Opinion
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Celebrity Edition
Some mailbags are different. Every Friday, we respond to questions and criticisms about the articles that appeared on The Root during the week. But each mailbag is unique. Sometimes the mailbag just wants to have an honest and open discussion without lobbing baseless accusations around. In fact, these emails came from all kinds of people’s…
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Dispatch From a Black Man in Trumpland: Kanye’s Oval Office ‘Minstrel Show’ Ain’t Only About Him
Speaking Thursday on CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Don Lemon took it there, calling Kanye West’s performance in the White House yesterday a “minstrel show.” “Him in front of all of these white people, mostly white people, embarrassing himself and embarrassing Americans, but mostly African-Americans,” Lemon said. Others have noted Kanye’s much-discussed mental health struggles…
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A White Woman Called the Police on a Whale… A Whale, Y'all
A viral video has captured the essence of gentrification after a white woman called the police on a school of whales hanging out in their own neighborhood, minding their own whale business. According to Time, Darren Lucianna and his family were on a boating trip in Puget Sound when they encountered a whale suffering from…
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#BabysittingWhileBlack: White Woman Calls Police on Black Man Riding Around With White Kids
A brave superheroine busted up a nonexistent child trafficking ring on Sunday when she noticed a black man riding around with two white children in his car and alerted the authorities to a kidnapping in progress. CBS 46 reports that a white woman who was temporarily working for the Avengers (which, it must be noted,…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: The 10 Clap Commandments
You know what time it is. It’s Friday. After wading through the emails, tweets and direct messages from The Root’s readers, I noticed a disturbing trend: Some people have assumed that some of our articles have attacked them. Even though I’m breaking the first rule of clapping back (Rule No. 1: Never talk about clapbacks),…
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LaCroix Doesn’t Just Taste Like Bug Spray, It Might Actually BE Bug Spray
Remember way, way, way, way, way back when, when I was like, “Y’all are pretending to enjoy LaCroix,” and some of y’all were like, “Blasphemy! La Croix is the nectar of the Gods!” And then I was like, “Um, it tastes how Lindsey Graham’s voice sounds,” and then y’all were like, “I JUST BAPTIZED MY…
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Why Is It So Damn Hard To Vote?
They don’t want you to vote. I am not a conspiracy theorist, nor do I believe in the mythical “they.” So, for years, I have always wondered why more black people didn’t vote. Even if one doesn’t believe in politics, democracy or supporting a political system founded on white supremacy, I vote for the same…
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When Donald Trump Says ‘It’s a Scary Time For Young Men In America,’ He Means Young White Men
This is your regular reminder that the current sitting president of the United States is a racist, xenophobic rape apologist who protects and promotes abusers. He doesn’t protect all abusers mind you; he protects those who look like him, think like him and have a socio-economic status that matches his. Everyone else can go to…
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Kanye West Is the Male Lauryn Hill
One day last week Kanye West was supposed to drop new music. Instead, he dropped more support for his president Donald J. Trump. One day last week, Lauryn Hill was supposed to do a show (or wasn’t supposed to do a show. At this point both are believable) and she canceled and said that the…
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren Breaks Down America’s Ugly History of Housing Discrimination and How She Plans to Fix It
Home ownership is at the heart of the American dream. Michael Smith, his wife, Janet, and their daughter, Ashley, were living that dream. They scrimped and saved for a down payment while he worked full-time moving packages for DHL, and Janet, for Chase. Finally, they bought a modest home with a small yard in a…