culture

Aliya’s turn: Several years ago I interviewed Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, percussionist and founder of hip-hop band the Roots. I assumed he’d always loved music and I asked him when he knew he wanted to be a professional musician. His answer surprised me. Although he picked up drumming at an early age, he told me that…

Editor’s note: This short-film series is a collaboration between The Root and El Rey Network to support, elevate and promote African-American filmmakers throughout Black History Month via on-air, digital and editorial platforms. Filmmakers were contacted and recruited through film festivals and industry partnerships in December, with finalists selected by both El Rey Network and The…

It’s Wednesday, two days removed from the Grammy Awards. Yet much of America—black America, specifically—is still recovering from the hangover induced by Kendrick Lamar’s sublime performance Monday night. His explosive mashup of “The Blacker the Berry,” “Alright” and a yet-to-be-titled new track referencing Trayvon Martin was equal parts brilliant, bold, ebullient, boiling and unapologetically black.…

Maurice Ashley is one of the best chess players in the world. This is what happened when he sat down to play against an über-confident chess player in Washington Square Park in New York City.

This past weekend, Damon Young and I had the pleasure of speaking at Yale University as part of its 21st annual Black Solidarity Conference. Since it was a conference dedicated to issues surrounding blackness, I’m going to share a few things that stood out to me: 1. HBCUs and PWIs, HBCUs vs. PWIs, everybody hates…

Several news outlets, including The Root, posted stories about Houston native Paul Aker, who claimed that U.S. marshals showed up at his doorstep and arrested him for unpaid student loan debt. The amount he claimed he owed was only $1,500, and the debt he claimed he borrowed was in 1987—29 years ago. News of the…

Black folks as a people have a collective predisposition against ashiness. In concept, this would be something that is not limited to us, because moisturizing is for the people, just like Wu-Tang and hot wings. However, extensive experiences (and by “extensive,” I mean my anecdotal moisturizing experiences involving white friends, colleagues and co-workers in my…

On a Monday afternoon in 1995 during Nigeria’s rainy season, Paul Utu, the eldest of three children, leaves home and does not return. Thus begins Jowhor Ile’s highly anticipated debut novel, And After Many Days. Jowhor Ile, the 10th child of Nigerian parents, was born and raised in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and now makes his…

In general, I am loving this series so far. Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. has received some flak because he doesn’t look like O.J., especially in stature. There’s been some fuss about John Travolta’s “weird” Robert Shapiro, which is an accurate assessment, but I happen to find him hilarious. Neither of those common complaints bothers…