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  • #ThriveOver35: We Can No Longer Accept the Brief Life Expectancy of Trans Women of Color

    As Ashlee Marie Preston approached her 34th birthday in early June, it was less a celebration than a sobering milestone. Preston is a successful media personality, producer, writer, speaker, civil rights activist, recent political candidate and The Root 100 honoree for 2017. She is also a black transgender woman, fully aware that the average life…

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  • Forever 51: Why Halle Berry’s IG Is All the #Fitspo We Need

    Ma’am. We know black don’t crack, but one of the greatest wonders of the modern world is how Halle Berry actually seems to look better with age. Access to all of the amenities Hollywood has to offer notwithstanding, at 51, the Oscar-winning actress and mother of two (both born after Berry’s 40th birthday) not only…

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  • Melania Trump Doesn’t Care. Do U?

    File this under “I’m not an immigrant but you are”: Deplorable First lady Melania Trump wore a cargo jacket that would better be described as “IDGAF” than “insensitive” during her “surprise” trip to Texas (doubtful, since there were painted signs welcoming her upon arrival) to visit immigrant children heartlessly separated from their parents. The back…

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  • Is the Mainstream Ready for 4c? Mane Traces the Evolution of Natural Hair On-Screen

    Online media company NowThis turned heads at the top of 2018 with the launch of Mane, a web series focusing on the intersection between hair and culture. On Tuesday, Mane kicked off its second season with a closer look at how the presentation of naturally textured black hair has evolved on-screen, tracing the current impact…

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  • Fade 2 Focused: Why Teyana Taylor Turned Off IG to Turn Up for Her New Album

    Fun fact: We still haven’t gotten used to the idea of Teyana Taylor being grown. Yes, we know she’s a 27-year-old wife and mother to toddler Iman Tayla (aka “Junie”). And of course we also vividly remember feeling sick with envy over her sleek and slicked-up post-baby body (and ridiculously sexy dance moves) in the…

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  • A Month of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: Is It Too Soon to Slam Her Royal Style?

    Tuesday marked a month since Meghan Markle married into the British royal family, effectively becoming Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. And since the date of her wedding to Prince Harry, eyes around the world have been watching to witness—and critique—the former actress’s royal style. The duchess got off to a great start; her wedding dress, designed…

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  • Ms. Jackson if You’re Happy: Janet Jackson Shares Her Journey to Joy in Essence’s Happiness Issue

    She may have taught us all the “pleasure principle,” but beloved icon Janet Jackson’s happiness didn’t come as easily as a song and dance. In an exclusive essay and cover story for Essence magazine’s first-ever Happiness issue, the living legend—who will also headline the 2018 Essence Festival on Sunday, July 8—writes readers a deeply empathetic…

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  • The Love Below: Jada Pinkett Smith and Mom Talk Vaginal Rejuvenation in Red Table Talk

    Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk—her hit Facebook series featuring herself, daughter Willow and mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones—has provided us with no end of topics to cover. In the month since its debut, the series has explored a number of intimate matters, including blended families, body issues, “mean girls,” hair loss and the challenges of being…

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  • Way of the Warrior: Danai Gurira Tells Us How She Stays So Strong and Sexy in Women’s Health

    Just when we’d decided that the beach was gonna get whatever body we decided to give it this year, here comes Danai Gurira on the cover of the July/August issue of Women’s Health, reminding us that we could probably do better. Not that we hope to reach Gurira-level fitness; the actress, playwright and activist works…

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  • Serving Face—and Tribute: Lena Waithe Honors the Trailblazing Legacy of Paris Is Burning

    Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the “unbought and unbossed” Shirley Chisholm to Saturday night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, Trailblazer Award honoree Lena Waithe proved that she will always use her platform to elevate the marginalized, transforming her moment at the podium into a tribute to the gay and transgender icons and culture immortalized in…

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Maiysha Kai is former managing editor of The Glow Up and host of The Root Presents: It’s Lit!, and your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door. May I borrow some sugar?


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