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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: The Five Kinds of Clapbacks
When separating the comments, emails, tweets and messages for the mailbag each week, the correspondences usually fall into one of five categories. Today, we shall explore each classification with examples of mail from each distinct class. And if Deputy Managing Editor Yesha Callahan says this intro is too short, tell her to write her own…
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Sentient Marshmallow Calls Police on Black Woman for Swimming in Her Own Pool
A white man, upholding his civic duty to keep his community safe, summoned local police when a black woman threatened to use her neighborhood pool for the nefarious purpose of swimming. Facebook user Jasmine Edwards posted a video to Facebook with the caption: “This is a classic case of racial profiling in my half a…
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Donald Trump is Not Making White People More Racist, He's Making Them Act More Racist
Whenever a word or phrase bursts into the cultural zeitgeist, instead of embracing it, I have a tendency to resist. I do not “unpack” things, I talk about them. I never worry about “optics,” even when I am concerned about how something appears. And whenever someone tells me “it is what it is,” I still…
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Hit Musical Featuring Cotton-Picking White People Singing Slave Songs Closes Amid Protests
The world’s biggest jazz festival was forced to end the run of one of its most popular shows after protesters objected to the musical that featured white people picking cotton while a white woman warbled organic, gluten-free, kale-wrapped negro spirituals. Ain’t that good news? Scheduled for five shows, the musical SLĀV was such a surprise…
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10 Wypipo We Need to Call the Cops On
Because I believe that many of America’s Great Value-brand people harbor an innate fear of African Americans, I am perfectly aware that white people calling the cops on black people isn’t a new trend. I do, however, believe that it is time for black people to reclaim our reluctance toward dialing 911 by repaying these…
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Private School for Rich Kids Announces Plans to Segregate Students By Race
If you’re reading this thinking it is one of those clickbait-y headlines for a perfectly reasonable policy, you’re probably going to be disappointed because a New York City private school for the children of wealthy parents has announced that it will begin separating its students based on their race. And, according to numerous reports, for…
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Confederate Barbie Says 'Minority' Who Doesn't Like Confederate Monuments is Like ISIS
A woman continued her crusade to keep the name of a Confederate General on a Georgia park by informing her county commision that erasing the rebel soldier’s name is the same thing Islamic State terrorists did in the Middle East. Previously on “Gone With the Windbag,” East Cobb, Ga. resident Mary Stevens addressed the Cobb…
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#MourningWhileBlack: Priest Calls Cops on Black Funeral-Goers, Tells Them to 'Get the Hell Out' of Church
Despite having ample evidence that Jesus will work it out, a Catholic priest halted a homegoing service in Maryland to have a black family removed from the church. The servant of God even kicked the dead body out of the funeral, proving once again, there is no sanctuary when it comes to racism. Aside from…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: It’s Not My Fault
It’s not my fault. You know black people—we never accept responsibilities for our actions. When I was hired by The Root, I stupidly pitched the idea of the Clapback Mailbag, where I would respond every week to the emails, tweets and comments received by the staff. I blame David Letterman’s “Viewer Mailbag” and Deadspin’s Funbag…
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New Hit Musical Features White Woman, White Cast Singing ‘Slave Songs’
As further proof that the gentrifying instinct of caucasity knows no bounds, a new theater presentation featuring “slave songs” sung by an all-white cast, backed by an all-white band and led by a white director has quickly become the biggest hit at the largest jazz festival in the world. Coming soon to a theater near…
