeeping!--these 10 community leaders are making the green movement accessible, fun and profitable.
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10 Questions About Bo
He's been called everything from the first puppy to Bo-bama, and the newest member of the first family sure did grab a lot of lens time during his first week at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And in truth, we know more about Bo than we do about some members of the president’s cabinet. Still, if taxpayers are going to be paying for that puppy chow, there are few questions yet to be answered.
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Malia and Sasha: Home Alone?
We are used to seeing the Obamas traveling together, but this time around POTUS and FLOTUS left the kids at home as they took their star turn in Europe. We've seen plenty of images of Barack and Michelle Obama's during trip to the G-20 Summit, but we couldn't help but wonder: What in the world are Malia and Sasha up to back at the White House?
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Hammerin' Hank
Thirty-five years ago, Hank Aaron broke the Great Bambino's home run record. He's been repeatedly honored and celebrated, and even as his record fades, there is no diminishing his achievement. A look back at how the Hammer nailed his place in history.
