civil rights movement
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University of Alabama Removes Name of Noted Segregationist George C. Wallace From Building
It’s weird that so many struggle to believe that America was built on racism when so many of our buildings and monuments are dedicated to people who fought to preserve institutional racism. A building at the University of Alabama at Birmingham named after George C. Wallace has been renamed because of Wallace’s historical support of…
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Your Library Needs These 5 Books by and About Powerful Black Women
There are books that make you feel great admiration for a woman’s work, books that spark the impetus to tackle an issue, and books that do both. This is a list of those books, written by women who have used their careers, voices and lives to elevate the greater good of all of us. Reclaiming…
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Bipartisan Call in the Senate for Congressional Gold Medal to be Awarded to Emmett Till and His Mother
In a rare moment of bi-partisanship, a Republican and Democratic senator have called for the nation’s highest civilian honor to be awarded posthumously to Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. NBC News reports that Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced a bill to award the Congressional Medal of Honor to…
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Speak on It! Fannie Lou Hamer's Legacy Takes the Chicago Stage With a 9-Venue Outdoor Run—and a Voting Drive
To vote or not to vote this November seems a fairly absurd question to many of us facing what is likely the most crucial election of our lifetimes. But if you’re still on the fence about participating in our (admittedly problematic) electoral process at this point, may I, in all irony, quote the Oompa Loompa-in-Chief…
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Chinonye Chukwu Is Directing a Film About Mamie Till Mobley's Relentless Pursuit of Justice Following Emmett Till's Brutal Murder
We will never forget the image of Emmett Louis Till’s grotesquely disfigured face, after his mother Mamie Till Mobley decided to intentionally leave his casket open so the nation could reckon with the hateful evil that caused it. Additionally, we shall never forget the stark pain on her face as she stood over her son’s…
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'Billie Holiday Is Probably One of Our First Civil Rights Leaders': Lee Daniels Discusses His Upcoming Biopic at The Root Institute
It’s been nearly 50 years since the debut of Lady Sings the Blues, which was a huge inspiration for writer-director-producer Lee Daniels—so much so, that he is now directing his own biographical drama about the iconic Billie Holiday, The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Through her art—especially her stirring song, “Strange Fruit”—Holiday became pivotal in…