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  • Fashion and Fascinators: The High Style of Britain’s Blackest Royal Wedding (to Date)

    It was a day seemingly made for happily ever after. On Saturday, Meghan Markle’s fairy tale came true when, at last, she married her Prince Charming Harry. The traditionally drizzly English skies gave way to dazzling sunshine, and as many anticipated, the ceremony was as refreshingly unexpected as the pairing of the biracial American actress…

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  • Will the Real Meghan Markle Please Stand Up?

    Ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, sixth-in-line to the British throne, on Saturday, much has been said about the now-former actress soon to be also formerly known as Meghan Markle. She’s been called a social climber, a “pushy princess,” any number of racial epithets, a stain on the royal bloodline and undeserving of a…

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  • The Glow Up Anthem of the Week: Ivy Sole’s ‘Life’

    Life is short, life is simpleLife is joy, life is painLife is wonderful, and terribleBut it’s beautiful, and love’s the same This week has been a special one at The Root, as several members of our staff—myself included—have revealed our very personal struggles with mental health in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. In keeping…

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  • The Best Kind of Bond: Meet the Facebook Group Offering Support and Sisterhood to Breastfeeding Moms

    “The breast is best.” This is language many expectant mothers are familiar with. And yet there is still significant stigma surrounding breastfeeding, especially among black women. One Facebook group is trying to change that by letting black mothers know that breastfeeding is an accessible and incredible experience. Founded by Stacy Yeager, Ph.D., the Breastfeeding Support…

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  • #ThrowbackThursday: The Legend of Zelda (Wynn Valdes)

    “What becomes a legend most?” That was the tagline of now-vintage ads for Blackglama mink. But if you were a black female entertainer at the height of your fame between the 1940s and 1960s, chances were you found your most legendary looks courtesy of designer Zelda Wynn Valdes. Born in 1905, Wynn Valdes was the…

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  • Rolling Solo: Thandie Newton Made a Stylish Statement About Representation at Cannes 

    Fun fact: Thandie Newton collects Star Wars action figures. Well, only the black ones. How do we know? Because she incorporated them into the Vivienne Westwood gown she wore to Tuesday night’s European premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opens May 25 in the U.S. That’s right: Newton, who plays explosives expert Val…

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  • Black Is Not My Job: 16 Black Actresses Take the Cannes Red Carpet by Storm

    The red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival got even more colorful Wednesday as 16 black and biracial actresses staged a very glamorous protest on the steps of the Palais des Festival convention center. Dazzlingly dressed in black, silver and white by Balmain wunderkind Olivier Rousteing, actresses Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Mata Gabin, Maïmouna Gueye, Eye Haidara,…

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  • The Iconoclast: How Lezli Levene Harvell Is Redefining ‘Having It All’

    Doctor. Wife. Mother—of five. Entrepreneur. Food enthusiast. Event curator. Philanthropist. Lezli Levene Harvell wears so many hats, it’s exhausting just to consider what a typical day in her life must be like. Inevitably, the clichéd phrase “I don’t know how she does it” comes to mind. On the evening she speaks with The Glow Up,…

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  • Just an Ordinary Pain: Living With Persistent Depressive Disorder

    Editor’s note: Until recently, mental health and illness were taboo subjects in the black community. But thanks to the efforts of those brave enough to speak on it, that’s changing. In that vein, The Root team is taking this week during Mental Health Awareness Month to write about how mental health has touched our lives.…

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  • (Do) Touch My Hair? 2 White Brits Specialize in Celebrating the Artistic Potential of Black Hair

    A funny thing happened on our way to the royal wedding this weekend: We got waylaid by something else exciting on the other side of the pond. Namely, some of the most striking black-hair portraiture we’ve ever seen, courtesy of British photographer Luke Nugent and award-winning hairstylist Lisa Farrall. But there’s a twist: Nugent and…

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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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