Barack Obama
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Killing the Donald Trump in Us: How to Be Less Like the Man We Elected to Lead Us
Despite late-2016 blather about the “forgotten white people,” those of us comfortable with reality have agreed about what led to the rise of Donald Trump: seething racism, toxic masculinity, nihilism and greed. Some also say it was the news breaking shortly before the election that there had been a BET party at the White House…
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The Biggest Winners of 2017
With everything—and everyone—we lost in this past year, there were some big wins. Black women showed up and showed out in various ways. Black men put their careers and livelihoods on the line to speak out against racial injustice, police violence, and sexual assault and harassment. Creative artists experienced amazing glow ups, and black teenagers…
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Mums the Word on Prince Harry Inviting the Obamas to the Royal Wedding
Prince Harry isn’t letting the cat out of the bag when it comes to whether or not Barack and Michelle Obama will receive an invite to his wedding with Meghan Markle, even though British gossip rags circulated news about a possible wedding invite diss because of Donald Trump’s jealousy. Obama’s and Prince Harry’s BBC interview…
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Apparently Donald Trump’s Feelings Will Be Hurt if the Obamas Get a Royal-Wedding Invite and He Doesn’t. Please, 2018, Make This Happen!
So we can talk about what Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry “means”—and what “means” even means in this context—and imperialism and colorism and capitalism and neoliberalism and whether the Obamas being invited to the royal wedding is something to be celebrated and the racist brooch-rocking Darth Abigails currently in the royal family, and we…
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Watch: Cornel West on Neoliberalism, Bernie Sanders and Why Donald Trump Is a ‘Gangsta’
The Root spent an hour speaking to Cornel West on Dec. 8 on a wide range of issues, including former President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, neoliberalism, President Donald Trump and, of course, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Watch an edited version of our conversation above.
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Watch: Cornel West Answers the Question, ‘Did Obama Let Us Down?’
Did President Barack Obama let us down? When Cornel West stopped by for an exclusive interview with The Root, we presented him with three questions that reflect the current state of the national political landscape. Watch his responses above. In a video coming in January, The Root’s Angela Helm and Terrell Jermaine Starr will delve into…
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When Harry Met Barry … a Prince Interviews a Former President for the BBC
Our favorite gingy, Prince Harry (well, my favorite, after Jidenna, Malcolm X and Jade McKnight) of England, sat down with former President (well, my current president) Barack Obama for the BBC as the two peas in a pod chatted about all the good things in the world. According to CNN, the interview took place in…
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Former President Barack Obama and Recent Data Suggest That Women Make Better Leaders, and Water Is Wet
At an invitation-only event in Paris Saturday, former President Barack Obama urged attendees to consider “the importance of more focus on putting women in power, because men seem to be having some problems these days.” Umm …. ya think? Obama cited our “socialization” as the likely reason for women’s capacity to be better leaders. While…
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Today in Obama: Turkey With a Side of Dad Jokes
In which we reflect on simpler times. If you wanted a side of nostalgia on your Thanksgiving plate, we at The Root are here to serve. Let’s go back to 2015—when the first family served Thanksgiving meals to homeless and at-risk veterans in Washington, D.C. If this picture looks familiar, it may be because the…
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The 25 Best and Blackest Things About Chance the Rapper’s ‘Come Back, Barack’ Video on Saturday Night Live
1. The name of the group: De-Von-Tré. This is such a great and appropriate ’90s R&B name that I’m shocked it was available. Kinda like when you meet someone whose Twitter handle is @John and you think, “How the fuck did you get John?” 2. The very first shot of the video, of Chris Redd…
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