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Ferguson Has Awakened a Larger Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice in America
There’s a social-justice movement taking hold across the nation. Michael Brown’s death, which turned Ferguson, Mo., into a battleground this past summer, has helped catalyze a larger struggle for racial and economic justice in America. And St. Louis, where 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers Jr. was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer, has witnessed roiling…
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Malia and Sasha Obama: Our Favorite Photos
Sasha and Malia Obama share one of the top spots on Time magazine’s list of “The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014.” At the ages of 13 and 16 respectively, the Obama sisters have grown up in front of our eyes. Malia is a budding filmmaker and is rumored to be interested in attending Stanford. She…
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7 HIV / AIDS Lessons From the Montgomery, Ala., Pastor Disaster
Last week’s preacher scandal has enough intrigue and heat for a ShondaLand soap or reality show. But once you get past all the drama in the Rev. Juan D. McFarland’s Montgomery, Ala., church, it’s clear that many of us still have some important lessons to learn about sexually transmitted diseases. If you’re not already up…
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How Does It Work Being a Stay-at-Home Dad?
In a growing number of families, Mom is the breadwinner and Dad stays at home to take care of the kids. But how does that setup work for the family finances, for the marital relationship and for the mom who might be feeling left out of her children’s lives? In episode 6 of The Root…
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Ben Jealous and Actress Khandi Alexander Find Their Roots
On Tuesday’s episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Benjamin Jealous, former president of the NAACP, learns how his great-grandfather Peter G. Morgan, a free black man, was forced to purchase his own wife and family in order to keep them safe. Scandal actress Khandi Alexander never knew her…
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Not a Black, but a White American Studies Course
Rather than the traditional African and African-American studies programs offered in universities across the nation, there is now an analogous white American studies program that examines the cultural experiences of white Americans, the European immigrant groups they’re descended from, and how race and their ethnicities influence their lives. The Whiteness Project now seems to be the…
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Cornel West Arrested While Protesting in Ferguson
People protesting police misconduct in Ferguson, Mo., continued to capture headlines Monday, especially with one of the nation’s most famous public intellectuals, Cornel West, among those arrested in front of a local police station. According to a New York Times report, West told the police officers who were keeping demonstrators from entering the police station…
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50 Years Ago Today, MLK Was Honored for His Dedication to Peace
Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of the day Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to peace and achieving racial justice through nonviolent action. Recipients of the award, considered “the world’s most prestigious prize,” receive a medal, personal diploma and prize money. After being notified of his selection on Oct.…
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Out of My Racial Comfort Zone: Why a Predominantly White College Was Best for Me
Editor’s note: In honor of the movie Dear White People, a satirical drama about race and culture at a fictional Ivy League college, we decided to ask two black students to explain why they love or hate their experiences at a predominantly white institution of higher learning. Read part 2 here. Dear White People opens Friday.…
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A Tribute to a British Politician Who Fought to End the Slave Trade
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. In the coming year, one of the more nuanced anniversaries of the enduring struggle against slavery is slated to occur.…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
