culture
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In a New Documentary, Spike Lee Celebrates the Genius of Michael Jackson and Leaves Everything Else Out
Like a lot of people, Spike Lee first fell in love with Michael Jackson as a little boy watching the Jackson 5 on television. “The way they looked—young black boys, big Afros—they could sing, they could dance, all that,” Lee told The Root during an interview at the Sundance Film Festival, where his documentary Michael…
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Come on, Ma. Can’t You Stop Wearing That Mink?
Aliya’s turn: I wish I could get my mom to stop supporting the fur and diamond trades. She knows the horrors that go into both industries but still refuses to stop buying fur coats and diamond jewelry. Now, I remember the first time my mom bought a fur coat. I remember how luxurious the coat…
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A Magical Presence on the Stage and Screen: Condola Rashad
Condola Rashad is making a name for herself. The young actress, who turns 30 this year, has largely made her mark in theater. For her debut, she nabbed a starring role in Lynn Nottage’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Ruined, and earned a Drama Desk nomination. Subsequent roles in the Kenny Leon-directed Stick Fly and The…
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The Real Housewives of Potomac Is a Show That ‘Bravely’ Asks, ‘Who Is Black in America?’
A long time ago, back when everyone I knew personally was black and my world was much smaller, everyone was embarrassingly blunt about their colorism because they were 9 years old and had no filters. I knew the girls who were bullied because they were dark. I knew the girls who were bullied because they…
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How Can I Start a Family-Dinner Tradition When My In-Laws Hate My Cooking?
I cooked a huge Sunday dinner for my husband, my family and my in-laws because my husband wants to start a new tradition. He wants this to be a regular thing. My family was complimentary, but my in-laws were very obviously less than impressed. I’m a bit offended and sad that his family wasn’t happy…
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Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation Sells for Record Price at Sundance
When the lights went up after a Sundance screening of Nate Parker’s film The Birth of a Nation, the bidding war began, leading to the steepest price ever paid for a film at the festival—$17.5 million—by Fox Searchlight. The film’s reception was described as “electrifying.” Its title is no doubt intentionally provocative: Parker’s film shares…
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The Real Housewives of Potomac and the Tragic-Mulatto Syndrome
The first time I heard the term “Jack and Jill” was in high school. A black girl l knew—let’s call her Toni—was living her best life. Her dad had an MBA from Harvard and was on the board of a bank. She got accepted early to Harvard. They owned their place in New York City.…
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Why Macklemore’s ‘White Privilege II’ Still Misses the Mark, Explained
Who is Macklemore? Have you ever been to Whole Foods on a Saturday afternoon, when it’s giving out free samples? And there’s this superfit and ultra-earnest bearded man passing out surprisingly tasty and unfathomably expensive vegan-chorizo hash? Macklemore is that guy, if that guy were also a rapper. But isn’t Macklemore very popular? A quick…
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Make ’Em Cry, Cam: How Newton Will Drink Reporters’ White Tears
Cam Newton is not your father’s quarterback. He is a fun-loving, flamboyant-dressing, dab-dancing, Southern-sounding, in-your-face figure of black awesomeness who is rubbing white journalists all kinds of raw. Recently, Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel let all his whiteness show when he tweeted this: And then, after thoroughly dismantling the Arizona Cardinals, Newton told the press…
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Her Name Was Janese Talton-Jackson and She Was Killed Because She Said No
I did not know Janese Talton-Jackson on a personal level. There’s a chance I might have seen her before. And a lesser chance I might have spoken to her. But if I did either, I don’t remember. But after news of her death began to circulate on Facebook on Friday afternoon, and more and more…