culture
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Filmmaker Looks to Blaxploitation Classic to Craft Strong Black Characters for New Generation
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…
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An Ode to SWV
I grew up in Frankfurt, Germany, as a military brat in the mid-’80s and early ’90s. Those of us who grew up overseas had one channel to watch on television: AFN, which stands for the Armed Forces Network. We all watched the same cartoons, the same soap operas (General Hospital was followed by Guiding Light),…
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Underrated Moments in Black History: When Bobby and Whitney Set the Bar for Black Love
After “Who made the potato salad?” and “What had happened was,” black love is one of the most ubiquitous topics of discussion within 21st-century Negronia. Over the years, there have been many couples who come to mind that have embodied the concept—Cliff and Clair Huxtable, Denzel and Pauletta Washington, Cam’ron and JuJu, Oscar and Trudy…
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The People v. O.J. Simpson Recap: The Infamous Bronco Chase
The second installment of FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson covers familiar terrain to most viewers: the infamous Bronco chase. Or, as one character in Tuesday night’s episode describes it, “the world’s longest Ford Bronco commercial.” On one surreal Friday night in 1994, Simpson and his high school bestie, A.C. Cowlings, kept police in an…
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7 Stages of Buying Beyoncé ‘Formation’ Tour Tickets
Twenty-four hours after black America got our entire lives when we saw Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ video on Saturday, the Queen Bey slayed the nation with her “unapologetically black” anthem by singing about Negro hair and Michael Jackson nostrils. At. The. Super Bowl. Which is by far the largest viewed event in this entire nation. Beyoncé had…
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The 10 Blackest Things Michelle Obama Has Ever Done
At the time of this writing, “I Miss Barack Obama” is one of Twitter’s top trending topics; a response to a viral piece from David Brooks of the New York Times, where he opines on the president’s many virtues (most notably, the fact that President Obama is, above all else, a good and decent person).…
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Black Girls in Durham, NC, School Denied Right to Honor African Heritage
It started as a collective expression of pride. A group of young women at the School for Creative Studies in Durham, N.C., decided to wear head wraps—also called geles—to align with and honor their culture at the start of Black History Month. Instead, they say, administrators warned that they were in violation of the dress…
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When States Run Welfare, Black Children Are the Ones Who Get Hurt
Twenty years ago, Bill Clinton signed legislation dismantling the federal Aid to Families With Dependent Children welfare program. The law transformed welfare into Temporary Assistance to Needy Families—essentially block grants to states to use for job training and child care subsidies to enable recipients to attain financial independence and take “personal responsibility,” as its advocates…
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5 Reasons Maurice White Stayed Winnin’
By now you’ve heard that musical impresario Maurice White, 74, has gone on to the great “Boogie Wonderland” in the sky. Damn, damn, damn—I’ll be breaking crystal punch bowls all week! White was the iconic co-founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, the premier live funk band for, like, 89 summers. And if you’re over 30,…