-
Boston Bishop Showed Colorblind Charity
(The Root) — 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 Institute for African and African American Research. A scene of suffering answered by charity takes place in a crude dwelling, engendering a moving tableau between the…
-
The Census Race Question Isn't Working
Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page highlights the problems with relying on a race-classification system created in a different era. A notable example of how Americans fall through the cracks in census data-gathering caught my eye recently. It appeared on the black-oriented TheRoot.com website under this intriguing headline: “I found one drop; can I be black…
-
Quote of the Day: June Jordan
Find more June Jordan quotes here. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard University. He is also the editor-in-chief of The Root. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
-
Revisiting Assata Shakur's Open Letter
Colorlines‘ Jamilah King presents a 1998 letter by Shakur, who was recently placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. In her letter, Shakur provides her own account of the events leading up to her arrest and 1977 conviction. She also details the extent to which the media played a role in her prosecution. Shakur…
-
'Dark Girls': Can We Have True Healing?
(The Root) — Last week, OWN announced that Bill Duke’s controversial documentary Dark Girls, which explores the colorism faced by dark-skinned women, would be heading to the network in June. I refer to it as controversial not because of the very important issue it tackles, but because I recall the discussions that the 10-minute trailer…
-
Twitter Responds to Lauryn Hill's Sentencing
(The Root) — Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion on Monday, to be followed by another three months of home incarceration. The Grammy Award-winning artist was charged and pleaded guilty last year; she has since paid more than $970,000 to satisfy her debt. Though there were plenty of serious…
-
Lauryn Hill Sentenced to 3 Months in Prison
A judge has sentenced Lauryn Hill to three months in prison and an additional three months of home confinement for failing to pay taxes on about $1 million in earnings, the Associated Press reports. Hill, a 37-year-old South Orange resident, pleaded guilty last year in the case. During a forceful statement to the judge Monday,…
-
Don't Judge Kobe's Family Money Drama
(The Root) — There’s a lot not to like about Kobe Bryant. For one, no matter what he does, he manages to come across as smug and arrogant, something that has been a complaint of fellow players and fans alike. Then there’s the small detail of being accused of rape. Those charges were eventually dropped,…
-
'Scandal' and the New Nielsen Twitter Ratings
(The Root) — It has been well established that black people love Twitter and ABC’s Scandal. No one should be surprised, then, that Thursday night is a big night for live tweeting: It has been reported that Scandal fans (known as gladiators) send out more than 2,000 tweets per minute when new episodes air. #Scandal…
-
Detroit 'Kidnapping' and 'Dumping' the Homeless?
Michigan ACLU Legal Director Michael Steinberg spoke on Sunday’s Melissa Harris-Perry about the ACLU’s yearlong investigation into a practice that the organization says amounts to kidnapping. Police, Steinberg says, pick up people they believe to be homeless in the city’s tourist areas and “dump” them outside city limits, often leaving them stranded miles away. Watch…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
