culture
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An African in New York: Jazz Singer Somi’s Petite Afrique
“I don’t take coffee; I take tea, my dear. Some extra rice, please, on the side…” My tea leaves steep as I wait for Somi in Silvana, a café and live-music venue on 116th Street in Harlem, just off Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The singer-songwriter—who has topped both jazz and world music charts whilst being compared…
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‘Lynching in America’ Site Launched by Google to Confront the ‘Legacy of Racial Terror’
Google and the Equal Justice Initiative launched a website Tuesday that explores the history and legacy of racial terror in the United States, specifically during the period between the Civil War and World War II, when more than 4,000 black Americans were lynched in this country. Lynching in America is an interactive website created with…
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Should You Ever Trust a White Lady Sitting Cross-Legged on a Couch? Just Asking for a Friend!
My friend Isha Aran over at Fusion said something recently that resonated with my whole entire spirit: If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s never trust a white lady sitting cross-legged on a white couch. Aran went on to say: “They’re either trying to sell you crystal essences, or about to tell you…
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Blame It on the … Quaaludes? Guilty or Not, Bill Cosby Still Preferred Sex With Intoxicated Women
The drug could be injected, liquefied or taken in tablet form. When combined with alcohol, the effects, including sedation, euphoria and sleep, could be greatly amplified. It was odorless, tasteless and inexpensive. Quaalude, a synthetic depressant, was once quite literally the perfect date-rape drug. Whether or not Bill Cosby is found guilty, his behavior in…
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Juice at 25: Director Ernest Dickerson Talks Tupac, Hip-Hop and the Film’s Enduring Legacy
Twenty-five years ago, longtime cinematographer Ernest Dickerson made a deep impression with his directorial debut, Juice, a hip-hop-era film noir revolving around four teenage boys growing up in Harlem at a time when crack and violence were first emerging as devastating norms for urban youths. Juice, released Jan. 17, 1992, introduced both Omar Epps (“Q”)…
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Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay and Queen Sugar Cast Discuss Season 2 and Diversity on TV
About eight women gathered in a circle and waited patiently for Oprah Winfrey and the stars of Queen Sugar to walk into a hotel room at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in Los Angeles during a press junket sponsored by OWN. As we all sat there, trying to prep ourselves, there was a buzz of…
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#TheRootTrip: A Food (and Family) Connection in Phoenix
I asked folks, “Which black businesses should I check out in Phoenix?” and universally people said, “Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles.” I agreed. But what they didn’t know is that the owner of Lo-Lo’s is my cousin Larry White. Here’s the quick-and-dirty black-family story of how we’re cousins: Larry’s mother, Elizabeth White, is my Aunt Bethy,…
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#TheRootTrip: A Ghost of the Green Book in Phoenix
The dilapidated neighborhood sits in the dark shadow of downtown Phoenix, an American shantytown that time forgot. It’s a block with boarded-up, lean-to homes with glass windows that have been replaced by Home Depot plastic sheeting. Lingering are beaten-up F-150 trucks with giant American flags as their only point of pride, and desperate shirtless men…
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#TheRootTrip: The 1st Green Book Stop Tells a Tale of 2 Louises
On the outskirts of Phoenix, on a nondescript street of a forgettable block, sits an extraordinary relic of black motoring past, and my first Green Book stop. It’s the former home of Louis Jordan, or, as it’s listed in the 1957 Negro Travelers’ Green Book, the Louis Jordan Tourist Home at 2118 Violet Drive. Jordan—one…
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No Pressure
The other day, I decided I was going to take a “writing day.” I had heard my writer friends speak of this often. They wake, have a cup of coffee or tea, eat breakfast, change their clothes, and then either sit at a desk or take themselves to Starbucks to work. They treat their writing…