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Who Is Amanda Gorman? The Youth Poet Laureate Who Gave Voice to the Promise of the Biden-Harris Era
On Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., the world watched as a Black and South Asian woman took a well-earned position of power in the nation’s government. Kamala Harris embodies the ideal of a multiracial, gender-equal democracy, but it was another Black woman, Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who captured the nation’s hearts and imagination. Gorman…
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For Her Historic Inauguration Event Wardrobe, Kamala Harris Has Chosen African American Designers
When Kamala Devi Harris is sworn in as the first female, Black and South Asian vice president on Wednesday morning, she will do so on a Bible owned by late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, under the undoubtedly smiling eyes of the first Latina on the Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Harris will also bring…
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Focusing on a Fairer Shopping Experience, Sephora Unveils a New Action Plan Against Racial Profiling
As corporations scrambled last June to make statements of accountability in support of racial justice, Sephora immediately responded with substantive action, becoming the first major retailer to sign Aurora James’ 15 Percent Pledge, a commitment to allocate at least 15 percent of its product offerings to Black vendors. The following month on #BlackoutDay2020, it released…
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Now or Never: D-Nice and Issa Rae's Raedio Collab on the Official Inauguration Playlist Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and More
We still don’t know many details on next Wednesday’s inauguration (nor should we, given the current spate of domestic terrorism in our fair country) but we do know the soundtrack: On Thursday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) released a 46-track playlist to commemorate the upcoming inauguration of the 46th president’s upcoming…
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'This Is Not a Fight That Is Over': The Root Presents: It's Lit! Has a Word About Anti-Racism With Kenrya Rankin
Remember that time a huge swath of Americans convinced themselves the country was “post-racial” following the election of our first Black president, Barack Obama? Well, if the much-needed formation of the Black Lives Matter movement, a countless four years of Donald Trump, and 2020’s uprisings for racial justice didn’t convince them otherwise, last week’s full-scale…
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A New Era for a Modern Museum: The Guggenheim Names Naomi Beckwith Its New Deputy Director and Chief Curator
For 84 years, New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has represented the vanguard of modern art, an early champion of artists today, its nautilus shell-inspired structure houses artworks from generations of the world’s most visionary and experimental artists. Yet like many fine arts museums, for decades, the Guggenheim’s iconic spiral of galleries have proved a…
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Say Her Name: Dr. Susan Moore and Medical Apartheid
On December 20th, Michigan-based family medicine physician Dr. Susan Moore died due to complications from COVID-19. Less than two weeks before her death, Moore shared her experience with racism at the Indiana hospital where she was being treated, showing yet another example of anti-Blackness and medical apartheid. In the words of Moore: “You have to…
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Got Love on the Brain? Rihanna Sent Us an Early Valentine—and an Iconic Essence Cover Collab With Lorna Simpson
Does working from home change the terms of what’s “not safe for work”? With her latest tease for Savage X Fenty, Rihanna’s certainly testing those boundaries, debuting a pinup-inspired Valentine’s Day promo that would make Betty Boop blush. Cavorting in a red mesh garter set and heart-shaped pasties from her wildly popular lingerie brand paired…
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Pat McGrath May Be the Mother of Makeup, but This Groundbreaking Cover Has Us Coveting Her Skincare
Be right back, going to scour the Pat McGrath Labs site for announcements of a skincare line, because there’s no way newly minted Dame “Mother” McGrath isn’t dropping one. At 51, the undisputed “master of makeup” looks as fresh and flawless as any of the countless faces she’s blessed with her artistry on the February…
