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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…
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Finding Black Joy in Times of Crisis
The other week, I cried. For some, shedding tears in times of chaos and terror seems quite normal. Anticipated, even. To me, it felt strange. I am a black woman. As a journalist and a ‘student of the game,’ I am keenly aware of the systems of racism that—from this country’s inception—were created to oppress…
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The Good, the Bad and the Traumatic: Reevaluating the Role of Sharing Black Death on Social Media
“I think the mainstream media is addicted to trauma porn when it concerns black people…Those horrific images that we have of the Twin Towers falling to the ground are all we remember about 9/11. In cases where we think about mass shootings that predominantly affect white communities such as Sandy Hook, we don’t have pictures…
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Reimagining Blackness: Remembering the Fullness of Malcolm X's Revolutionary Life
“Malcolm X, his legacy, is this idea that blackness is a positive, complex, richly glorious tradition to be a part of. That it was a responsibility and not a burden….Malcolm is the activist who allowed us to love ourselves. And that means black women. That means black men. That means black children. That means black…
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Big Ballerina Energy: Misty Copeland Talks 'Swans for Relief' and 80 Years of American Ballet Theatre
“Whenever we’re in times like this, of tragedy, it’s such a natural thing. We’re human beings that gravitate towards dance and music because it’s healing.” — Misty Copeland, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre text Misty Copeland, who became American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American principal dancer in 2015, is still putting in work. Most recently, Copeland’s…
