• Introducing Facebook Social Plugins

    If you’ve ever wanted to share an article on The Root with several friends, you’ll appreciate the new feature we’ve added to the site that should make it a lot easier. There’s a new button for Facebook’s ”Like” option at the top left of stories on The Root. Now by clicking on the Like button,…

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  • Young, Female and Fabulous in D.C.

    Thursday evening kicked off the first event in The Root’s “Young, Fabulous and Female” series of gatherings focused on black women’s pursuit of success and meaningful change. It was a full house at the Washington Post building in D.C., as roughly 125 people came to see a lively panel discussion and mingle at a cocktail…

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  • Are You a Young Hustler?

    The Root is looking for young artists and entrepreneurs across America who are working to make their dreams a reality. We’ll be showcasing stories sent in by The Root readers to potentially be featured in an upcoming photo gallery on the site. If you’re someone in their late teens/early-mid 20’s trying to make it big in…

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  • Did You Mail in Your Census Form?

    Today is the last day to mail back your 2010 U.S. Census form before the government takes things to the next level: sending canvassers out to knock on your door, starting May 1. Once they do that, the cost of having you counted goes up from the pennies it costs for postage to $57 per…

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  • 'Treemonisha' in Paris

    Nearly 100 years after it was composed, nearly 45 years after its first full-scale performance in America, Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha has arrived in France. Beneath the glittering chandelier and the towering proscenium arch of the Théâtre du Châtelet, one of Paris’ finest concert halls, Treemonisha, the first opera ever composed by an American, is…

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  • The Root Goes Mobile

    You can access The Root from any mobile phone that has a Web browser. Now there’s no reason to miss reading the latest black news and your favorite articles from The Root. Just go to: mobile.theroot.com using your smart phone’s Web browser. Bookmark us for easy access. Become a fan of The Root on Facebook.…

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  • Getting Smoked at the Gym by a Senior Citizen

    Thought of Morjorie Newlin this morning. A picture of her at age 86 is attached. Yes, age 86. I’ve received this same photo from friends a number of times over the years, and the woman who tightens my locs keeps the Jet magazine photo of Ms. Newlin on her refrigerator, as a reminder of what’s…

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  • Nearly Half of Black Women Have Herpes

    The latest news out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is very troubling, to say the least. A jaw-dropping 48 percent of black women between ages 14 and 49 have the virus which causes genital herpes, says the federal agency. Blacks in general are more than three times as likely as whites to…

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  • The Root Interview: The Former President of Ghana Speaks Bluntly

    Jerry John Rawlings is addicted to politics. Son of a Scotsman and a Ghanaian, he twice led coups against what he saw as corrupt governments and he acknowledges that his regime committed “a few punishments here and there,” during 19 years as head of state of Ghana. Yet, he gave up power in 2001, after…

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  • The Oscars and Why We Can’t All Be Sidney Poitier

    Writers don’t give prescriptions. They give headaches! —Chinua Achebe Sidney Poitier is the doctor who saves the life of the racist who wants him dead. Sidney Poitier is the teacher who becomes the Great Black Hope for bratty white students that British society has written off. Sidney Poitier is the dignified handyman who builds a…

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