Opinion
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Juneteenth Edition
I have a dilemma: I want to celebrate Juneteenth by socially distancing myself from wypipo but they won’t let me. So, today’s Clapback Mailbag is dedicated to all the white people who would have been slave masters if it wasn’t for emancipation. For Juneteenth, we have a very special “but what about black-on-black crime?” letter. …
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Auntie Unfiltered: AmeriKKKa Gaslights Black People
AmeriKKKa gaslights black people. That’s it. That’s the post. Seriously, though. Now that America is having her racial awakening and realizing just how inherently racist she really is, we have companies and celebrities and everyone else jumping on the #BlackLivesMatter bandwagon. Should these moves be applauded or are they simply superficial gestures so “the blacks”…
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Finding Black Joy in Times of Crisis
The other week, I cried. For some, shedding tears in times of chaos and terror seems quite normal. Anticipated, even. To me, it felt strange. I am a black woman. As a journalist and a ‘student of the game,’ I am keenly aware of the systems of racism that—from this country’s inception—were created to oppress…
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Yes, the Police Are Racist
Why does everyone think the Nazis were racist? Sure, Hitler was definitely racist. He ordered the extermination of the Jews from Germany and later from all over Europe once he became chancellor of Germany. Sure, He built the Third Reich—a political, social and economic regime based on the idea of Aryan supremacy. Sure Nazi soldiers…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: The Evidence of Things Not Seen
Nigga, I ain’t shitI just know how to rhyme a lil’ bitI’m just trying to squeeze fit my fat ass in wherever I can fit. — Cee-Lo Green Ninety-nine percent of the time, I already know what I’m going to say before I even begin to write the Clapback Mailbag. Today is the other one…
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Auntie Unfiltered: Black People Can’t Save You; We Tryna Save Ourselves
Attention white people: It is not up to black people to educate you and help you understand racism. It is not up to black people to tell you what you need to say to your white racist friends. It is not up to black people to undo racism. It is not up to black people…
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A Letter Not From a Birmingham Jail
“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and…