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'We Have Got to Make Sure We Are Flexing, Showing Our Power': Cory Booker Gets Political About Wealth Building in a Crisis at The Root Institute
For Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) our economic plight is a political issue. With us living in a time where “it is harder to build wealth in this generation [than] in the past” Booker, during an interview with The Root Institute, added that we have to put pressure on our government and politicians to implement laws…
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'We Don't Talk About This at Home': Taraji P. Henson Gets Real About Our Mental Health at The Root Institute
In 2005, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder while staying at UCLA’s medical center in Los Angeles for several weeks over Christmas. Back then, to me, the severity of my diagnosis was already scary, but what was even scarier? Feeling I was alone. “We don’t talk about this at home,” said actress Taraji P. Henson…
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Taraji P. Henson Talks Mental Health, While Cory Booker Takes on the Health of Our Finances at The Root Institute
It’s week three of The Root Institute, meaning it’s time to talk about the health of our minds and our finances featuring actress Taraji P. Henson and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). Both are joining me, The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton, for separate chats on issues crucial to our community—from erasing the stigma of mental illness…
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Ava DuVernay Talks to The Root Institute on How She Creates Art that Makes A Difference
“Art is the foundation of any movement,” is how director Ava DuVernay began our interview as we unpacked the transformative power of art—both in its ability to uplift and destroy. DuVernay, personally, has been driven from the beginning of her film career to create art that uplifts and moves the culture forward with creativity, sensitivity…
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Ava DuVernay Gets Real About How Art Can Shape Perceptions at The Root Institute
A visionary film director with an activist’s spirit, Ava DuVernay makes art that is rooted in her conscious. From limited miniseries like When They See Us, to TV dramas like Queen Sugar, to summer blockbusters like A Wrinkle in Time and documentaries, like The 13th, DuVernay crafts narratives with her people—and their past, present, and…
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Fair Fight's Stacey Abrams on How We Can Protect Our Right to Vote
The right to vote is one that has been fought over, died over and challenged again and again, as it was expanded to include African Americans and women after being something only for those who were white and male. While Fair Fight’s Stacey Abrams admitted in our interview that voting is not a catch-all solution…
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Welcome to The Root Institute, Featuring Interviews With Stacey Abrams, Cory Booker, Taraji P. Henson and Many More
It’s happening! A gathering of the minds—from politics featuring Stacey Abrams and Ayanna Pressley to entertainment and culture with Ava DuVernay and Lee Daniels to health and wealth with Taraji P. Henson and Cory Booker to social justice with Tarana Burke of #MeToo. It’s time to sit down and talk about how we can take…
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Where the Only Pain Is Champagne
I once threw a party for myself that lasted 10 years. I want to say it was a celebration, or at least that’s how it started out. I wanted to celebrate life after so many years of being held back and held down by my illness, so I started going out and drinking almost every…
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Beyoncé, Tina Knowles-Lawson and Mothers of the Movement Call Out 'Modern-Day Voter Suppression,' Urge Senate to Pass HEROES Act
Today, June 25, marks the 7th anniversary of the Shelby County v. Holder case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. As we continue conversations surrounding voter suppression, especially given the issues surrounding the recent Democratic primary election in Kentucky, it is time to take…
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My Ancestors Want Me to Make a Banana Pudding for Juneteenth [Updated]
My mother hated to cook. She was a good cook when it came to things she liked—rice, chicken, all kinds of soul food and sweet desserts—and a bad cook for things she didn’t understand or eat. For years, I thought steak was supposed to be tough like shoe leather and chewier than gum. I thought…
