Opinion
-
Is Chance the Rapper Secretly Just A Human-Sized Sheet Cake? (Probably!)
Chance the Rapper is a rapper who raps about the sort of things you’d expect a rapper with “Rapper” in their rap name to rap about. If you are not familiar with him or his work, the best way to describe him and it is “aggressively earnest.” Think of a trade school admissions counselor who…
-
Tucker Carlson's Top Writer Resigns After Being Revealed as a Racist (On the Internet)
I know you will not clutch your pearls in surprise when I tell you that one of the writers behind the notoriously racist Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News has been revealed to be a virulent racist. After CNN broke the news that Blake Neff has been spending his time basically testing out material for…
-
The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Bars
This mailbag is dedicated to all the ones who called the writers at The Root “racists”; to all the ones who wrote us emails saying we’d never amount to nothing; to everyone who sent angry emails when we were just trying to write articles and feed our babies. To all the niggas in the struggle……
-
Auntie Unfiltered: Not All White People
Whenever the topic of discussion turns to white people and the bullshit they pull against Black people, there will always be a few white voices that want to disrupt what could be a productive conversation with that old white people spiritual refrain: “Not all white people.” I’ve written about and spoken on this topic before.…
-
What Would Be an Appropriate Consequence (Or Punishment) for Someone Like Amy Cooper?
There’s a scene in Gone Baby Gone where Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) is deep in the white hoods of Boston, and he runs into two dopeboys he knows—one Black and one white. After greeting the Black one, he turns to speak to the white one. Patrick Kenzie: How you been, Chris? Chris: Better than you.…
-
We Just Can't Afford to Stay This Fucking Stupid
I was reminded—while threading together my thoughts on Stephen Jackson’s defense of DeSean Jackson’s defense of…Adolf Hitler—of an article I read in 2016 or 2017 I think, about Donald Trump. In it, it was revealed that Trump was somewhat surprised that so many Black people despise him, because, up until he ran for president, he’d…
-
White People Have Weaponized ‘I Feel Threatened’ the Same Way They Have Weaponized the Police
This won’t be long, because I am not going to belabor the point. Much in the same way white people have weaponized the police against Black bodies, they have also adopted the language of those who protect and uplift whiteness and white supremacy—the police. Historically, we’ve seen that the only thing a cop needs to…
-
Sorry, White America, But All Holidays Matter
Today is July 4th, a.k.a Independence Day, a.k.a ID4, according to the seminal 1996 film. A day commemorating when some white dudes won their valiant fight to stop paying taxes to some other group of white dudes. For over 240 years, America has taken to grand fireworks displays, cookouts and a solid run of Will…
-
Auntie Unfiltered: Working With All Black Coworkers
Have I ever told y’all how blessed I am to be working at The Root? People who criticize us always start with “Y’all are owned by white people” to try and take us down. Listen. Yes, we are owned by white people, but my workplace is black as fuck. Yes, the company that owns The…