culture

The Root is having a ball! An inaugural ball, that is. And you have a chance to join us! To kick off inauguration week, The Root is throwing a grand, invitation-only, black-tie gala on Sunday, Jan. 18 in Washington, D.C. The evening event will be brimming with all of our favorite writers, movers and shakers,…

OK, this may not be politically correct to say, but I just don’t get what’s up with Kwanzaa. Our family celebrated it two or three times in the ’90s. We had a kinara, handmade by my Uncle Calvin; the seven candles, three red ones for the struggle, three green ones for hope and a black…

America has never had a terribly forthright relationship with its history. No surprise, then, that three years after Katrina laid bare the deep, deadly inequality festering in our nation’s cities, we’ve already blotted the memory. In a breathtaking article in this week’s edition of The Nation magazine, investigative reporter A.C. Thompson (you can read my…

America has never had a terribly forthright relationship with its history. No surprise, then, that three years after Katrina laid bare the deep, deadly inequality festering in our nation’s cities, we’ve already blotted the memory. In a breathtaking article in this week’s edition of The Nation magazine (reprinted today in The Root), investigative reporter A.C.…

There’s been a great deal of mystery—OK, hype—surrounding Will Smith’s newest movie, Seven Pounds. Critics were embargoed from revealing the plot twist, and in an interview with Barbara Walters, Smith cautioned her against saying anything about the flick that he was plugging: “Don’t ruin my movie, Barbara.” Watching the trailers, it’s hard to figure out…

The NBA season is barely six weeks old and six coaches have already lost their jobs. P.J. Carlesimo was canned in Oklahoma City, Randy Wittman lost his gig in Minnesota, Eddie Jordan was shown the door in Washington, and Sam Mitchell was dismissed in Toronto. Then just as things seemed to be settling down, Maurice…

I still believe in Christmas. It is the one time of the year that I believe the world will stay upright, that people are inherently good and kind, and that slow drivers aren’t out to deter me from getting to my destination as fast as possible. I believe in the Christmas spirit, the idea that…

MENU: — Winter Sangria— Spicy Goobers— BBQ Chicken Skewers— Pan-Fried Coconut Tempeh Fingers with Creamy Celeriac Sauce— Citrus Collards with Raisins Bruschetta— Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Ginger-Peanut Dipping Sauce— Money Green Champagne Winter Sangria Yield: enough to get you niceSoundtrack: “Brooklyn Go Hard” by Jay-Z featuring Santogold from Notorious I created this a few years…

A large chunk of the program for Barack Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration was announced today. Liberal groups greeted the news that evangelical pastor Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church in California, will deliver the invocation with responses ranging from “grave disappointment” to cries of “BS.” But close observers of Obama’s rise should not be surprised by…

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown teamed up with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to announce the withdrawal of British troops by July 2009. Amidst some criticism from British conservatives, Brown reports that his troops have completed their job. When I saw this on BBC, I wondered: “Where is the ‘Mission Accomplished‘ banner? Why isn’t he…