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Memphis, Tenn., Honors 1968 Sanitation Workers With I Am a Man Plaza
Perhaps no phrase encapsulates the sentiment of the struggle for freedom, justice and equality more than “I am a man.” Every day during the 1968 Memphis, Tenn., sanitation workers’ strike, Memphis’ black sanitation employees would meet downtown at the historic Clayborn Temple. When the men arrived, they would pick up picket signs that read, “I…
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America Did This: An Open Letter to Memphis, Tenn.
You are beautiful. The way you sparkle in the reflection of the mighty Mississippi River. The way the trumpets bellow from the bowels of Beale Street. The way you don’t give a damn about consonants when you talk. The way you bathe yourself in blues riffs, barbecue smoke … and pain. A lot of pain.…
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From Most Hated to American Hero: The Whitewashing of Martin Luther King Jr.
There is a recipe for making a hero. Greatness is neither the singular nor most necessary ingredient. Fame is important because no matter how benevolent or worthy someone’s actions may be, people must know about them. And though it might seem antithetical, hate is a crucial factor. Abraham Lincoln was disliked by many Americans when…
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Michael Rapaport Is the Worst Kind of White Man
The story of the scorpion and the frog is an ancient African proverb that explains the importance of knowing whom to trust. In the story, a frog is preparing to cross a river when it is approached by a cool-ass scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog to give it a ride on its back to…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Let Wypipo Go
It’s Good Friday and Passover Eve. The Root’s deputy managing editor, Yesha Callahan, is not here to force me to write an extensive lede because last night, Very Smart Brothas and The Glow Up had their first joint event, Urban by Nature, in Los Angeles. A lot of the staff from The Root attended, but…
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Comfortably Numb: Stephon Clark, Alton Sterling and the Value of Being Punched in the Face
I was 9 years old the first time I was punched in the face. During a church service, I absconded from the sanctuary with two of my older cousins and headed to a neighborhood store. When I returned, my mother asked where I had been and I snitched: “I went to the store with Bernard…
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The Finessing of Howard University
If you are black, you likely know what it means to “finesse” something: Finesse (verb): To acquire smoothly and without force. The art of persuasion or trickery, in which an individual is able to get something he or she wants with cunning and prowess. If you are black, it is also statistically unlikely that you…
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Hair-Dryer-Roasted Chicken Wins the 2018 Award for the Whitest Thing on the Internet
In a ceremony televised on Fox News and the Food Network, the New Yorker’s “roving food correspondent” Helen Rosner was awarded the 2018 “I Was Told by AppleCare” prize for Unapologetic Whiteness. In a story titled, “Yes, I Use a Hair Dryer to Make Roast Chicken” (which insinuates that at least one person asked her,…
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DMX Plans to Get Out of Jail by Playing His Songs in Court
Look, I’m not one to question anyone’s credentials, but when I heard the cockamamy scheme that attorneys for DMX have planned—to play his music at a Thursday sentencing hearing—the first thing I thought was, “Welp, someone has finally made him lose his mind, up in here, up in here … ” That’s not a joke.…
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Remember the Resource Officer Who Shot the School Shooter in Maryland? It Never Happened
Donald Trump, the National Rifle Association and people who believe in the magical fairy tale of armed school employees preventing school shootings were all forced to eat their words with a supersized cup of “shut the fuck up” Monday, when authorities investigating the case of the Maryland school shooter who was stopped by a “good…
