When my 9-year-old son told me that he had been thrown out of his fourth-grade class for kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance, I was mildly surprised by his actions, but furious with his teachers.
As the #BlackLivesMatter movement continues to grow in strength like the perfect storm, the prescient words of Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) slice with laser-sharp precision through the rhetoric of politicians and pundits alike as if he still walked among us.
Even in the year of our Lord 2018, it is hard in these United States to find inclusive, welcoming spaces that actually feel that way if you’re a person of color. That’s why, often, if black people want to be represented in a space—whether it be hair, makeup, clothing (what is “nude”?), workspaces, you name it—we have…
Buckle up, everyone; we’re about to talk about sex, Star Wars and Hollywood!
I remember exactly where I was when the news broke that Meghan Markle would become a member of the British royal family. It was like a dream. My head and heart were immediately consumed with so many competing thoughts and feelings, such as:
As one of the world’s foremost wypipologists, I have been tasked with addressing the newfound epidemic of Caucasian cop-summoners that just began trending around ... oh, I’m going to say it started in 1619, give or take a few days.
Not even 24 hours after making his appearance at the Met Gala, Michael B. Jordan walked into the room I was sitting in with a huge smile on his face, a voice that sounded like it could use a throat lozenge, and a cologne that wasn’t too overwhelming and lingered nicely after he gave me a hug. We were here to discuss…
The trouble with prequels is that it’s hard to raise the stakes when you already know certain characters are going to live. And in the same vein, you can predict who’s going to die, but Solo: A Star Wars Story was able to capture the exploration of a pre-New Hope universe with fun dialogue and action and great…
It is 1857 and Kanye, a carpenter, has finally saved up enough money to buy his freedom from Massa West. Trouble is, he has to leave his wife, Kimba, and five children on the plantation until he can buy them out of slavery as well.
In case you haven’t heard, no one showed up to Kanye West’s Yeezy X 2XU event in Sydney. First of all, I didn’t even know this was happening or a thing; nor do I know who or what a 2XU is.
Currently, Angels in America, the most Tony Award-nominated play in history, is smack in the middle of its much anticipated revival on Broadway in New York City. Debuting in 1992, Tony Kushner’s iconic and surreal tale tackles external and internal homophobia, Reaganism, McCarthyism and the AIDS epidemic in a much…
According to the global white agenda, every year, white people pick one slogan on which they will focus their undivided attention. While they are certainly capable of multitasking their oppression, they like to devote their energy to specific marketing campaigns. In 2016 the “alt-right’s” “Make America great again”…
For the very first time (yes, we’re still doing that in 2018), a black woman, Amber Ruffin, will be hosting the annual Webby Awards, aka “the Oscars of the internets” (my words).
As someone whose job is writing about race, I often receive a broad spectrum of criticism from people aggrieved by my inherent bigotry. My inbox is constantly wet from the salty white tears of Mayo Americans upset about The Root’s anti-white agenda. Apparently, when I and other writers at The Root point out white…
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. This final installment is…
Editor’s note: Welcome to The Root’s Sunday series highlighting the best in black fiction writers: It’s Lit! Each week we’ll feature a new story across all genres—from Afrofuturism to those stories that will bring a tear to your eye.
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. These are their stories.
The opening of Breaking In is jarring and confusing and sets the tone for the rest of the roughly 90-minute film, which could best be described as Panic Room-meets-Eye for an Eye—with black people.
Editor’s note: This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, The Glow Up interviewed four generations of mothers within a single Harlem family that recently welcomed its fifth generation. We’ve asked these mothers, ages 19 to 83, the same 12 questions about motherhood, daughterhood and matriarchy. These are their stories.
Pittsburgh native Gillian Jacobs’ characters always seem to have a wild side to them. From her wild-child character Mickey on Netflix’s Love to her role on the recently released movie Life of the Party, in which she stars as Helen, a “Girls Gone Wild” college student, you’d think that Jacobs might have something in…
