-
The Root Joins PBS' Independent Lens and the film Bedlam for a Discussion on Mental Health and Mass Incarceration
The numbers are staggering. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one in five adults—essentially 40 million Americans—are living with mental illness, including severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, severe depression and bipolar disorder, of which I, too, am a sufferer. But when it comes to me, someone who enjoys a great career…
-
Coronavirus Could Be an Introvert’s Sweet Dream or an Agoraphobe’s Beautiful Nightmare
I think we’re alone now. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Because we’re all isolated in our homes. An introvert’s dream, and a recovering agoraphobe’s nightmare, I’m very torn about social distancing by staying at home, as many have chosen to be in New York City. As we wait to see the ultimate outcome…
-
Space Is the Place: Nona Hendryx Takes NYC Out of This World With the Disciples of Sun Ra
When I was a child watching reruns of Star Trek, one of the things I always wondered was … where did all the black people go? Sure, there was actress Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura and she was amazing. And later, on series like Star Trek: Next Generation there was Geordi La Forge and, even later, Benjamin…
-
Christmas for One
There’s a Christmas song by Jackson 5-era Michael Jackson that appears on the 1973 double album—A Motown Christmas—that has been beautifully destroying me since I was a child. It’s called “Little Christmas Tree” and it is, by far, the most depressing holiday song in the Motown Christmas canon. The song tells the story of Christmas…
-
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Some of the hardest conversations my sister and I have are about our mom. I’m aware that my relationship with our mother was very different from hers, even though we grew up together in the same house with the same parents. Mine was of a parent who protected me, fought for me, cried over me,…
-
Washington, D.C.’s National Portrait Gallery Has Moved Beyond ‘Old, Dead White Men’
There’s something special about a portrait of Earth, Wind & Fire, the masterminds behind hits like “September” and “Sing a Song,” hanging in the same gallery that holds portraits of the Founding Fathers. Mostly that it seems unexpected even though their status as icons in the music industry is well-solidified. They deserve to grace these…
-
In For Colored Girls’ Revival, There’s a Rising Star in Red Who’s Coming to The Batman
Jayme Lawson is only 22. It’s easy to forget this when watching the recent Juilliard grad strut across the stage with authority in the Public Theater’s new production of poet Ntozake Shange’s legendary 1975 choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuf. The new production, returning to the Public more…
-
Rev. Al Sharpton and I Are Both Libras and This Explains So Much
Libras are extra. A while back I wrote an entire column justifying my love of “nice shit.” And that was such a Libra thing to do. Because while we are natural diplomats, crave balance and are creative types, we also love beauty and, most importantly, ourselves. (We definitely think we are quite beautiful. *stares in…
-
Sophia Chang and The Root's Danielle Belton on Race, Hip-Hop, Friendship and Being The Baddest Bitch in the Room
We laugh a lot. A lot. And we’re very good friends. And one of us wrote a book (psst … it’s called The Baddest Bitch in the Room and it’s available on Audible right now). But probably the most fascinating thing about being The Root’s editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, and former music industry veteran-turned-author Sophia Chang—and…
-
Hercules Goes Black and Doesn’t Look Back in Rousing Production of Disney’s 1997 Animated Musical
In an age where superheroes reign supreme thanks to a successful, multibillion dollar Marvel movies run, New York City’s Public Theater’s Public Works chose to take it back, way back, in terms of an O.G. superhero, in their delightful, multiracial, community-fueled production of Disney’s animated 1997 musical Hercules. While the film Hercules only flirted with…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
-
The Root Joins PBS' Independent Lens and the film Bedlam for a Discussion on Mental Health and Mass Incarceration
The numbers are staggering. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one in five adults—essentially 40 million Americans—are living with mental illness, including severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, severe depression and bipolar disorder, of which I, too, am a sufferer. But when it comes to me, someone who enjoys a great career…
-
Space Is the Place: Nona Hendryx Takes NYC Out of This World With the Disciples of Sun Ra
When I was a child watching reruns of Star Trek, one of the things I always wondered was … where did all the black people go? Sure, there was actress Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura and she was amazing. And later, on series like Star Trek: Next Generation there was Geordi La Forge and, even later, Benjamin…
-
In For Colored Girls’ Revival, There’s a Rising Star in Red Who’s Coming to The Batman
Jayme Lawson is only 22. It’s easy to forget this when watching the recent Juilliard grad strut across the stage with authority in the Public Theater’s new production of poet Ntozake Shange’s legendary 1975 choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuf. The new production, returning to the Public more…
-
Sophia Chang and The Root's Danielle Belton on Race, Hip-Hop, Friendship and Being The Baddest Bitch in the Room
We laugh a lot. A lot. And we’re very good friends. And one of us wrote a book (psst … it’s called The Baddest Bitch in the Room and it’s available on Audible right now). But probably the most fascinating thing about being The Root’s editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, and former music industry veteran-turned-author Sophia Chang—and…
-
Hercules Goes Black and Doesn’t Look Back in Rousing Production of Disney’s 1997 Animated Musical
In an age where superheroes reign supreme thanks to a successful, multibillion dollar Marvel movies run, New York City’s Public Theater’s Public Works chose to take it back, way back, in terms of an O.G. superhero, in their delightful, multiracial, community-fueled production of Disney’s animated 1997 musical Hercules. While the film Hercules only flirted with…
