The Internet is Losing Its Mind Over Oprah’s Crop Top and Fly Looks
All The Fabulous Black Style Seen At Paris Fashion Week
How the Hanifa Brand Upheaval Started a Viral Conversation About Black Brands and Customer Service
Did You Know JFK Jr.’s Iconic ’90s Style Secretly Came from Black Icons Like Denzel?
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Interviewing Ayanna Pressley About Her Alopecia Encouraged Me to Go Public With Mine
I didn’t expect to get choked up in front of Ayanna Pressley. But 17 minutes into our interview at The Root headquarters in New York City on Monday, as she began telling me one of her most personal hair stories by detailing her experience with alopecia, I blinked through tears and silently reflected on my…
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Orange Box Envy: Beyoncé Gave Celebrity Swag New Meaning With Literally Her Biggest Drop Yet
It’s safe to say no one does a drop quite like Beyoncé. From surprise albums and epic visual masterpieces to HBCU-inspired collaborations with Balmain, the megastar has mastered the art of making an entrance. And ahead of today’s pre-launch of the relaunch of Ivy Park, now powered by Adidas (the collection goes live at 9…
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C’mon Kansas! Will the Sunflower State Be the Next to Ban Hair Discrimination? [Corrected]
Toto, I don’t think we’re going to have trouble wearing our naturally textured hair in Kansas anymore—at least, we hope not. OK, that’s optimistic (and to the best of our knowledge, there’s no easing on down the road involved), but what’s promising is a new bill (pdf) proposed by Wichita Democratic Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau, which…
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Sexual Assault Survivors Write Open Letter to Russell Simmons: 'We Will Not Be Intimidated'
For years, Russell Simmons was looked at as the “face of hip-hop.” A go-to promoter and manager of the emerging genre in the ’80s, Simmons eventually become one of the most powerful men in the music industry. The pioneering mogul founded Def Jam, launched the influential TV series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam, established…
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Exclusive: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals Beautiful Bald Head and Discusses Alopecia for the First Time
Ayanna Pressley loves playing with her hair. Before she became a Massachusetts Congresswoman (and a high-profile member of “The Squad”), Pressley would experiment with different hairstyles and textures, getting a weave and even cutting her own hair. Lately, she’s been experimenting with lace-front wigs. “One I call ‘FLOTUS’ because it feels very Michelle Obama to…
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Royal Recap: Piers Morgan and Meghan’s Dad Continue to Disappoint—and If the Queen Lets You Leave After You’ve Left, Does It Make a Sound?
I took a few measly sick days, but still can’t escape #Megxit—hasn’t this woman already followed the North Star to freedom? I kid, I kid…kind of. As we well know, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex rolled out of England like the London fog a mere three days after she and Prince Harry rolled back in after…
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The WNBA's New 'Groundbreaking' Collective Bargaining Agreement Includes Higher Salaries, Quality of Life Improvements
Since its inception in 1997, the WNBA has provided a master class on how gender inequality manifests in the workplace. Players like A’ja Wilson and Kayla McBride have openly critiqued their paltry wages; four-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith confessed to playing an entire season pregnant after receiving “no support” from her organization, and in 2018, the…
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It’s All Greek to Me: After Pushback and a Petition, Ralph Lauren Apologizes to Phi Beta Sigma for ‘Chino-gate’
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Ralph Lauren, keep our black Greek iconography off of your chinos. In what was the latest but likely most inadvertent incident of cultural appropriation since Gucci’s blackface-sweater scandal this time last year, American legacy brand Ralph Lauren crossed the line—by demonstrating that no one on…
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Sex, Explained Was a Lot of White Noise and Mansplaining
As I sat and binge-watched what I thought would be an inclusive, sex-positive, informative series, I realized that Netflix and Janelle Monáe sold me a dream of black kink and birth outside the binary. Two years ago, Netflix partnered with the news outlet Vox to create the docuseries Explained, which focused on a number of…