culture

Last year, The Root’s deputy editor, Terence Samuel, revealed that he hated stuffing. The staff at The Root couldn’t believe it, and neither could many of our loyal readers. The original article is printed below. I hate stuffing. No, I’m not saying that I hate a particular kind of stuffing—like stuffing that’s too bread-crumby, or…

Nov. 28, 2008—In a recent Kmart commercial, a man asks, “Didn’t we just carve pumpkins?” as his wife happily rushes off to get a jump on her holiday shopping. The spot, which started airing before Halloween, makes light of the fact that enticements to holiday spending seem to start earlier each year. Retailers are scrambling…

Nov. 28, 2008—Last Friday, the New York Knicks made two trades, getting three journeymen players, forwards Al Harrington and Tim Thomas and guard Cuttino Mobley (whose health has kept the trades from being considered final). But to hear the locals tell it, the Knicks just acquired LeBron James. The New York media and the local…

When Michelle Obama took to describing her new role as mom in chief, my first reaction was to wince at her words. My second reaction was to identify with them. I was okay, actually, with what Obama said. But I worried: Did she have to say it out loud, quite so explicitly? Is it really…

When Michelle Obama took to describing her new role as mom in chief, my first reaction was to wince at her words. My second reaction was to identify with them. I was okay, actually, with what Obama said. But I worried: Did she have to say it out loud, quite so explicitly? Is it really…

Nov. 27, 2008—Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. For those of us in the warmer climates, it means gloating about not having to slog through cold, snowy and overcast weather that plagues so much of the rest of the country. Here in Charlotte, I give thanks each November for being able…

Natalie P. McNeal    I own a car, pay my own bills and have a retirement account. However, most years, my family sits me at the kiddie table at Thanksgiving. You know the holiday kiddie table, that foldout table, stuffed in the corner of the dining room. My family is super small, and we procreate sporadically.…

Damn!!! The Buzz should have seen this coming, but Damn!!!! We’re not sure whether to be more shocked or sad. Reuters is reporting that hate crimes jumped across the country in the wake of Barack Obama election. According the report: “Hundreds of incidents of abuse or intimidation apparently motivated by racial hatred have been reported…

Despite claims that he was misquoted, The New Yorker is standing by its report that Prince spoke out against gay marriage in a recent interview. So—all the way back in 1980 when Prince was singing, “White, black, Puerto Rican/Everybody just a-freakin,'” he must have specifically envisioned a radically multicultural but strictly hetero love fest. Reasonable…

Zimbabwe continues to present trouble for Southern Africa, as the region pushes to climb out of food, economic, and health pitfalls. President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has led a career shrouded in corruption and isolation. Other leaders in the region, and from over the world, including Kofi Annan, and Jimmy Carter, have called for a…