Culture

Exclusive: AG Andrea Campbell, More Black Leaders, Celebs Share Life-Changing Lessons

Exclusive: AG Andrea Campbell, More Black Leaders, Celebs Share Life-Changing Lessons

The Root Exclusive Series: Black History Month was established 100 years ago, in February 1926. To commemorate this momentous occasion, 100 Black thought leaders and creators share their collective wisdom and insight for the culture in this ongoing series.
Jill Scott's Break From Music is Part of a Growing Trend of Black Women Pausing With Purpose

Jill Scott’s Break From Music is Part of a Growing Trend of Black Women Pausing With Purpose

Jill Scott, Beyoncé, Teyana Taylor and Simone Biles are part of a growing wave of
This Viral Content Creator is Keeping Our Black Food Traditions Alive - And Looking Great While Doing it!

This Viral Content Creator is Keeping Our Black Food Traditions Alive – And Looking Great While Doing it!

Sonja Norwood (aka Wick’d Creations) has built a massive social media following sharing the Black
  • Does President Obama Know How Twerking Works?

    While at the “MBK! Rising” conference in Oakland, Calif., last week, a student asked Barack Obama how to change the narrative on how men of color are generally perceived. He answered in the Obama-branded way he usually does when he speaks to large groups of young black men—thoughtful, measured, sincere, witty, and veering towards respectability.…

  • Spike Lee Needed More Than Tea After Green Book Won the Oscar for Best Picture

    After multiple Oscar nominations and an honorary award, Spike Lee finally won a competitive Oscar for co-writing the adapted screenplay for his film, BlacKkKlansman. However, he still had to take a backseat to Green Book, which won Best Picture of the year. Backstage, Spike channeled our best drunk uncle and had a few words to…

  • 28 Days of Literary Blackness with VSB | Day 25: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

    Publisher Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward,…

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    Queen Latifah Is Developing $14 Million in Affordable Housing in Newark

    After conquering the entertainment industry, and leaving an indelible mark on music, film and television, multi-hyphenate Queen Latifah is looking to extend her reign by giving back to her hometown of Newark, N.J. Through her company BlueSugar Corporation, the 48-year-old will partner with GonSosa Development to develop $14 million in affording housing for residents of…

  • 28 Days of Literary Blackness with VSB | Day 24: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

    Publisher Synopsis: Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic…

  • 28 Days of Literary Blackness with VSB | Day 23: Cane by Jean Toomer

    Publisher Synopsis: Jean Toomer’s Cane is one of the most significant works to come out of the Harlem Renaissance, and is considered to be a masterpiece in American modernist literature because of its distinct structure and style. First published in 1923 and told through a series of vignettes, Cane uses poetry, prose, and play-like dialogue…

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    Breakdancing Could Earn You a Gold Medal in the 2024 Olympic Games

    If Olympic organizers get their way, “Niggas in Paris” will take on an entirely new meaning. As they’ve formally submitted one of the five elements of hip-hop—breakdancing—as a new competition they’d like to introduce during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to NBC News. It’s not exactly a secret that hip-hop has evolved into…

  • 20 Years of Twerking: A Retrospective of ‘Back That Azz Up’

    One thing’s for sure: The words “Cash Money Records taking over for the ‘99 into the 2000″ will always yield a visceral reaction, a sense of urgency. Move or be moved, because it’s about to go down. But ahead of (what has now become) an iconic phrase, there’s a trigger warning, if you will. Let’s…

  • Black Ass Game Show: Bodega Boys Edition

    As a Queens native, I am mature enough to objectively say that it’s a good time to be from the Bronx. Cardi B recently made history as the first solo female rap artist to win best rap album. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is “taring ‘ish up” in the House of Representatives. One can still rent…

  • 28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 22: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

    Publisher’s Synopsis: A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for 16 weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending…