culture
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Tracing Your Roots: What Did Freedom Bring for My Ancestor?
Post-Civil War records point to a common fate for many African Americans after emancipation. Dear Professor Gates: I’m searching for any information on my third great-grandfather Hardy Dykes, who was born in 1843. I assume that he was born in or near Hawkinsville, Ga. The only record I could find on him was in the…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Now With 50 Percent More Clapback … and Racism
Some debate has emerged about The Root’s Clapback Mailbag that should be settled by the readers. Since this is for you, (partially) by you, we need you to decide on a jingle for our Friday mailbag. Two people on The Root (amazingly, independent of each other) revealed that they read it humming the name to…
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Sports Illustrated Whitesplains Why It Left Colin Kaepernick Off ‘Sports United’ Cover
Imagine being a major sports magazine doing a cover story on the players and team leaders who spoke up and spoke out on the issues of race and inequality, and the right to freedom of personal expression—just to leave out the player who is the reason these discussions are being had in the first place.…
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March for Black Women Organizers Want to Put Our Issues Front and Center During March for Racial Justice
There’s another social justice march this weekend, and black women are refusing to be left behind. The March for Black Women will take place Saturday in Washington, D.C.—smack in the middle of the March for Racial Justice. While the March for Racial Justice is billed as a “black and indigenous led multi-community movement” that 30,000…
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From Hallmark to the Royal Family: Why Made-for-TV Movies Are the Break From Reality We All Need
Terrible made-for-TV movies are my anti-drug and have been since I was a child. Back then they were often called “Movies of the Week” and were usually based on true stories. The “based on a true story” tag was used liberally because often that just meant, “Once there was a person who lived in a…
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Jemele Hill and the Social Burden of Being a Black Woman in Media
When the situation involving Jemele Hill, ESPN and Donald Trump first made headlines, I remember being grateful that I work for a black media outlet. Day after day, I write posts that include news about the Trump administration, and in each of those posts, I ridicule the president and his administration while simultaneously calling out…
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Colin Kaepernick, Sports Illustrated and How Media Complicity Is Erasing His Movement
Sports Illustrated’s latest cover, which debuted Monday, is a tribute to the athletes, coaches and leaders of the sports world who took a stand this weekend against Donald Trump, attacks on our constitutional and civil rights, and the injustices suffered by blacks and other people of color in this country. The cover title, “A Nation…
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An Apology to Ray Lewis, Who Says He Was Praying, Not Protesting
Dearest Ray, I hope this letter finds you well. I know that you are a busy man, so I pray that I haven’t interrupted you midshuck or disturbed your daily regimen of rigorous jiving with this letter. On Sunday, seconds after someone sent me a photo of you bent prostrate during the playing of the…
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Patriotism Is for Black People
We have all stood in the grocery store and watched a kid (usually white) scream at his or her mother in a volume and tone that defies our mama’s mantra of “When we go in this store, you bet’ not say nothing, touch nothing or want nothing.” Alternately, we’ve all heard a mother (usually black)…