culture
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Tracing Your Roots: My Black Ancestors Were Indian Scouts
Research reveals a Black Seminole family’s continent-crossing migration in search of freedom and battlefield glory. Dear Professor Gates: I’ve discovered that my paternal great-grandmother, Leona July Blanks, was a descendant of the Black Seminoles who migrated with the Native American Seminoles from Florida all the way through Mexico. She was born in April 1900 in…
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Gina Prince-Bythewood Becomes 1st Black Woman to Direct Superhero Movie
Sony is already creating a buzz for its upcoming film Silver & Black, the studio’s film starring classic Spider-Man characters Silver Sable and Black Cat, by announcing that writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood will direct the film. This announcement makes Prince-Bythewood the first black woman to direct a superhero movie. Prince-Bythewood is known for films such as…
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Nicholas Dean, New Orleans Charter School Principal Caught Wearing Nazi Rings and Appearing on ‘White Genocide’ Podcast, Removed From Campus
Updated Thursday, May 25, 2017, 2:45 p.m. EDT: Nicholas Dean has been fired from his position at Crescent Leadership Academy. “He will not return as the Principal or be associated with Crescent Leadership Academy,” the charter school’s parent group and board said in a statement Thursday. Crescent Leadership Academy Superintendent Tracy Bennett-Joseph confirmed Monday that…
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We Need More Than Self-Care; We Need Healing, Too
Black folks have always faced an existential dilemma in the U.S. The constant drum of violence on our bodies and our dignity leaves an impression on our collective psyche that we too seldom acknowledge. These unsparing conditions leave many black people with a sense of brokenness—about who they are, the direction of their lives or…
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Everything We Need to Know About the 53 Percent, We Can Learn From Watching The Handmaid’s Tale
Why would they vote against their own self-interests? This was the question many of us asked—in anger, horror and complete confusion—after the election of the least competent president in recorded history (thus far). How could they do it? The Rust Belt, “alt-right” and Republican die-hards were expected, but masses of college-educated, presumably politically aware women?…
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#TakeItDown: Lawyers File Federal Lawsuit Against Miss. Legislators Who Advocated Lynching People Who Support Confederate-Monument Removal
Attorneys Charles E. Lawrence III and Michael T. Scott have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of their client, attorney Carlos E. Moore, against Mississippi state lawmakers who advocated the lynching of people who support the removal of Confederate monuments. As previously reported by The Root, Mississippi state Rep. Karl Oliver wrote a Facebook post…
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Vanilla ISIS: The Quiet Radicalization of America’s New al-Qaida
terrorism (n): the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. In an effort to battle terrorism, Twitter maintains a team dedicated to fighting groups that advocate extremism. Since 2015, Twitter has banned more than 125,000 accounts linked to ISIS, or the Islamic State group, The Guardian reports. Both…
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Jay Z’s Mom Sent Me an Email and Now I Want to Support Everything She’s Doing for Underserved Children
It might be enough in life to be the mother of one of the biggest and wealthiest hip-hop moguls the world has ever seen, but not for Gloria Carter. Her claim to fame may be her most celebrated son, Shawn Carter, most widely known as Jay Z, but Mama Carter’s shaking things up on her…
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Watch: Remembering Black Radical Women Who Used Art to Start a Revolution
“We think of artists usually in history as European, as male, as being trained in a certain way,” said Rujeko Hockley, co-curator of “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85,” an exhibition currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum. “We don’t necessarily think of black women making quilts as artists in the South in…
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Don’t Bet on Black: The Bachelorette May Disappoint You
Black America, we have our first Bachelorette! She’s gorgeous, highly accomplished, decidedly brown-skinned and likely pissing off a huge swath of Trump voters (woot, woot!). But spoiler alert (among several): If you’re expecting a season full of scenic montages glorifying black love, she’s also likely to disappoint you. Manage your expectations accordingly. Full disclosure: I’ve…