culture
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How Umar Johnson Cured Me of Being a Hidden Hotep
I am a recovering hidden Hotep. Mind you, not the ankh-wearing, incense-selling, lecture-women-about-their menstrual-cycles kind of Hotep. I was more Hotep-adjacent. Hidden beneath my public-Ivy education and functional relationship with my parents lurked a man who would disappear down YouTube click holes of Tariq Nasheed, Professor Griff, ZaZa Ali and, of course, Dr. Umar Johnson.…
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The Quad’s Writers’ Room Addresses Criticism
When it comes to portraying the black college experience on television or on the silver screen, most people will cite School Daze and A Different World as points of reference. Both of these put a fictional spin on life at an HBCU, and were way ahead of their time when it came to touching on…
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If Andrew Caldwell Is So ‘Delivert,’ Why Is He Talking So Much About Kordell Stewart’s Dick?
Whenever Andrew Caldwell speaks, I’m left with the feeling that the inside of his head is full of the lyrics from Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much” coupled with the images of various, floating penises. I know, I know: When someone tells you who they are, believe them. However, as the colored court jester of gay…
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Black Feminism Should Serve the Women Who Aren’t at the Table, Too
There’s a young woman who lives on the first floor of my apartment building. She’s cute, probably in her mid-20s, although life has prematurely etched the signature of age across her face and carriage. She’s a mama to four sons, none of them more than 5 or 6 years old, all absolutely adorable, stair-jumping, ripping-and-tearing,…
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The Men of The Root on ‘A Day Without a Woman’
By now we’re sure that you are aware of this, but if you aren’t, then let us hip you to game: The Root is run and managed by righteous black women. Managing Editor Danielle Belton, Deputy Editor Genetta Adams, Senior Editor Yesha Callahan, Associate Editor Kirsten West Savali, News Editor Breanna Edwards, Social-Content Producer Danielle…
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Underground: A Stellar Slave Tale Even if You’re Slaved Out
Whenever I hear skinfolk exclaim that they are exhausted by slave-related stories, my immediate reaction traditionally is to extend to them the invitation to shut their black asses up. About a year ago, though, I inadvertently behaved like the kind of people I have written about. The kind who more or less profess to be…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: The Ex Marks the Spot
When cold-as-freezer-burn Justin becomes the supporter and Lee, the suave, endearing boyfriend, becomes the overly aloof one in one breath while we are being set up for a very obvious and cliché storyline in another, this was one of the more entertaining episodes of this season. I’ll put my dismay at the prospect of Justin…
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The Women of The Root Are on Strike Today
Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth is famously attributed with asking, “Ain’t I a woman?” Her extemporaneous speech about the nature of womanhood was edited, adjusted and remixed to fit the sensibilities of the white progressives of the time, i.e., abolitionists and suffragettes. Meaning, while Truth was from the Northeast and spoke Dutch as…
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Sorry, Oprah, You Might Be Too Late
Last week, Oprah Winfrey seemingly contemplated a run for the White House in 2020. When asked if she’d considered entering that race, she responded that the 2016 presidential election had dismissed her previous concerns that she might not be qualified enough for the job. In other words: If Donald Trump can do it, so can…
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Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta Is Back: Kirk Is a Nasty Thot and Folks Can’t Keep Out of Joseline’s Womb
Midway through the last season of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, I started to hear Beyoncé’s voice: “I’m through with it/Through with it (love)/I’m finally giving it up.” While I love my Negro telenovelas, the previous season was not up to par. It had a bunch of new folks whose problems I didn’t care about,…