-
People Are Outraged That Obama Got $400,000 as a Speaking Fee
When Barack Obama boxed up the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and packed the Texas Pete (because—as we all know—only poseurs use Frank’s Red Hot), black America figured it was finally over. We believed the only upside to the title of “former president” was that he wouldn’t have to endure the inane outrage that some people (pronounced…
-
This Is What Happened When Boost Mobile Came Up With a Solution to Voting Inequality
In the running conversation about voter-identification laws, roll purging and the efforts to decrease minorities’ access to the ballot box, the ongoing dialogue often omits the No. 1 form of voter suppression: time. Time makes it difficult for some poor and minority people to vote. Single parents, people who work multiple jobs and people whose…
-
Ebony Responds to #EbonyOwes as Writers Reveal Their Stories
Ebony has responded to the growing criticism that it doesn’t pay the mostly black freelance writers whose works actually make the magazine. On Wednesday, Jagger Blaec penned an article for The Root that followed up on a piece she’d written for The Establishment. A number of writers have since stepped out of the shadows and…
-
Meet the New Military Division of White Nationalism
On March 8, Donald Trump loyalist Kyle Chapman was released from jail after being arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger when violence broke out between Trump supporters and anti-fascists in Berkeley, Calif., on March 4. Since then, Chapman has become an instant celebrity, thanks…
-
Black Twitter Claps Back at Confederate-Loving Candidate for Va. Governor
The Urban Dictionary defines “big mad” as “being mad as fuck about something.” It’s a derogatory term used most often to laugh and point at people who are outraged about something stupid. Trump was big mad when a federal appeals court struck down his travel ban. White women were big mad when Beyoncé sang the…
-
What’s Up With Oprah and Homophobic Preachers?
Warning: The following few paragraphs contain words that some may find critical of two-thirds of the most revered institutions in the black community: preachers and Oprah Winfrey. If you have ever experienced heart palpitations or have accused someone of blasphemy for daring to utter words of criticism toward the black trinity, please consult a physician…
-
University Students Vote to Give Free Tuition as Slave Reparations
One of the most infamous tactics used in America’s history of delaying and denying justice is “sparking a conversation.” If that phrase is ever uttered, you can be sure that whatever promise follows will never come to fruition because “sparking a conversation” never results in action. When slave owners brought human beings to these shores…
-
States Are Quietly Resurrecting a Law That Makes It Easier to Kill Blacks
On July 12, 2013, the Honorable Judge Debra S. Nelson addressed the jury in the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman in Florida and read her instructions to the jury (pdf). They included the following: In deciding whether George Zimmerman was justified in the use of deadly force, you must judge him by the circumstances by…
-
Happy Anniversary, White Supremacy!
Because many people have accused The Root of not being inclusive and focusing on issues of race too much, please allow us to extend our most heartfelt, warmest wishes on this—your day of celebration. As Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama celebrate Confederate Memorial Day (which I have long proposed be renamed “White Tear-mas”—because who else but…
-
Judge Abdus-Salaam Did Not Commit Suicide, Says Husband
The husband of America’s first female Muslim judge—whose body was found floating in the Hudson River off New York City last week—does not believe she committed suicide. According to the New York Daily News, Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam’s husband dismisses the idea that his wife took her own life. “Those of us who loved [the judge]…
