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'For Colored Girls,' Not for Black Men
As a black kid growing up in the 1990s, I was in love with film. I would leave a theater and remember lines: Laurence Fishburne in 1991’s Boyz N the Hood telling his son, “You my son; you’re my problem.” I can recall the look in the eyes of the militants in the film Panther;…
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One Day in the (Video) Life of the World
by Abdul Ali Ever wonder what goes on around the world in a day? How ordinary things that we take for granted change meaning in different cultures? Creative entrepreneur and filmmaker Kyle Ruddick has chosen Sunday, Oct. 10 — capitalizing on its unique numerology of 10-10-10 — to spark a movement that brings together filmmakers,…
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The Root Interview: William Jelani Cobb on Obama and Black Leadership
Dr. William Jelani Cobb, one of the country’s most visible African-American intellectuals, is an associate professor and chair of the history department at Spelman College in Atlanta. His meditation on the hip-hop aesthetic, To the Break of Dawn, is one of the most important texts on this cultural phenomenon. In his latest book, The Substance…
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Beat Era Photo Exhibit Skips a Beat
The National Gallery of Art unveiled Beat Memories earlier this month, a photo exhibit showcasing beat poet Allen Ginsberg’s less-known work as a photographer, on display until September. The narrative created by Beat Memories is benignly incomplete. For sure, the gallery curators were limited by the photos they were given. However, the fact that none…
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The Music of Afro-Hippie Erykah Badu
With New Amerykah Part Two: The Return of the Ankh, Erykah Badu has secured her status as the bonafide Afro-Hippie of the neo-soul generation. Five albums into the music game, her work is still fresh, and gives listeners an occasional throwback to jazz artists like Miles Davis (who reinvented himself countless times) and Billie Holiday,…
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Thirteen Years Later and Still Got the Jones
Forget that it was released 13 years ago. Forget the striking cinematography, the star cast and the bomb-ass soundtrack. Forget that this was an artsy film that was accessible. Forget memorable scenes like when Darius tells Nina, “I just want to come up and talk.” Even if you forget all that, you still have to…
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Francophone Funk
“You may not think I’m French, but I am,” said a latte-colored man with frizzy hair over a loud speaker hidden in a sculpture garden on the Mall in Washington, D.C. At the performance last fall, there were no signs leading to the concert where French harmonica player Frédéric Yonnet performed. The only giveaway was…
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An Analog Girl in a Digital World
The Roots opened up with their hip-hop jazz riffs and stirring interludes of saxophones and drums when a big-boned woman whispered in a throaty voice: So when the analog girl in a digital world gonna come out? The lights dimmed. A medley of Badu hits played, taking me back to all the places I lived…
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Re-Writing Fatherhood
Four years ago, I made a promise to my newborn daughter in her hospital room. I stayed awake the entire night waiting for her to open her eyes. I’ll never forget the feeling, as if I were on top of a skyscraper, feeling the rush of greatness and being consumed by fear—fear of not knowing…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
