These Are Hands Down the Best Dressed Black Politicians
Queen Latifah’s Best Hair Looks Through the Years
The Black Man Behind The Quarter-Zip Movement Explains the Deeper Purpose Behind It All
Do You Know Zelda Wynn Valdes, The Black Designer Who Helped Shape The Legendary Playboy Look?
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Feeling Good, Finally? Nina Simone’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Is a Bittersweet Victory
In the world of women in music, there are queens, princesses, first ladies and even a duchess—but there has only ever been one high priestess of soul: Nina Simone. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced today that Nina Simone will be among 2018’s group of inductees—which includes rock bands Bon Jovi, Dire Straits,…
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Women Who Inspire: Meet the Legendary BFFs of Patrick Riley
When future President Barack Obama said, “It’s never hard for me to extol the wonders and beauty of black women,” veteran TV producer Patrick L. Riley was right there. Of course, Barack was looking at wife Michelle, the woman he loves. Meanwhile, Riley was gazing out at a room full of women he loves, including…
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Beyoncé Stole My Look: How to Do a Holiday Party Right
Damn it, I was going to wear that. This week, like many of you, we here at The Root are willing our livers to carry us through a week of open-bar holiday parties while trying to ride that fine line between office-appropriate and out-of-office attire—and behavior. Fun fact: Here at Gizmodo Media Group, where we…
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Sole Purpose: Gift Style With a Conscience for the Holidays
Christmas is only two weeks away, and I haven’t done a thing. (Don’t even ask me what to do about Kwanzaa; I’m hoping for some celebratory guidance from my new colleagues here at The Root.) But whatever you’re celebrating this December, these chic shoes from Uwezo add a dash of boho style to your closet…
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Formerly Fat: How Bariatric Surgery Helped Me Transform My Life
On a break while shopping for Black Friday deals, a friend and I sat down for lunch in the Detroit suburbs. My friend quickly observed how I only ate half of my burger and picked over my loaded baked potato. I shrugged. “Well, you know I had weight-loss surgery a couple years ago,” I said.…
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Call Off Christmas: Fenty Beauty’s Taking All Our Money
Today in breaking “Can’t stop, won’t stop” news: Fenty Beauty is bound to break our holiday budgets with the upcoming release of a 14-shade line of lipsticks, coyly called “Mattemoiselle.” In keeping with Fenty’s full-spectrum-themed beauty, the colors range from conventional to conversation-starting, and because she’s never afraid to start—or shut down—a conversation, Rihanna teased…
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The Glow Up Gaze: Mama Cax Is Redefining the Runway
When you meet model, blogger and advocate Mama Cax—Cax, for short—you’re not sure where to look first: at her gleaming brown skin and bald head, her sculpted features, whatever ridiculously sick ensemble she’s put together just to tool around town or her equally stylized prosthetic leg cover (one of 15 she owns)—a latticework of metal…
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Glow-Getter: Santana Caress Benitez Cooks Like Your Mother … and May Just Steal the Scene
Chef Santana Caress Benitez doesn’t call herself an actress. This, despite her appearance as Lourdes “LuLu” Blackmon in Netflix’s recent series reboot of Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It; a scene-stealing supporting role that has literally sent Hollywood calling (as evidenced by the feature-film audition she’d sent off just prior to our conversation). Personally asked…
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Be Aware: Your Favorite Beauty Secret May Be More Trouble Than It’s Worth
We’re not quite sure when the buzz began about biotin, but suddenly, it seemed, every woman we knew was taking the vitamin—also called B7 or vitamin H—to support hair and nail growth. And indeed, while research is sparse, at least one double-blind study concluded that Viviscal, a supplement containing biotin, not only supported hair growth…
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Surviving a Breakup: What I’ve Missed Since Going Natural
Sometimes I look at my Afro and still can’t believe that less than two years ago, I underwent “the big chop,” after which my hair basically looked like a fuzzy tennis ball. Now my hair is a few inches past my shoulders and longer and thicker than it ever was when it was relaxed. I…