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Beto Ain't So Woke, Harris Wants That Smoke and Yang Can Take a Joke: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 10
In the immortal words of Bill Duke in Menace II Society: “You know you done fucked up, right?” That’s about the only way we can describe most of the Democratic candidates in the Black Power Rankings for week 10. It’s as if half the candidates forgot that there are black people out here who they…
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Journey to the Center of the Urkel: A Black Nerd Summer Quest
I love a good quest. As the resident comic-book and science-fiction guy at The Root, my pop culture life has been inspired by quests—Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Lord of the Rings, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle—if it requires finding hidden treasure or discovering a lost world, I’m all over it.…
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Biden Brings the Pain, Warren Starts to Gain and Yang Makes It Rain: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 9
We’re back! Yes, after a short break, The Root 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings are back just in time for the Hunger Games of the third Democratic debates and the post-Labor Day campaign push. When we last left our field of would-be Donald Trump challengers, there were still fifty-eleven candidates running. Now, thanks to additional…
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Castro Punches His Ticket, Harris Starts to Fidget and Yang Starts to Kick It: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 8
We made it. After eight full weeks of Twitter spats, campaign gossip, polls and memes, we’ve reached our first bye week of The Root’s Presidential Black Power Rankings. Not only have the power rankings been a rousing success, with people eagerly anticipating each week, the engagement we’ve engendered (which is a polite way to say…
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Castro Gives Trump a Slap, Harris Gets a New Rap, and Stacey Abrams Sets a VP Thirst Trap: The Root’s 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 7
“Smart white people know how to hire black people who actually KNOW black people.” Yours truly (Dr. Jason Johnson politics editor for the Root) and Marcus Ferrell, (former Black Outreach for Bernie Sanders in 2016) and the rest of the Power Rankings Committee came to this conclusion this week as we discussed which 2020 campaigns…
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Beto Goes Blue, Warren Wilts and Harris Goes O.G. AG: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 6
Mass shootings hit in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas; the stock market crashes; and Toni Morrison passes away. Why is it that every week of the Donald Trump presidency feels like a depressing opening scroll in some post-apocalyptic ’80s movie? In last week’s power rankings, we noted that in times of crisis, the committee…
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Booker Bodies Biden, Bernie Gets Cardi, and Kamala Gets Clapped: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 5
Before you read The Root’s 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings for Week 5, we want you to close your eyes and use your imagination. It’s January 2023: Lil Nas X has just accepted a Grammy for his 32nd remix of “Old Town Road”; Facebook has just rolled out its new uncomfortably honest slogan, “Yeah, We’re…
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Bernie Blows It, Beto Shows It, and Biden Finally Grows a Bit: 2020 Presidential Black Power Rankings, Week 4
This week’s power rankings had a one-week gap because we had a lot of events we wanted to cover to make sure candidates were staying on their toes. We know you missed us. (So did the 2020 Democratic campaigns, who kept asking when the new rankings were coming out. We see you!) Our insiders and…
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‘This Election Is Too Important’: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Fighting Trump and Endorsing Joe Biden
The Joe Biden campaign for president has been a spectacle to behold this year. On the one hand, if you wrote out Biden on paper, it would look something like this: seasoned older white man, executive experience, wingman for the first black president. You’d think he’s a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination in 2020. Yet,…
