black women
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I Am Not Your Token: What Rihanna Taught Us This Week About ‘Diversity’ Casting
This week, one lucky Rihanna fan got an impromptu lesson in tokenism—from the star herself—after they suggested that she include transgender women in her next Fenty Beauty campaign. The new beauty mogul, who rocked the cosmetics industry this past September with her full-spectrum beauty launch, responded kindly and clearly on why even the question was…
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Transgender Woman Spent 10 Years Inside Men’s Prisons and Is Fighting to Make Sure That Never Happens to Another Woman
A few weeks ago, in the buildup of the travesty-shamockery that was the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-vs.-Conor McGregor fight, the great boxing analyst Teddy Atlas was forced to vamp on ESPN as cameras showed a McGregor workout. Although I could listen to Teddy Atlas read a phone book or, even worse, Taylor Swift lyrics, he left…
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Watch: Dee Rees Says It’s Not Enough to Just Be a Black Woman; You Must Be Excellent
Dee Rees is out here making movies that stick to your ribs. From Pariah to Bessie to her latest, Mudbound, which was released on Netflix Friday. It’s because of these amazing films that Rees was recognized on The Root 100 as an honoree, holding down the 42nd spot. Full Disclosure: Netflix flew The Root to…
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Mudbound Is Another Exhausting Tale of Inequality and Racism in America, but at Least It Was Executed Properly
When there’s historical blackness in film, it’s usually displayed through slavery or Jim Crow. There’s never really any in between. But there is a very palpable significance in remembering, reliving and recognizing black history and respecting how far we’ve come (even though 2017 mirrors the past more times than we’re comfortable with). I guess that’s…
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Reproductive Justice for Black Women, Latinas, More Critical Than Ever
For the past three years, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, or COLOR, along with dozens of partners, has hosted a Halloween-themed social media conversation on Twitter about the frightening facts and the disparate outcomes in health, wealth, safety and well-being that reproductive-justice warriors like Sister Song have been fighting to address…
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Judge of Characters: It’s Time to Trust Black Women
The stories of black women are often met with closed ears. And if the ears happen to be open, oftentimes we’re regarded as liars. From Rep. Frederica Wilson to Lupita Nyong’o and every black woman in between, our lived experiences are challenged in a way that says there’s no way anything we say could or…
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Chrisette Michele Reveals Suicidal Ideations, Miscarriage on IG; Heartless Critics Remind Her She Sang at Trump’s Inauguration
Chrisette Michele is one of the latest examples of how some people in the black community—particularly on social media—seem to lie in wait for a black woman to make a public misstep just so they can throw her in the trash. Things haven’t been the same for Michele since she performed at the inauguration of…
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Everything Is Bigger in Texas, so of Course The Root’s Young, Fabulous and Female Event Slayed in Dallas
The Root’s Young, Fabulous and Female event has traveled all over the United States, hitting cities like Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Chicago and now, Dallas. Everything truly is bigger in Texas because the beautiful black women showed up and showed out. The Young, Fabulous and Female event is presented by Toyota (#ToyotaCHR)…
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Congratulations, Black Women! Today, You Finally Caught Up to White Men … Kinda
If the average black woman saved all her pay from 2016 and combined it with every penny she had earned through July 2017, the total would equal just what the average white man earned in 2016 alone. July 31 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. According to the Economic Policy Institute—a nonpartisan think tank focused…