culture

For many black women, a trip to the salon is more than just pampering. A missed appointment can add hours to a black woman’s week—pulling through tangles and wrestling with blow-dryers and flatirons. More than the tiresome manual labor, missing a regular spot means missing the black salon experience: the enclave of warmth, comfort and…

WEDNESDAY, 12 P.M. — Have a pressing hair question? It’s time to get things straight. Share your hairstory with The Root and join the washingtonpost.com Live Online discussion: AN ECONOMIC TWIST ON HAIR with Yodith Dammlash and Delece Smith-Barrow. ***** The bank might be calling about the mortgage. The lights might get cut. The car may break down on…

You’ve read our take on tangles and locks. Now it’s time for you to weigh in. How has the recession affected your ‘do? What’s your best or worst hair memory? We know you have plenty to say, so write in to [email protected] and share your twist on hair with The Root. Be sure to include…

Last year, I cut my hair. I cut off my twists and went back to my legacy ‘do, my beloved short crop. There was no big political decision involved, no personal crisis, no spiritual journey. I just decided I wanted to spend more time in the pool for the rest of the summer, and I…

Recently, one of my longtime Detroit clients stopped by my shop on her way out to a job fair taking place out of state. With a note of shame, she shared the humiliation that she and her husband were facing. Both worked for the auto industry, both were in their mid 40s and both had…

CNN: Two Twisters Touch Down in Mississippi CSM: Taliban Suicide Bomber Kills 11 in Pakistan IHT: France Urges N. Korea to Avoid Missile Test Because, You Know, Kim Jong Il Is a Lunatic SJMN: Oakland Leaders Gather in Response to Violent Weekend; Buzz Makes No ‘Snitch’ Reference WP: Hospitals Slow to Go to Electronic Records;…

John Hope Franklin, one of the most prolific and well-respected chroniclers of America’s torturous racial odyssey, died of congestive heart failure yesterday at the age of 94 in a Durham, N.C., hospital. It was more than Franklin’s voluminous writings that cemented his reputation among academics, politicians and civil rights figures as an inestimable historian. It…

It used to be easy to define soul food—black cuisine with a Southern flair. Simmered collard greens with ham hocks or smoked turkey legs immediately spring to mind, steaming on a plate next to fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. But a new generation of chefs is changing what soul food means and Bryant Terry,…

NYDN: MTA Raising Fare to $2.50; Thankfully, Cutting Service As Well NYT: E.U. Prez Calls U.S. Stimulus the ‘Way to Hell, Wonders Why Disneyworld Trip Has Hit Snag NYT: UN Officials Call Darfur Aid ‘Tenuous’, Barack Obama Bi-Racial JTA: Netanyahu Call His Gov’t “Partner for Peace”; Palestine Says, “Oh Word?” WP: House Dems Slash $100B…

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia are unlikely pop stars. They’re a middle-aged couple from Mali’s capital city, Bamako, who started playing together in a house band for the city’s Institute for Young Blind People, where Amadou was a music teacher and Mariam a Braille student. Thirty years later, they’ve emerged as global pop’s band to…