culture
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When Your Privilege Is Whiter Than Top-Shelf Cocaine, This Happens
Here at The Root, we talk a lot about things like white privilege, whitesplaining, white fragility, etc. Some of the folks who read our site find it hard to understand these concepts, so it’s always helpful when we have an example that displays exactly what we mean. Today is one of those days. I would…
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‘Rafiki’ Actress Explains Why The Lion King Is One of Broadway’s Blackest and Most Legendary Shows Ever
The Lion King is still one of my favorite Disney movies (and stories) of all time. And I am obviously not alone. The movie has stretched onto the Broadway stage and been slaying for over 20 years! There’s no way this musical would have that sort of staying power if it wasn’t your favorite’s favorite.…
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Cast of Queen Sugar Gets Real About Interracial Dating. Guess Who Was Told, ‘Don’t Bring the Oppressor Home’
It’s the hot-button topic right now: interracial dating and love. Donald Glover faced criticism around the topic after the release of his viral hit, “This Is America.” The video screamed blackness and reminded everyone that all of the art Glover’s been providing lately is also saturated with black culture. So when images of his white…
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‘I’m From Here’: Washington, DC, Natives Fight Back Against the Whitewashing of Chocolate City
When I arrived in Washington, D.C., more than two decades ago to attend Howard University, one of the first things I noticed was the diversity of black people, all different kinds: rich ones, poor ones, bougie ones and the natives, born and raised in D.C., who introduced me to mambo sauce, go-go music and New…
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When Barbecuing and Living While Black Becomes a Crime
“Pay it forward” is something you hear a lot in the restaurants and shops of Oakland, Calif. If you see a stranger in distress and you can help, you stop what you are doing and support them. The concept of doing for someone as you would want them to do to you is a fundamental…
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For White People Who Pretend Not to Understand What Racism Is or How It Works: Here’s a Refresher Course
When Roseanne Barr was called out and subsequently fired for the racist tweet she made about Valerie Jarrett on Tuesday, two things happened at the same time. First, white people feigned ignorance as to why saying a black woman was the love child of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes was racist. They…
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It Takes Heart to Fight: What Boxing Taught Me About White Supremacy
Editor’s note: In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Samoan writer Rudy Mageo shares his story. As a first-generation immigrant from Samoa, my experiences growing up in the Dana Strand Projects in Wilmington, Calif., a poor community near the Los Angeles ports, align with other disenfranchised immigrants and other persons of color…