Clapback/Mailbag
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Oh, the Caucasity!
Welcome back to another edition of the Clapback Mailbag. Every Thursday, The Root holds a team meeting where we decide which emails, tweets, DMs and comments make the cut for the Mailbag. These meetings are usually held in a top-secret location that may or may not sell chicken named after a cartoon sailor. Before today,…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Systemic Whiteness
This is the part where I usually explain that you are about to read DMs, letters and tweets from our readers. I also try to say something funny here. But today, that part is at the end. It’s nice to switch things up every once in a while. We are still receiving responses about the…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Stupidity Is a Pandemic
I think it was the Apostle Paul who said: “There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.” Or maybe it was Shakespeare. I can’t remember. In any case, each week, while sorting through the emails, DMs and tweets from readers and people who only peruse headlines before firing off angry responses, we try to avoid…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: We Have Questions
While I’m generally known for my quiet, kind-hearted demeanor and as someone who accepts racism quietly and would never push back when someone else says or does something stupid or racist, beneath this placid, compassionate exterior lies a heart that constantly asks the same question over and over again. (Why are you laughing? I know…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Maybe America Isn't Racist
Michael Harriot is on assignment this week. Before he left, he asked someone to fill in for today’s mailbag but everyone on staff was really busy, so The Root hired me as a one-time freelance writer to fill in. Honestly, I was surprised to get the call. After all of the insults and draggings I’ve…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Cotton Pickin' Facts
This edition of the Mailbag is dedicated to all of the people out there fighting racism. Not the ones who want to eliminate white supremacy. This is also not for those who want to wipe out education, employment and economic inequality. If you’re against police brutality, this is not your Mailbag. Today, we are celebrating…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Caucasian Race Theory
Like most people, I have a special alert for when I receive emails from important people. And, of course, The Root’s Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton is on the email VIP list. Sometimes, it’s something important like when Crown Royal announces a new flavor or a video of a white woman calling the police on a Black…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Maybe Whiteness Is Not a Pandemic
Last week, a white man did white man things, which caused a lot of pain and heartache. Some people call Robert Aaron Long a “spree shooter,” while others call him a “mass murderer.” Because he went from location to location to kill people, he may technically be a serial killer or a hate criminal —…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Best Mailbag Ever
The Clapback Mailbag is over. We’ll continue to respond to emails, DMs, tweets and comments every Friday but, to be honest, there’ll never be another mailbag as good as this week’s collection of well-moisturized whiteness. This one is filled with 40 percent more whiteness. This one is the fulfillment of all our clapback dreams. This…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: The Blacker the Content, the Whiter the Tears
The Clapback Mailbag was never supposed to be about me. When we first came up with this idea, I assumed every writer at The Root received damp emails, DMs and tweets soaked with the tears of white clowns. In my view, if you can’t make white people mad, are you even trying? (Sometimes, I am…
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