civil rights
-
Remembering a Pioneer: Civil Rights Attorney and Activist Frankie Muse Freeman Dies at 101
She was a fearless fighter for our freedom, and one of the first of her kind: She was Frankie Muse Freeman, a brilliant civil rights attorney, activist and icon. She died Friday, Jan. 12, at the age of 101. Born in segregated Virginia in 1916, Freeman was raised in a college-educated family, ultimately attending Hampton…
-
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Will Honor Recy Taylor During Trump’s State of the Union
On Sept. 3, 1944, 24-year-old Recy Taylor and two friends were on their way home from a late-night church service in Abbeville, Ala., when a group of white men abducted and raped her. Taylor refused to stay silent about the assault. Two grand juries refused to bring charges against her attackers. Taylor, who died at…
-
Trans Activist Who Called Caitlyn Jenner a ‘Fraud’ Is Running for Seat in California’s State Assembly
A transgender activist who drew national attention last year after confronting Caitlyn Jenner at an event and calling her a “fucking fraud” is now vying for a seat in California’s state Assembly. According to HuffPost, Ashlee Marie Preston on Saturday announced her plans to run for the District 54 seat, following the resignation of California…
-
LeRoy Frasier, Black Student Who Helped Desegregate University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dead at 80
LeRoy Frasier, a trailblazing pioneer who, along with his brother and another high school student, was among the first African-American undergraduate students to challenge segregation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has died at the age of 80. According to the Associated Press, family members confirmed Tuesday that Frasier, a longtime English…
-
This Video of White People Who Are Sticking by Roy Moore Is the Whitest and Most Insane Thing That Ever Happened This Week
I’m not going to do a minute-by-minute recap of this video. I can’t. You just have to watch it. I’m literally too flabbergasted to do so. And I don’t get flabbergasted often, but this video … good gotdamn. Watching white folks whitefolkin’ is something we’re all used to by this point, but Meek Mill could…
-
On the Ground at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Opening in Jackson
It is debatable whether the unexpected snow hitting the South, including Jackson, Miss., affected attendance at the grand opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History more than Donald Trump’s appearance Saturday. Civil rights icon U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) were not the only ones…
-
Watch: Al Sharpton Teaches Us How to Take a Proper Selfie
We all know the Rev. Al Sharpton as one of the leaders of the civil rights movement. In fact, in October 2017, The Root invited the Rev to our office to interview him about his 50 years of service in civil rights, and he told us about the time he was stabbed while marching. To…
-
Colin Kaepernick Is GQ’s Citizen of the Year Without Having to Say a Damn Thing
It’s long been clear that Colin Kaepernick has become a bigger hero off the football field than he ever was on it. In a year that has seen the ripple effects of the quarterback’s 2016 national anthem protests against racial injustice (protests that effectively barred him from playing the sport again but that have become…
-
Don’t Let the Smile Fool You. I’m Cringing on the Inside
In all truth, I was originally never going to tell this story. Because for the longest time, I didn’t even know if there was a story. I didn’t take what had happened to me seriously. Sexual harassment, unwanted sexual attention, grabby or flirtatious old men; we’re taught as women to make excuses for them, especially…
-
‘Underwear Bomber’ Files Lawsuit Claiming US Justice Department Denies Him Free Speech, Religious Rights
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is currently serving multiple life sentences for attempting to set off a bomb in his underwear on a plane on Christmas Day in 2009, has now filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice claiming that the department is denying him his free speech and religious rights. According to Reuters,…