culture
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Don’t Hurt Yourself: Unicorns Aren’t Real and You’re Not a Special Snowflake
Many moons ago, fresh off an unexpected achievement and gaining a toehold in both the music industry and the fun, freewheeling network that was once Twitter, I decided to celebrate my unlikely success with the social media tagline, “Just your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door … may I borrow some sugar?” Playful? Yes. Obnoxious? Perhaps;…
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The Latest Leslie Jones White-Tears Controversy
Leslie Jones is the latest target in the new epidemic of wypipo pearl-clutching and getting outraged at comedians for telling jokes. During her latest stand-up performance at Carolines on Broadway, Jones, the New York Times reports, told the story of when online troll and pedophile advocate Milo Yiannopoulos attacked her and inspired his “alt-right” minions…
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To Be Held by Moonlight
There was no church scene. There were no tambourines or drums, no preachers loudly proclaiming Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9. There were no flamboyant choir directors, teenagers named Arthur or bluesmen named Jimmy; no John or Gabriel Grimes; no Elishas. Yet, this film, Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, could’ve been James Baldwin’s,…
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Living With History: Harriet Tubman’s Great-Great-Grandniece Wants Black History Celebrated Every Month
Editor’s note: For Black History Month, The Root is speaking to the relatives of our most cherished African-American heroes in a series called Living With History. To open the series, we interviewed a descendant of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Next, we did a Q&A with the descendants of Ida B. Wells, and last…
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From ‘ShETHER’ to Just Blaze vs. Swizz Beatz to Mysonne’s Freestyle, It Was a Great Week to Be a Hip-Hop Head
Although science has yet to chart the lunar moons of hip-hop, every so often the bling from 2Pac’s shiny-gold-bathtub era passes from behind the shade of Big L’s New York Yankees “fitted,” and the heavenly eclipse gives us a brief glow of what hip-hop used to be. This happened this past week, when hip-hop purists…
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Who Could, Should and Will Win at the 89th Academy Awards
I have a complicated relationship with the Academy Awards. As I’ve said before, when we need the approval and validation of the dominant group in order for us to see our own work as valuable, we engage in a form of internalized racism that centers whiteness even as we engage in the subversive work of…
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Cheryl Boone Isaacs Put the Oscars on a Path Toward Diversity. Will Her Successor Continue the Trend?
Tonight’s 89th annual Academy Awards will be very different from last year’s broadcast or even the year before. In 2015 and 2016, there were no black actors or actors of color nominated in any acting categories. One of the reasons activist April Reign was so successful in launching her #OscarsSoWhite movement in protest was that…
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On White Women Who Pen Criticisms of Beyoncé and Serena When White Feminism Isn’t Enuf
The phrase “whiteness gone white” rings all the more true every time a talented-beyond-measure black woman graces us with her presence and is criticized for it. And white women are continually leading this cause. On Sunday, Feb. 12, a very pregnant Beyoncé graced our television screens as she levitated onto the Grammy stage with an…
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‘Bad Bitch’ Gone Bawse: An Ode to Amber Rose
Amber, I think I owe you an apology. Not because I’ve ever disparaged you; I haven’t. By contrast, I was likely dismissive—not always an easy task, given how strikingly you present. But I now consider it a blind spot in my personal brand of feminism (womanism), since admittedly, I’ve clearly never given you the credit…
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Black Women Were Basking in Excellence at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awards
“I challenge you not to deny yourselves … we must survive because we love you.” Those were Aja Naomi King’s last words as she left the podium in a room filled with the glow of radiating love and #BlackGirlMagic, also known as the 10th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood event. On Thursday evening, King,…