Opinion
-
Is It Safe? How Insecure Can Be a Force in Shaping Black Women’s Sexual Health
If you watched Sunday night’s episode of Insecure you found out that Lawrence is out here burning folks. Kudos to the show for showing some of the negative health effects of what happens if you engage in unsafe sex, as well as showing Lawrence in true “good dude” form calling all of his sexual partners…
-
15 Things, Other Than Weed, That Might Make Me Care About What Cops Found in Botham Jean's Apartment
After a burglar broke into Botham Jean’s Dallas apartment and reportedly killed him (I know, I know, but I have to say “reportedly.”), police now say they found .37 ounces of marijuana in Jean’s residence. Although this revelation initially made me angry, I quickly remembered that every time a white person kills an unarmed black…
-
The Root's Clapback Mailbag: White People Did It First
Before we get into this week’s emails, tweets, DMs, Facebook Messages, etc, let me tell you a story: As a kid, whenever my sisters or I broke my mother’s rules by doing something stupid (which was often), before doling out her punishment, my mother would allow us to plead our cases before the court of…
-
Everything You've Been Told About Botham Jean is Wrong
Come. Let me show you something. Let me show you what it is to be black. To be forever erased from the realm of the living with a bang and a puff of smoke. To disappear silently into an empty void or, even worse, to have your death dissected in a desperate futile search for…
-
I Want to Build a Wall Around Anyone Who Thinks Taco Bell Is the Best Mexican Restaurant in the Country
As a native Los Angeleno, I recognize that I have grown up with a certain amount of taco privilege. I basically live in northern Mexico, and good, authentic tacos and Mexican food can be found relatively easily with minimal effort. It is one of the perks of living here, and I don’t take it for…
-
Why the Serena Williams Cartoon is Racist, Sexist Trash, Explained
When cartoonist Mark Knight tweeted an image of his cartoon depicting Serena Williams’ disagreement with Umpire Carlos Ramos in the Finals of the U.S. Open, he responded to the public criticisms of racism by asserting that “it had nothing to do with gender or race,” according to Melbourne Australia’s Herald Sun. “The cartoon about Serena…
-
When in Doubt, Blame the Dead
Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger should be facing a murder charge. There are too many holes in this carefully-crafted narrative that is being doled out to us a teaspoonful at a time. Too many things don’t add up. The more they dribble out to us, the more questions we have. Earlier Monday, a law enforcement…
-
Competition, Compassion and the Stories We Don't Hear About Black Women Athletes
By now, many of us know the story of what happened at the Women’s U.S. Open finals on Saturday. During the match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, in which Osaka was ahead, Chair umpire Carlos Ramos pushed Williams towards the breaking point, personally and with regard to the match, with a series of mystifying…
-
The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Feeding the Trolls
I can tell when I’m being trolled. I know I’m not supposed to feed them but sometimes I have to let people know that I’m not as gullible as they think I am. Take The Root’s News Editor Breanna Edwards for instance. Even before I started working at The Root, I knew she wasn’t real.…
-
Why I Hate Biopics
So the title is a lie. Any list of my all-time favorite movies would include both Goodfellas and Malcolm X in it—both of which are biopics—and there many others that I’ve enjoyed watching. So, as a rule, I do not actually hate watching movies that are based on a real person’s life and the events…