It’s Lit
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President Barack Obama to Receive the 2020 PEN America Voice of Influence Award
When it comes to living American presidents, it’s indisputable (and infuriating, if you’re Donald Trump), that President Obama remains the leader who retains the most influence and goodwill in the global sphere. On Wednesday, PEN America recognized the indelible impact of our favorite president to date, announcing Obama as the recipient of this year’s PEN…
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'I’m a Black Person for Real. I Love Us.' The Root Presents: It’s Lit Talks Writing for the Next Generation With Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds famously didn’t read a novel cover-to-cover until he was nearly 18. At 36, he is one of the preeminent—and most prolific—young adult authors of this or any other generation, earning accolades and awards and carving a niche for both himself and an oft-overlooked demographic of would-be readers just like he once was by…
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The Root's One-on-One With Barack Obama
Because he’s been pretty low-key about it, you might not be aware that a promising politician that we’ve been keeping an eye on released A Promised Land on Tuesday—a book that offers a firsthand account of Barack Obama’s journey to becoming America’s first Black president. When The Root discovered this information, we thought we’d help…
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'We're Better Than This, but Just Barely' The Root Presents: It's Lit Talks Democracy With Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings
“So, it turns out that we’re better than this, but just barely,” laughs Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings in the days after a historic but still contested election, one which her husband, the incomparable Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) unfortunately didn’t live to see. Dr. Cummings’ quip is a play on her late husband’s famous quote and…
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'A Promised Land': Oprah and Gayle King Will Get First Dibs on Barack Obama's Presidential Tea
Former President Barack Obama will sit down with two very familiar faces as his long-awaited new memoir, A Promised Land, launches next week. Gayle King will be first on the docket to chat with Mr. 44 on Nov. 15 for CBS Sunday Morning. While the timing of the interview coincides with the release of Obama’s…
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World STOP: Blue Ivy Carter Narrates Matthew Cherry’s Hair Love
In a role that couldn’t prove to be any more iconic, Blue Ivy Carter, aka Beyoncé’s firstborn and lowkey manager, is now the narrator for the audiobook adaptation of Matthew Cherry’s Oscar-winning short film, Hair Love. In an adorable 10-second audio-clip, Cherry shared the news via Twitter: Black Twitter, of course, was beyond excited: For…
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'You Cannot Do Anything Alone': Marley Dias Tells Us How She Gets It Done on The Root Presents It's Lit
When we grow up, we want to be like Marley Dias. At 15, the founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks—which she launched in 2015 at age 10—has already garnered worldwide acclaim and authored a book of her own in 2018: Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! In 2019, The Root honored her as one of our Young Futurists,…
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'We're Not Some New Anomaly': The Root Presents It's Lit Talks Purpose, Process and Pronouns With George M. Johnson
When The Root first spoke to George M. Johnson (one of our longtime contributors) just ahead of the release of their debut book, All Boy Aren’t Blue: A Memoir Manifesto, we had a feeling they were on the cusp of something groundbreaking. Borne from their own reflections on growing up without the language and representation…
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8 New Books to Pick Up for Kids and Young Adults (and Less Young Adults Who Like Young Adult Books)
It’s no secret that in recent years, the Young Adult—or “YA”—book category has been booming. But not everyone who browses young adult books is making a purchase for the teen or tween in their life. Half of these titles—some available for pre-order, some already on sale—are as excellent as reading choices for folks over 18…
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Oprah Knows We've Been Going Through It, So Her Latest Book Club Picks Are 7 Books That Help Her Through
There’s been this wild theory going around that now that all of us non-essential workers have been working from home (shout out to the essential workers keeping us all afloat), we have ample free time to engross ourselves in reading. In my case, that would entail finally diving into at least a hundred books I’ve…