culture
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Black Music Month Means Studio Sessions at The Root
June is almost here—that means sunny skies, warm weather and black music, of course! For Black Music Month, The Root and McDonald’s will honor and celebrate the music (and musicians) of the African Diaspora with Studio Sessions at The Root. This video series will feature contemporary artists from a gamut of genres: global, hip-hop, soul—we’ve…
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Why Draymond Green Is and Isn’t a Dirty Player, Explained
Who is Draymond Green? Draymond Green is a do-everything utility man for the Golden State Warriors; the engine that steams their machine; the straw that stirs their coffee; the detergent that sparkles their dishes. He is their heart and soul, their guts and grit, their … Are you just going to speak in sportswriting clichés?…
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Cornel West and Arturo O’Farrill Speak Truth to Power Through Jazz
In this day and age, there is little reward in seeking the truth, and less profit in sharing that truth once you have found it. So it’s remarkable that a program like Jazz and Spirit could ever come together, much less on a world-renowned stage like Harlem’s Apollo Theater. On Saturday a great philosopher in…
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Meet the King of Golden Krust, Who Wants to Make Caribbean Cuisine Mainstream
Even Undercover Boss fans would be hard-pressed to recall any show where the “boss” was black, let alone from the Caribbean. But on Sunday, May 22, Lowell Hawthorne, President/CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, the nation’s largest manufacturer, distributor and franchisor of Caribbean baked products and largest Caribbean-owned business, changes that. In 1989, Hawthorne,…
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This Emergency Room Doctor Was Tired of Seeing Gunshot Victims Who Looked Like Family, So He Did Something About It
Violence is a public health problem. At least that’s how Brooklyn, N.Y.-based emergency physician and community activist Dr. Robert Gore views it. “You look at public health problems as problems having these identifiable risk factors, and if you can intervene, then you can change the outcome,” Gore, a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine at SUNY…
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Things I’d Like to See (and Not See) at the BET Awards’ Prince Tribute
Dear BET, As chief of staff for the Purple Politicians, I believe it is important that we begin planning your mandatory Prince tribute. See, there were major missteps in tributes you did to him in the past. Sure, there will be others (the Grammys, the MTV Awards and the highly anticipated, obnoxious tribute featuring Madonna…
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O.J.: Made in America Paints a Complex Picture of a Sports Icon-Turned-Pariah
Even if you were one of the millions who watched the white-Bronco chase live and followed the subsequent murder trial, or got hooked on The People v. O.J. Simpson, FX’s recent dramatized account of the behind-the-scenes ego-tripping of the legal “Dream Team,” you will be enlightened, fascinated and heartbroken by O.J.: Made in America, ESPN’s…
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My Boyfriend Wants Me to Pay My Share on a Trip, but Why Should I Chip In When He Makes More Than I Do?
Dear Demetria: My boyfriend of two years wants to go to the Maldives and asked how much I would be able to cover. I told him I’m not paying. He told me how his exes paid half for trips, but I’m like, why chip in if he makes more than double my income? The conversation…
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Why ‘Make America Great Again’ Is an Insult (and a Lie), Explained
Who is Krystal Lake? Krystal Lake is a 22-year-old New York City woman who recently received death threats after wearing a hat with the words “America was never great”—an obvious turn on Donald Trump’s “Make America great again” presidential campaign slogan. She’d also be my spirit animal if that position wasn’t already occupied by King…
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The 3 Types of Black Men You Can Date, as Defined by Captain America: Civil War
This past weekend, I dusted off my sweatpants and trekked to the movies to see the latest Marvel cinematic adventure, Captain America: Civil War. It was a good comic book movie—great, even. I normally have a hard time sitting in a dark room for over two hours without taking at least one solid nap, but…