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A Moderate Millennial Out of Houston Wants to be Texas' First Black U.S. Senator
HOUSTON—Amanda Edwards is all about those deliverables. That’s her training as a lawyer: results. Public consensus is how she views a pathway to policy that can save lives and extend them. In Amanda Edwards’ world, there is plenty of space for values, integrity and people’s humanity. There is, however, no space for ideological battles that…
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Black Men Need to Talk With Each Other About Rape Culture
I first started learning about sexual and domestic violence against women when I began my career as a journalist in New York City, in 2011. They are the hardest stories I’ve ever written. The women, all of them black, often told me they had no one to turn to when the assaults took place. No…
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Here's What Happened In Iowa Last Night and What We Know Now
DES MOINES, IOWA—After a night of technical glitches, lower-than-expected turnout and campaigns decrying the caucus process, Iowans woke up this morning without knowing who won the highly contested Iowa caucuses. So far the app used to report results is targeted as the main culprit. Shadow Inc, which built the app at the center of last…
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Live Blog: The Root Is at the Iowa Caucuses!
DES MOINES, IOWA—Greetings from the Hawkeye State! The Root will be here in the capital covering the caucuses live and will update this blog with information as it becomes available to us. This is the first time The Root is covering a caucus, but we hear it is basically chaotic in general and a shit…
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In Iowa City, Sudan and Chicago Take the Lead
IOWA CITY, IOWA—Bruce Teague and Mazahir Salih are two unique representations of Iowa’s political power: a Chicago-born black man who moved here in 1993 and ended up being his adoptive city’s top elected official some 27 years later. And Salih, an immigrant from Sudan who moved to the U.S. to support family back home, but…
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Barbara Smith, Who Helped Coin the Term 'Identity Politics,' Endorses Bernie Sanders
DES MOINES, IOWA—Barbara Smith, founding member of the black feminist Combahee River Collective that coined the term “identity politics,” has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, The Root has learned. In an exclusive interview, Smith, who endorsed Sanders in 2016, said her reasons for endorsing him again were clear. “Of all of the people who…
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Iowa Becky: The Hawkeye State Is Gentrifying Black People Out of Democratic Primary Relevance
During the 1976 presidential election, Jimmy Carter was a little-known governor from Georgia with faint name recognition who was a long shot to capture the Democratic nomination. Lacking the charm of Bill Clinton, the smooth-operator status of Barack Obama and the Hollywood pizazz of Ronald Reagan—who he would eventually beat in that 1976 general election—Carter…
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A Short Story of How a Black Yogi Made It Possible for Black Detroit to Namaste
DETROIT—Detroit is the blackest city in America. And in this black city exists a black-ass yoga studio where you can be your black-ass self. Amina Daniels, the owner and founder, works hard to keep it that way. Live Cycle Delight, located in Detroit’s gentrifying West Village neighborhood, has two spaces: one where the yoga classes…
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Marsha’s Plate Trans Podcast Wants to Liberate All Black People
For the past two years, Diamond Stylz and her podcast co-hosts Mia Sloan and Zahir Alexander have been providing space for black people to liberate themselves from transphobia. They want trans black people to speak freely about their experiences without the pressure of accommodating the white gaze. They want cisgender people to have a space…
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Tom Steyer Picks Up 3 Black Surrogates From the Carolinas
Tom Steyer, who is making some surprising inroads with African-American voters in South Carolina, has just picked up two more endorsements from powerful members of the state’s Democratic leadership and one more from neighboring North Carolina. Johnnie Cordero, chairman of the Democratic Black Caucus of South Carolina, and South Carolina state representative Jerry Govan, chairman…
