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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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  • Watch: Baron Davis and the Black Santa Co. Deliver Melanin This Christmas

    Move over, Kris Kringle; there is a new Santa in town. And he’s black. Founded by former NBA player Baron Davis, the Black Santa Co. hopes to offer a black hero, a figure for children to look up to. This Santa is not to be confused with Nas’ black kneeling Santa or Larry Jefferson, the…

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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…

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  • Symone Sanders: 'Black Women Have Been Holding Up the Mantle for America Since We Can Remember'

    Symone Sanders is a force to be reckoned with, which is why she was named to The Root 100, our annual list of the most influential African Americans ages 25-45. The 26-year-old was formerly the national press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and was No. 65 on our list. Like her ex-boss, Symone Sanders has…

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  • Dances of the Diaspora: ‘If You Can Walk, You Can Dance’

    In Africa, dancing is a way of life. And for Senegal native Maguette Camara, dance has become a part of his essence. West Africa is a vast region of countries that create a robust culture—from music to fashion, food and beyond. West African dance, accompanied by a djembe drum, is a fixture within the culture…

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  • Henry Louis Gates Jr. on 50 Years of Black Progress and the Perils That Still Exist

    “I now know what Frederick Douglass felt like in 1876 when Reconstruction came to an end,” says Henry Louis Gates Jr., referring to the recent election and the end of the Obama presidency. He continues, “This clearly for some people is the end of the Second Reconstruction.” The renowned professor and documentarian (and chairman of…

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  • Watch: Anna Deavere Smith on Injustice and Her New 1-Woman Show

    Created, written and performed by the multitalented Anna Deavere Smith, Notes From the Field is a one-woman show that compiles over 250 interviews exploring the school-to-prison pipeline and its effect within communities of color in the United States. “Everyone knows about justice. Probably from the time that you could talk, when you were 2 years…

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Felice León Avatar










Afro-Cuban woman. New Yorker. Award-winning journalist. When León isn’t actually creating cool videos, she’s thinking of cool videos that she can create.