culture
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Is My Natural Hair Holding Back My Career?
At a recent interview, I sat in the waiting area for the hiring manager to come and greet me and did my usual scan of employees while I waited. The receptionist was black (and wearing micro braids), and a man, who looked to be on the custodial staff, was speaking Spanish to another younger woman,…
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Victoria’s Secret Runway Show Sparks Natural-Hair Debate, Pitting Asian Women Against Black Women
Monday evening, Victoria’s Secret held its annual star-studded runway presentation. The usual fashion “it” girls strutted down the runway to performances by Lady Gaga, the Weeknd and Bruno Mars. It was pretty standard VS runway—with one kinky exception. Four gorgeous black models walked the runway with their natural tresses this year. I remember the coil-collective…
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Should People Really Lose Their Jobs When They Say Something Racist on Social Media?
We’ve heard the stories: A waitress is fired for tweeting a racist comment about customers; a doctor is fired for suggesting on Facebook that Michelle Obama resembles a monkey. Almost daily, there are tales of employees oversharing on social media and paying for it with their jobs. While it might be satisfying to witness instances…
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Unique Views, Episode 21: Why Are Black Women ‘Hidden Figures’?
I don’t hate my co-star and daughter in this podcast game, Ms. Patti Patti LaDanielle, aka Danielle Young, The Root’s social-content producer, but because of Donald Trump’s Russian-tainted presidential-election win, our relationship is strained. It’s fitting that this episode starts with us arguing, but that isn’t important. What is important is that I won. Because…
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Go See Office Christmas Party and Remember Everything You Like About the Holidays
Nostalgia is a funny thing in the movies. When it’s done right, movies whisk us back to some bygone romanticized era where we could all laugh, party and relive simpler times—think Hot Tub Time Machine’s depiction of the ’80s. When movie nostalgia goes wrong, it’s a trip back to someone else’s fantasy past, when white…
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8 Gift Ideas for Guys Who Are Out There Hustling Like Earn on Atlanta
Everyone has a guy like Earn in their life. Earn is the struggling, college dropout-turned-music manager on Atlanta, the FX dramedy that was created by rapper and actor Donald Glover. Earn doesn’t have any money, barely has a job, doesn’t have a car or a place to live. Despite his sometimes unnerving circumstances—whether he’s your brother,…
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Lee Daniels Needs to Stop It With This White-Girl Lead in Star and His Magical Negro Speeches
Lee Daniels often espouses racial views typically heard only from characters in a Magical Negro movie. It’s one of those characteristics about the celebrated director that you like to forget in order to enjoy his art. Unfortunately, Daniels won’t cooperate with some of us in such an endeavor because he refuses to stop assuaging white…
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Empire Recap: Like Father, Like Son
Backstabbing, betrayal and terrorizing little girls: The latest episode of Empire, “The Unkindest Cut,” offered up good old-fashioned evil, delivered a lot of juicy moments and laid the groundwork for another family battle. Angelo is still trying to impress his mother, Diana Dubois, so he brings her further into Cookie’s world with a trip to…
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Black Superheroes Are Here to Save the Day
News flash: Being a black superhero is in. Whether that means being able to walk through a sea of bullets or being able to protect yourself with a 6-inch machete, black superheroes are here to stay. From the nearly all-black cast in Luke Cage to Danai Gurira’s kick-ass Michonne in this season of The Walking…