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How Usher Beat the Fatherhood Odds
(The Root) — More than four years ago, in one of my first columns for The Root, I wrote about pop star Usher Raymond’s proud papa moments in a piece titled “What My Father Could Learn From Usher.” At the time black fatherhood was dominating the airwaves with shows featuring Snoop Lion (née Dog), Deion…
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Dear Strange Men: Stop Telling Me to Smile
Writing at XOJane, The Root’s contributing editor Helena Andrews wonders whether a culture that encourages imagining women as slightly inferior to men is responsible for the annoying street harassment that she experiences. … I knew walking past the bus stop would be problematic as it’s the equivalent of a construction site. I got maybe three…
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On Tattoos and Taste
(The Root) — I’m actually a pretty big fan of tattoos. I’ve dated more than a few guys with them. I have one. I even tried to convince my mom to get one once, but she politely declined. Said it wouldn’t go with her age. Tattoos can be spiritual. They can, as in the case…
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Michelle Obama Comes Into Her Own
(The Root) — Back in 2008 the media didn’t know how to feel about the then-candidate’s wife, Michelle Obama. She was portrayed simultaneously as too militant, too angry, too unpatriotic, too deprecating of her husband or too hard. Just too much. Which is why, according to media reports at the time, she first laid the…
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Michelle Obama Slave Image: Racist Art?
(The Root) — Slavery is bad. Hadn’t you heard? The vast majority of African Americans with Southern ancestry are the descendants of slaves. Didn’t you know? And Michelle Obama, the first lady of these United States, is no exception. Were you not familiar with that narrative? If not, the Spanish publication Magazine de Fuera de…
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Honey Boo Boo? Honey, Please
(The Root) — If a minstrel show airs on prime time, will anyone notice? That’s the existential question I asked myself before sitting down to watch TLC’s new show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, a reality show about a white 6-year-old from Georgia named Alana Thompson. She is nicknamed Honey Boo Boo Child because of…
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The Sweetness and Light of Gabby Douglas
(The Root) — There’s something about Gabby. Of course, the 16-year-old gold medalist is inspiring millions of little black girls for whom Dominique Dawes is relegated to YouTube clips. It’s no big secret she’s broken barriers of perception that persist despite evidence to the contrary. But there’s more to this young woman who can fly…
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The Obamas' Presidential PDA
(The Root) — Betty Everett sang it best in 1964: “If you want to know if he loves you so, it’s in his kiss.” Nearly five decades later, that maxim still holds true for smooching purists and presidents alike. Just ask Michelle Obama. Earlier this month, while taking in a Team USA basketball exhibition game…
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The Impact of Frank Ocean's Revelation
(The Root) — “I never heard you so much as mention this cat’s name before last week,” my boyfriend interrupted as I heaped piles and piles of Frank Ocean praise and not more potatoes onto his dinner plate. Offended, I paused midsentence — “And you know what else about ‘Bad Religion’ ” — wait, was…
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To Come Out or Not to Come Out?
(The Root) — UPDATED Wednesday, July 4, at 9:45 a.m. EDT: When it comes to the fine line between privacy and hiding, public figures are usually the first to be pushed one way or the other by everyone else’s pounding expectations. Should this actress admit to Botox? Should that one fess up about past drug use?…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
