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How Can You Possibly Say There’s No Scientific Basis for Race?
In a series of Ask Me Anything sessions related to the subject matter of the Race Manners advice column, I’ve offered quick answers to questions from dozens of Reddit users. Recently, I checked my inbox there and discovered more—a lot more. I’m guessing they’re the ones that people didn’t want to ask publicly, either because…
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‘He’s So Articulate.’ What That Really Means
While I applaud Lean In’s recent launch of their Ban Bossy campaign—some like it, some don’t—I encourage them to do more. It’s not, of course, that there’s a problem with the word “bossy”; it’s that societally, we hold different expectations about bossiness for girls and women. And just as we need to work to change how…
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Quote of the Day: James Baldwin on Art
You can read this quote by James Baldwin, from his collection of essays Nobody Knows My Name (1959), in Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations. Read how the quote is referenced here. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and founding director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He is also the…
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Will the New SAT Boost College Prospects for Black Students?
Major changes are coming to the SAT. Both the SAT and the ACT are used to influence admissions and placement at colleges and universities in the U.S. In 2016 the SAT will return to a 1,600-point scale from 2,400, eliminate antiquated vocabulary words and assess students’ understanding of context rather than rote memorization. The essay…
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How a Black Warrior Became a Symbol for a German Fraternal Society
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. An elegantly armored black warrior resolutely charges forth, astride a mythical beast drawn…
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Young, Black and Feminist
A growing collective of young black feminists is helping to give voice to communities that have long gone unheard and underrepresented. Social media platforms such as Twitter have given this new generation of activists a place to build community, to debate gender and sexual politics, and to use as a springboard for a career. Here’s…
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Quote of the Day: Hoyt W. Fuller on the Civil Rights Movement
You can read this quote by Hoyt W. Fuller, from his essay “Towards a Black Aesthetic” (1968), in Bartlett’s Familiar Black Quotations. Read the quote in its full context here. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and founding director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He is…
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How Many ‘White’ People Are Passing?
Editor’s note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. Amazing Fact About the Negro No. 71: What percentage of white…
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The Root Recognizes: Volunteer De’Von Cross Helps Uninsured Get to the Finish Line
When De’Von Cross is volunteering on a college campus in his home state of Alabama, he sets up a booth in the student union center and lures students over with boxes of hot pizza. In exchange for a slice, students must answer one simple question: “Do you have health insurance?” A pivotal deadline is approaching for…
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‘Black Twitter’ Changed My Life
When it comes to the question of whether “black Twitter” should be called black Twitter and whether there are too many (or any) articles written about it, I really couldn’t care less. Whatever it’s called, however it’s covered (even if it does sometimes feel as if reporters are observing exotic animals and describing their findings), this…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
