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Ma Rainey Director George C. Wolfe on the Legacy of Race and Black Artists in the Entertainment Industry
“We’re all caught up trying to figure out how to have our stories told, how to protect those stories, how to be paid [what we feel is that we deserve], how to fight and protect those stories so they don’t get diluted or transformed. —George C. Wolfe, Director text Know your worth. Period. This idea…
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Watch: Ava DuVernay on 13th, Her Life's Work and Magnifying the Beauty of Black People
Some might call Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th prophetic. In just over 90 minutes, DuVernay traces the decisions, going as far back as the end of slavery, that led to the creation of the monstrosity known as the prison-industrial complex—and, thus, explains how it is that modern-day slavery exists. Telling the stories of black and brown…
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Have a Very Obama Christmas
The holidays are here, and we’re gushing over the Obamas. C’mon, it’s the end of the year, and people tend to get reflective around this time. Don’t judge. Still, the first family, the first black first family, for the past eight years have lived in a house built by slaves and have represented this country…
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Watch: The Root Staff Executes the Battle of the Fruitcakes
The holidays are here, and what would the holidays be without fruitcake? For many, the answer would be “a time to share love with friends and family, just without a fruitcake.” Touché. Still, here at The Root, we acknowledge that to some, fruitcake is a tradition. So The Root staff decided to put this Christmas…
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Mykelti Williamson on Fences, Acting While Black and the Power of the Mind
When you’ve been handpicked by Denzel Washington to sign on to a multimillion-dollar film that he’s directing, you know you’re doing something right. And for actor and director Mykelti Williamson, who plays Gabriel in Washington’s rendition of Fences, this is indeed the case. It’s safe to say that as a director, Washington was judicious in…
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Watch: Trevor Noah on South African Apartheid, American Racism and What He Hopes to Offer the World
At the time he was born, Trevor Noah’s mere existence was a crime. The South African native grew up during apartheid—a bleak period in the nation’s past underscored by a white supremacist system intended to segregate and oppress the country’s nonwhite population. It was illegal for interracial couples to have intercourse. To say that Noah,…
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Kicks Off Its Holiday Season With Solange and Jazz
Singer, songwriter and activist Solange Knowles has another notch on her belt: honorary chairwoman of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. And after having a “fan girl” moment (as Solange referred to it) with dance royalty Judith Jamison, the Seat at the Table artist addressed the New York City Center audience, who came to witness…
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Dances of the Diaspora: Tap Dance, an Original American Art Form Rooted in Slavery
For Chloé and Maud Arnold, tap dancing is life. For these sisters and entrepreneurs, who have been tap dancing since childhood, the art form has given them a lucrative career—they are founders of the D.C. Tap Festival, film producers and more. Whenever Chloé and Maud have the opportunity, the Washington, D.C., natives, who were mentored by Debbie Allen, spread…
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Watch: The Root Staff Tries Healthy Holiday Hacks
The Root staff is hacking the holidays, but in a great way. In honor of Thanksgiving, a day where we give thanks and stuff our faces (hopefully in that order), The Root staff decided to try some “healthy hacks” (read: healthful substitutes for Thanksgiving dinner). Khaleeqa Rouse of Paparoxi.com provided the grub: black-eyed peas, kale…
