culture
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The NAACP Will Learn the Pain Associated With Charter Schools
“Before the NAACP came to New Orleans, we never had the opportunity to share,” Kim Ford, communications chair for the New Orleans branch of the NAACP, said exclusively to The Root. Ford helped organize the national organization’s sixth hearing on quality education, which took place in the Crescent City on April 6. “We are a…
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Scandal Recap: We Finally Find Out What the Hell Happened to Huck
If you recall, a couple of episodes ago, Huck was shot three times by his new lady friend, Meg, who turned out to be working for Sarah, the woman who for some yet-to-be discovered reason forced Papa Pope to kill President-elect Frankie Vargas. We’ve all been waiting to find out whether Huck was dead or…
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How a Survivor of Sex Trafficking Made It Her Life’s Mission to Protect Victims and Educate Others
Tina Frundt’s story is one of survival. When she was 13 years old and living in Chicago, she met a man, who was about 15 years older than she was, while she was on her way to a store. The man, known as “Tiger,” basically groomed Frundt by befriending her and showering her with gifts.…
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Why Bingo Love Is the Black Queer Graphic Novel You Need on Your Bookshelf
While one hopes that a Best Picture win for Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight will translate into more stories about black queer men, it cannot be denied that representations of lesbians and queer women of color are sadly lagging behind in pretty much every medium, from film to literature. But Tee Franklin, a queer black, disabled emerging writer,…
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Forget That White Lady’s Emmett Till Painting; These Black Artists Are Truly Representing at the Whitney Biennial
At this year’s Whitney Biennial, the award for the most discussed and divisive piece of art easily goes to white artist Dana Schutz’s painting of the dead body of Emmett Till called Open Casket. The painting has provoked protests and sparked debates about white exploitation of black trauma, freedom of expression and censorship. As a…
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100 Years a US Territory: Danish Government Attempts to Atone for Slavery as US Virgin Islands Celebrate Transfer Day
In 1493, Christopher Columbus “discovered” four islands that were already inhabited by the Ciboney, Caribs and Arawaks. But as we all know, this didn’t matter to good ole Columbus, and in honor of St. Ursula and her group of holy virgins, Columbus named the islands “the Virgins.” We now call them St. Croix, St. Thomas,…
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9 Times Michelle Obama Texture-Teased Us
Around this time five years ago, the natural-hair-blog streets went into a full tailspin when a photo of Lady Obama wearing a kinky, curly, asymmetrical style circulated the internets. Twitter detectives soon discovered that the image had been photoshopped, and our textured-black-hair-in-the-White House dreams were dimmed. But Sunday evening, we got a glimpse of that…
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Without Question, 1997 Was (Maybe, Possibly) the Best Year in Black Music
1997 was the best year in black music. Let me rephrase: 1997 was probably the best year in black music. I know. You think I’m crazy. Hear me out—but first, a caveat. I admit that, as a child of the ’90s, my musical tastes are deeply influenced by my proclivity for hip-hop and ’90s…
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Ann Coulter Is Dating Jimmie Walker. Are Your Eyes Burning, Too?
Old people love to tell other people’s business without a single care in the world. And why should they care? They’re old as hell, so there has to be a certain reverence from anyone their junior. Well, if you were raised right, you show respect to the AARP demo, but even if you don’t, they…