culture
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Book Review: Terry McMillan Writes What Breaks Her Heart
Terry McMillan is known for such best-selling novels as Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Mama, and A Day Late and a Dollar Short. Her novels deftly explore the inner workings of black women’s lives, and watching McMillan’s characters navigate love, friendship, work and family has been an inspiration for generations of…
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The Illuminati Probably Didn’t Do It … Probably … and 4 Other Prince-Related Conspiracy Theories
In honor of Prince’s life, we here at The Root believe that the best gift we can give the late Purple One for his birthday, June 7, is to make sure his legacy doesn’t get tarnished. We don’t want Prince to become black Elvis, so we sent out a crack forensic team of investigators (me)…
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Watch: Music Prodigy Jon Batiste Serves Food for Thought
Jon Batiste is something of a musical prodigy. He first performed with his family’s band when he was 8 years old, and nearly a decade later he would go on to self-release his first album, Times in New Orleans. “There was a spiritual connection to the instrument,” Batiste told The Root. Batiste attended the prestigious conservatory Juilliard…
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#WhitePrivilegeMuch: College Rapist Gets Light Sentence Because Prison Would Be Bad for Him
There is nothing scarier than a white man losing his power. Good thing Brock Turner won’t have to face the full weight of what that really means. If you haven’t already heard, Turner is the young white ex-Stanford University swimmer whose dreams are more precious than the woman he raped. On Jan. 17, 2015, Turner…
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These 2 Long-Lost Sisters Make Their Own Wine. Care for a Sip?
Americans have been carrying on a torrid love affair with wine for some time; we’ve ridden the wine train so long that we now sip more wine than the French. Vino’s popularity is everywhere these days, from moscato-splashed brunches to malbec-sipping book clubs. In fact, wine consumption in the U.S. has continued to rise every…
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Why More Black Male Teachers Should be Feminists
Editor’s note: Once a month, this column will tackle broader questions about what the country should do about gaps in achievement and opportunity, especially for boys of color. I recently attended an all-black, all-male meeting focused on increasing the number of black men in teaching. It’s an accomplishment and a novelty to see a group…
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Dear White People, Muhammad Ali Didn’t ‘Transcend Race’
When famous African-American celebrities die, you can bet your bottom dollar that if white folks liked them, the word “transcend” is going to pop up in their obits like lies in a Donald Trump speech. For white America, “transcend” is that gold stamp of approval, much more elevated and polite than the old word “credit”—as…
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Letting It Burn, and 9 Other Lessons Learned From Reading Terry McMillan
To say that the 1992 debut of Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan’s first best-seller, was a watershed moment in contemporary American fiction would be an understatement. For legions of black women, seeing characters like themselves placed front and center was a revolution unto itself. McMillan was 40 years old at the time, and like her…
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15 New Books by Black Authors to Dive Into This Summer
Summer is just around the corner—and with it comes some time for a restful vacation. Whether you’re stuck on a crowded flight or relaxing on the beach, here are some stellar books published by black authors during the first half of 2016—just in time to take along with you for some exhilarating summer reading. Hope…