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The Root Recommends: 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks'
If you aren’t familiar with HeLa cells, you have to pick up Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, available in paperback now. The book tells the remarkable life story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her consent and later used as cell samples to research diseases like…
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The Root Recommends: 'Desert Flower'
Based on the book of the same name, Desert Flower is at its core a story of courage and hope and one girl’s journey. The biopic examines the life of Waris Dirie (played by supermodel Liya Kebede), a Somalian woman who at the age of 13 fled her home before her impending marriage and ultimately…
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The Root Recommends: 'Songs for Japan'
In an effort to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan, recording artists from around the world have lent some of their hits to Songs for Japan, a new compilation album. The 38-song album, which features songs from the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ne-Yo and Adele, to name a few, inspires you…
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The Root Recommends: The International Sweethearts of Rhythm
In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, the Smithsonian is paying homage to a little-known, ethnically diverse all-female jazz ensemble called the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Founded in 1937, the group broke ground as they courageously toured the country — including the deeply segregated South — performing swing and jazz against the backdrop of some steep…
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Elizabeth Taylor, Dead at 79
Elizabeth Taylor, who went from child star to Hollywood sex symbol to cinema grand dame, is dead at age 79. Taylor, who was born in England to American parents, was a close friend of another child star who, by contrast, never seemed to grow up: Michael Jackson. She burst into the public eye with “National Velvet” in…
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The Root Recommends: 'My Times in Black and White'
Released almost four years after his death in 2006, My Times in Black and White: Race and Power at the New York Times is the memoir of Gerald M. Boyd, the first black managing editor at the New York Times. The ambitious and determined journalist recalled what it felt like to be black in an…
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The Root Recommends: Aretha Franklin's 'Take a Look'
A slimmed-down Aretha Franklin has recently been seen out on the town looking like a brand-new woman, and now she has a brand-new album as well. Take a Look: Aretha Franklin Complete On Columbia hits record stores today. The 12-disc box set includes all of Aretha’s hits from the record company, as well as unissued…
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The Root Recommends: 'Dancing With the Stars'
The highly successful reality series Dancing With the Stars returns to ABC tonight with a new cast of dancing wannabes and celebrities trying to reclaim their stardom. Some dancers to look out for include famed boxer Sugar Ray Leonard; former college basketball star — and the son of Master P — Romeo; football standout Hines…
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Wyclef Shot in Hand in Haiti
Hip-hop star Wyclef Jean was shot in the hand in Haiti on the eve of the second round of presidential elections. Jean is reported to have been treated and released from the hospital. The circumstances of the Saturday-night shooting were not explained. Jean, who was disqualified as a candidate for president last year, has been…
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The Root Recommends: 'Celebrity Apprentice'
Star Jones and NeNe Leakes have major beef. Dionne Warwick shows her, uh, sassy side. And La Toya Jackson is La Toya Jackson. On the latest season of Celebrity Apprentice, possible presidential candidate Donald Trump has compiled a cast of characters who don’t really mix. And for better or worse, that makes for great reality…
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