Opinion
-
The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Empathy for the Devil
Please allow me to introduce myselfI’m a bag of white hot hateI’ve been around for four long yearsYou can read me every Friday I answer emails, DMs and tweetstrying to help you understand raceAnd when you call me the n-wordI don’t fly into a rage Pleased to meet youCan you guess who I am?Here’s a…
-
Auntie Unfiltered Talks Holiday Cheer With Niecy Nash
Hey nieces and nephews! Can you believe we are just two weeks away from Christmas? Three weeks away from the new year? What the hell is time and what the fuck is happening here? The year 2020 has been on one, literally and figuratively, and we have been coasting along with it, trying not to…
-
Euphoria and Colman Domingo Delivered the Best Phone Call Scene I've Ever Seen, and I Still Can't Get It Out of My Head
So, during my conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates earlier this week, he mentioned that he wants his work to “haunt” those who read it, where (paraphrasing) it sticks in their heads and they can’t extract it. I’ve had similar conversations with other writers—and others across the creative spectrum—and this feeling is universal among them. Us, I…
-
A Short Blog About a Confused Dipshit in My Neighborhood With Trump Flags in Their Windows
In 2004, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh opened its doors on Sampsonia Way in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood with a specific mission: to provide sanctuary to literary writers who were exiled and under threat of persecution. For two years we provide an exiled writer (and family) with a house, a stipend, and medical benefits, as well as a…
-
On Finding Joy Where You Can During This Pandemic, Despite These Less Than Ideal Circumstances
I think it’s safe to say that it’s been a challenging year. Unlike countless others, I’ve been extremely fortunate to remain gainfully employed and have somehow eluded the coronavirus entirely as it continues to wreak havoc upon so many I hold dear. But while I’ve made it a point to count my blessings and remain…
-
20 Spoiler-Filled Questions After Finally Watching HBO's The Undoing
I watched HBO’s The Undoing, and I have questions. 1. Why would he try to burn the murder thing in a janky outdoor fire pit when the whole ass ocean is literally right there? 2. Do rich whites (“the wich”) just not have ceilings in their homes? 3. Is there a ceiling-less house level of…
-
The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Because They Said So
“Because I said so…” Growing up in predominately Black skin, I heard that phrase a lot. My grandmother, aunts, uncles and friends’ parents used it all the time. But my mother was always careful to never use it. She had this weird thing about wanting us to know why we did things. My grandfather owned…
-
Auntie Unfiltered Chats With Sheryl Lee Ralph
When I was growing up in the ’80s, there was a television show about a group of waitresses who worked in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The show was called It’s A Living, and it was my introduction to Sheryl Lee Ralph, one of the stars. Sheryl Lee…
-
My Chaotic and COVID-Influenced 2020 Spotify Wrapped, Explained
Soooo… Yeah? Are we ready to talk about this list? I think so. I think I’m ready. Let’s start at the top, then. James Blake has pretty much cemented his status as the Blacks’ favorite contemporary white in music. This is true. The Blacks love James Blake, and I am a Black. I like him…
-
So I Watched the 'Y'all Can't Twerk in Here' Video Again, and That Guy's Short-Sleeved Turtleneck Still Makes No Sense
It is below freezing in Pittsburgh today, with wind chills in the teens. I’ve spent much of the day indoors, shielded from the weather and protected by the central heating in our house, but inside still feels the effects of the cold. Sitting next to a window, for instance, feels like sitting next to a…