culture
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Exclusive: Nate Parker's Former Classmates, Penn State Alumni Speak Out in Support
Four Penn State University alumni have come out in support of embattled actor Nate Parker and writer Jean McGianni Celestin, releasing a statement exclusively to The Root late Wednesday night. In the letter, Penn State alums LaKeisha Wolf, Assata Richards, Lurie Daniel Favors and Brian Favors all state their belief in the innocence of Parker…
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As Summer Ends, Tensions Remain High Between Black Community and Police
The third summer of our discontent is almost over. The latest tensions started in Ferguson, Mo., two years ago; then came Baltimore last year, with Milwaukee the latest city to erupt in protests and upheaval as tensions continue to run high across the nation between law enforcement and black Americans living in some of the…
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Andrea Lewis, Former Degrassi Star, Announces Women's #EmpowermentWknd
Andrea Lewis, former star of the tween classic drama Degrassi, is developing a Women’s Empowerment Weekend. Lewis, most notable for her role as Hazel, or Wheelchair Jimmy’s Drake’s ex-girlfriend on the hit show, will launch the inaugural Women’s Empowerment Weekend on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. Day 1 of the two-part weekend event…
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While We Were on a Break, He Got His Ex Pregnant. Now I’m Torn About What to Do
I’ve been dating this guy for a little over two years. During the time we both were studying for the bar, we were on a break. He slept with his ex-fiancee once, and now she’s pregnant. I’m devastated and broken. I feel like a part of me has died. He’s the only guy I’ve ever…
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Yes, Zendaya in Spider-Man Is the Mary Jane We All Hope For
Earlier this week I wrote an article on my site about the superficial critiques coming from naysayers over Zendaya’s casting in the role of Mary Jane Watson in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming. After a period of exasperating sighs and side eyes once I was done writing, I stumbled onto another article on The Root from…
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Where Recreational Marijuana Is Legal, Should Those in Prison for Weed Crimes Get a Puff, Puff, Pass?
Editor’s note: This is the first article in an ongoing series that looks at the growing legal marijuana industry and its effect on the black community. Twenty years ago, Rico Garcia was 21 when he got caught up in a marijuana sting in Colorado with a friend who wanted to buy some weed. The seller…
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Mr. Church: Just Another Film About a Black Man Being a White Woman’s Servant
White Hollywood is nothing if not a microcosm of white America, a place where shucking and jiving, bucking and jumping, “Yes, suh; no, ma’am” Negroes are more readily accepted than their revolutionary counterparts. This country has a fetish with subservient black men that translates into adoration on-screen. It makes perfect sense to me, then, that…
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White Lives Matter and the Lost Art of Shutting the F Up
I consider myself a practitioner of a dying art form that is slowly disappearing from society. Long before it was an internet acronym or a text message abbreviation, this unique skill was passed down to me as a man who was raised by a single mother in a house with three other sisters. I honestly…