culture
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The Anguish of Depression: ‘I Am Trying to Stay Alive’
Many like to use the metaphor of darkness when it comes to depression. My experience is more like a fog: a thing descending slowly; a thick something that surrounds me and distorts the vision of myself and the world around me. One day, there is nothing but sun, and without warning, things that felt like…
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Instagram Project Vividly Captures the Human Toll of Mass Incarceration
Last week, President Barack Obama used his pardoning power to commute the sentences of 61 additional nonviolent drug offenders in an effort to at least moderately correct the insurmountable injustices delivered through America’s war on drugs. The war on drugs (and the mass incarceration that is its result) is heavily in the news because of…
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Here’s What Happens When You Give Money to Female and Minority Entrepreneurs to Fix Global Problems
The name Village Capital may evoke visions of some run-of-the-mill financial-services operation, but in fact, it’s a startup-development organization with a decidedly different goal. “Our mission has been to democratize entrepreneurship,” says Nasir Qadree, Village Capital’s sector manager for education. “Village Capital finds, trains and invests in entrepreneurs solving global problems.” It’s a lofty goal,…
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The People v. O.J. Simpson Recap: Not Guilty. What, Did You Expect Something Different?
Johnnie Cochran meets O.J. Simpson at the jail with a spread of suits and accessories appropriate for a photo shoot. It’s a big day, the last day that the defense will present its, well, defense. In the courtroom, O.J. wants to make a statement. He says he “did not, could not and would not” commit…
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New Film Explores How the Search for 2 Long-Forgotten Bluesmen Intersected With Freedom Summer of 1964
Some events from the summer of 1964 in Mississippi are well-known. It was Freedom Summer, tragically highlighted by the brutal murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. The outrage ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. At that same time, two groups of young men,…
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White Privilege Seems Like an Abstract Idea Until You Remember It Kills Black People
My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November 2012. At that point, she was given four to six months to live. But she held on for an entire year, not succumbing to the disease until November 2013. Her diagnosis, while devastating, was not a surprise. She had been a smoker for more…
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If Stress Is Blocking Your Chi, How About Giving Acupuncture a Try?
April is National Minority Health Month, and through this campaign, the nation turns its attention to improving the health and well-being of minorities. At The Root, we salute National Minority Health Month with a three-part video series focusing on alternative health practices: acupuncture, yoga and meditation. And the videos specifically feature black practitioners. First up:…
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Gap Apologizes for Racially Charged GapKids x ED Ad
Gap has issued an apology for a racially charged ad that drew fiery backlash on social media over the weekend. As previously reported by The Root, Ellen DeGeneres and GapKids partnered for activewear line GapKids x ED, and the line’s campaign launched with an ad featuring four girls from Le Petit Cirque—three white and one…
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How I Ended Up Buying a Murse—That’s Right, a Man Purse
There was a time in my life—college—when I used to love shopping. Now, this was mostly because I enjoyed the malls in Atlanta, with Cumberland and Lenox Square being my favorites. I went to Cumberland because it was on my side of Interstate 285 (the west side) and sold more than shoes, baby clothes and gangsta…
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Watching Lupita Braid Her Homegirls’ Hair Is Peak Black Woman Excellence
I am a woman whose spirit is less secure than Humpty Dumpty, and consequently, I’ve taken great pains to avoid spending extensive amounts of time on Facebook. There are not enough crispy-chicken wraps in the world to help me bounce back from the deluge of unintentionally inaccurate black history facts, passively racist status updates from…