culture
-
Grammys Red Carpet: Stars Keep It Glamorous and Fabulous
Monday night is the 58th annual Grammy Awards, and indeed, the stars are out. Not only have the stars “stepped out,” but they are also “showing out.” Check out the fabulousness from the 2016 red carpet. Felice León is multimedia editor at The Root.
-
Post-Valentine’s Day Prison Blues: How #Cut50 Is Trying to Bring Jailed Men Home to Their Families
For the wives and girlfriends of the 2 million men behind bars, Valentine’s Day meant waking up alone. For those able to visit their loved ones, they prepared by dressing in a prison-approved outfit: nothing too tight; nothing that shows leg above the knee or reveals shoulders; a wire-free bra; nothing that will set off…
-
Guide to the Grammys: 4 Things You Need to Know About Music’s Big Night
The 58th annual Grammy Awards may be airing on Monday for the first time instead of Sunday, but there’ll be some things that look familiar. LL Cool J will host for the fifth straight time, and the show will continue its tradition of being a music festival masquerading as an awards show, focusing on the…
-
Watch: SNL’s “The Day Beyoncé Turned Black” and How White America Went Nuts
There’s always been some speculation and lots of room for interpretation when it came to Beyoncé’s, um, ethnicity. No shade, but between the blond wigs, Creole propers and that L’Oreal ad where she self-identified as part French, Native American and black, well, one could comfortably assume that Queen Bey was just a shade black. Black-ish,…
-
Ditch the Doomsayers: Black Love Is Real This Valentine’s Day, and Here Are 5 Facts to Prove It
The importance of Valentine’s Day, like birthdays, graduations, Christmas and straight-A report cards, changes significantly as you get older. When you’re in elementary school, Valentine’s Day is an obligatory dropping of cheap paper cards into construction-paper boxes in front of everybody’s desk. In high school, perhaps an elaborate purchase of helium balloons that you have…
-
#BaeWatch: It’s Time to Look for Love! Here Are 14 Ways to Find It This Valentine’s Day
So, you’re alone this Valentine’s Day—again. Join the club. But what are you doing about it? If “single” isn’t your preferred relationship status, it’s time to stop hoping that love happens and make some changes—and some new connections. Here are 14 ways you can take back Valentine’s Day and take control of your love life.…
-
They Were Young, Active and Suffering From Heart Failure
As twins, Kimberly Ketter and Shaun Rivers have been through just about everything together: first day of school, learning to drive, graduation. But there was one moment that altered the lives of the sisters from Richmond, Va. Ketter first suspected something was wrong in May 2009 when a routine climb up the stairs caused her…
-
Books by Black Authors to Look Forward to in 2016
It is no secret that “African-American women are the largest group of readers in the country,” states Dawn Davis, head of Simon & Schuster’s 37 Ink imprint. It is also no secret that the publishing world is very, very white, with books by black authors published at an abysmal low, never rising above 10 percent…
-
Here’s the Problem With That Steve Harvey Video That Shames Sisters for Wanting Attractive Men
There’s a video clip from Steve Harvey’s talk show making the rounds on Facebook. It’s being used as Exhibit Z—because A through Y have already been done—about why so many women, black women in particular, are single. Sigh. Two sisters are sent on a double date with two nice, but somewhat dowdy-looking, men. Given the…