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Beyond the Buzz: Vernā Myers and Reggie Van Lee Chat Diversity and Inclusion at The Root Institute
“There are some real difficult experiences that people have lived through because of the ‘-isms’ and because of white supremacy. And yet we need to find our bridge to one another.” —Vernā Myers, vice president of inclusion strategy, Netflix text Diversity and inclusion is all of the talk in corporate America, but how does one…
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Master P Reflects on Becoming His Own 'Master' and Working With Tupac
“I’m constantly trying to educate myself. I’m constantly trying to master whatever I do.” — Percy “Master P” Miller text Master P is indeed a boss. The ex-rapper, actor, record label executive and former NBA player came to prominence in the 1990s and 2000s, but as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. In…
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Black Major League Soccer Players Speak Out in Documentary Protesting Racial Injustice
As evidenced by the 2020 uprisings, it is imperative that we take a stand against racial injustice. Across the country (and the world, for that matter), we are seeing civilians, celebrities and corporations (though we question the intentions of some of these companies) emphatically say “Black lives matter.” Given the long history of Black athletes…
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'Democracy Is at Stake': Glynda Carr, Judith Browne Dianis and Rashad Robinson on Wielding Black Political Power at The Root Institute
“Our lives are at stake. We’re in the midst of a pandemic, a health crisis. Black people are disproportionately dying, but [are] also sick. What we’ve seen because of this pandemic is that it has exposed the structural racism that we knew existed before, but other people didn’t know…We have an opportunity, in this election,…
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The Root Institute Chats Harnessing the Black Vote in 2020 With Glynda Carr, Judith Browne Dianis and Rashad Robinson
What is at stake during the 2020 elections? As we live in the midst of an uprising, which is a response to police killings of unarmed Black people (and a legacy of racism that has proliferated throughout the country), while being led by a man who refused to pay his respects to one of this…
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'We Have Been the Table Shakers': Rep. Ayanna Pressley Uplifts Black Women and Honors the Late Rep. John Lewis in Conversation at The Root Institute
“Black women–our hair, our bodies—are criminalized. Certainly, I am not exempt from that because I have a comma and a title after my name. That is still a weaponizing experience as a Black woman, as a Black woman in congress, and certainly, as a Black bald woman in congress navigating these spaces.” —Rep. Ayanna Pressley…
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Rep. Ayanna Pressley Discusses the Power of Black Women at The Root Institute
Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a history-making Black woman. As the first woman of color in the history of the Boston City Council and the first Black woman to ever be elected to Congress from Massachusetts, Pressley is a departure from the old white men who, for too long, have dominated the political arena in the…
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'Justice Will Never be Justice for Me, Because My Child Is Gone': Korryn Gaines' Mother Speaks Out on the Anniversary of Her Daughter's Killing
“If she was a white girl, I think things would have been different. They would have handled her differently, they would have probably not taken her out to Burger King…But I think she would have walked out. I think she would’ve walked out and she would still be here.” — Rhanda Dormeus, mother of Korryn…
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Fallen but Not Forgotten: Unpacking the Erasure of Black Women in Conversations About Police Violence
“The frame around police violence is largely a male-male frame. It is a frame that that that devolves from lynching. It’s the idea of Black masculinity being constrained, being disciplined, being snuffed out if necessary. And that’s real. There is a realness to that. But that is not the exclusive way in which racial violence…
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'I Am Not Able to Rest': Samaria Rice Reflects on the Life and Legacy of Her Son Tamir Rice on His 18th Birthday
“I have to be on the front lines because I am Tamir’s mother. Tamir is in high demand. When these things [police shootings of unarmed Black people] happen, I am not able to rest. I am not able to be normal. Normalcy went out the window when my son got murdered.” —Samaria Rice text Tamir…


