• Let The Root Get to Know You

    You may know The Root, but does the The Root know you? We want to get to know our readers. So get registered, log in and tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Where’d you go to school? What books have inspired you and what quote keeps you going? Share as little or as…

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  • What's Your Twist on Hair?

    You’ve read our take on tangles and locks. Now it’s time for you to weigh in. How has the recession affected your ‘do? What’s your best or worst hair memory? We know you have plenty to say, so write in to [email protected] and share your twist on hair with The Root. Be sure to include…

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  • Working the Late Show Shift

    PHOTO GALLERY: The Tonight Show with… President Obama? READ Why Obama’s Special Olympics joke was a wrong move by David Swerdlick.   READ Jimi Izrael’s take. INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT BY JAY LENO, “TONIGHT SHOW” Burbank, California Q The 44th President of the United States, please welcome President Barack Obama. (Applause.) THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.)…

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  • Starting Over: How Iyanla Lost Her Home

    A few weekends ago, I rolled out of bed early Saturday morning to attend Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union symposium in Los Angeles. Like many Americans, I’m out of work. My money is tighter than a black power fist, and finding a job is challenging. So I was eager to get a dose…

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  • ‘Dead White People’s Clothes’

    It’s impossible to have a conversation about fashion in Africa—traditional or contemporary—without talking about the used-clothing industry and how damaging some people say it’s been.   A whole industry has cropped up around apparel that’s been donated to charities located oceans away, imported throughout the African continent and then sold cheaply in African marketplaces. These low…

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  • John Legend's N.Y. Post Boycott

    R&B superstar John Legend has weighed in on the N.Y. Post cartoon controversy with an open letter to the editor, in which he promises a personal boycott and urges readers and advertisers to join him. Here is the full text: Dear Editor: Iʼm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had for publishing…

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  • Rihanna's Pictures— Show or Not?

    A graphic picturesapparently taken by police to document Rihanna’s injuries after her alleged assault has surfaced  and sparked a discussion about whether a line has been crossed by the media and if posting this photos has any editorial value at all. I’ve had to answer that question once. In the course of a story I…

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  • I Do Solemnly Swear, Really!!

    Chief Justice John Roberts re-administered the oath of office to President Obama Wednesday night in a move that Obama aides described as an ‘abundance of caution,’ after the Roberts took one said one word out of sequence while leading Obama in the oath on Tuesday. No one was really questioning whether Obama was president, but…

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  • Barack, Sit Down With Damon!

    Dear Transition Team, Okay, so you haven’t granted The Root an interview yet, but we’re willing yo wait our turn if you sit down with Damon Weaver, a 10-year-old student reporter at Canal Point Elementary in Palm Beach, Fla., who is coming to Washington for the inauguration. Yes, he’s only in the fifth grade, but…

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