Joseph Walter Jackson, who aspired to be a musician himself, instead became the mastermind behind the most successful musical family in pop history, attracting much controversy along the way. He died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, according to TMZ. He was 89.
“I’m not wearing the sneakers, I’m not wearing the clothes, I’m not listening to the music. I’m definitely taking a step back—indefinitely,” said DJ and former Yeezy enthusiast Jerome Baker III to GQ, when asked how Kanye West’s recent antics affected his feelings about the Yeezy merchandise he owns.
Editor’s note: This week, The Root will examine the many facets of law enforcement and its effects on the black community with our weeklong series Unprotected, Underserved: The Policing of Black America.
Editor’s note: This week, The Root will examine the many facets of law enforcement and its effects on the black community with our weeklong series Unprotected, Underserved: The Policing of Black America.
In The Art of Exchange, The Root explores the intersections where different identities and communities of color meet. Each story covers a different place or personality that expands or challenges our idea of what cultural exchange, allyship and cross-cultural support look like.
White people are oppressed.
Music is indelibly tied to memory. You remember what song you heard right before you got your first kiss or when you experienced your first heartbreak or when you blew out the candles at your sweet 16? The song you had your first dance to at your wedding reception is just as important as the song they sang when y’all…
My father has never really been a major part of my life. Not having a father around was pretty much a normal thing throughout my childhood. My birth mother passed away from breast cancer when I was 3 years old, which left my brother and sister and me to be raised by family. My aunt became my mother as she stepped up…
All superheroes are white. Superman is white. Spider-Man is white. Batman is white. Wonder Woman is white.
Editor’s note: For Pride Month, The Root and Jezebel are teaming up once again for JezeRoot, with content by writers of color around everyday life for LGBTQ individuals.
After being called out for a collection of racist social media posts echoing the sentiments of noted Twitter political pundit Roseanne Barr, a board member of Alabama’s second-largest school district passionately explained herself by citing Michelle Obama’s unpatriotic hate for America and kneeling NFL players’…
During the Alabama special election between Roy Moore, a man with a history of predatory behavior toward teen girls, and now-Sen. Doug Jones, we heard again what has become a mantra for progressives: “Black women will save us.”
Slaves who accepted Jesus into their hearts were better off than the ones who held on to African religions. Black people were pretty happy under Jim Crow until Northerners messed everything up. Noah brought dinosaurs onto his ark and Africans had dinosaur puppies, but the Nazis don’t want you to know that.
A war. A hero. A conflict. A journey.
Lezli Levene Harvell has enjoyed food all of her life. The festivals, invitations to private food events and the scene, in general, fascinated her. However, she also noticed a dearth of black people being celebrated in the culinary world and wanted to do something about it. A pediatric dentist by training, Levene…
This week the legendary Apollo Theater celebrated the 13 years of its star-studded annual Spring Gala. Every year the iconic Harlem landmark gathers every ounce of black excellence it can find to raise funds for its year-round artistic- and community-programming initiatives.
Have you ever referred to someone or something as racist? I have.
Warning: This story is not about America’s criminal-justice system.
Like most people who use Instagram, I peruse the platform to seek out black beauty—men and woman. I live in Brazil, a country that is more than 50 percent black. But you wouldn’t know that by the faces you see on television, in magazines and even on mainstream websites.
What is black music? For many, it’s soul, funk, R&B, hip-hop and essentially all genres of music that reflect roots in blackness. But the industry doesn’t hear us. Music is very much a culture of “We make it, they take it.” We’ve seen it throughout history in the theft of everything we exclusively create within music,…
