culture
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Playwright Lynn Nottage Exposes Racial Dynamic of the Eroding Middle Class
For over 20 years now, master playwright Lynn Nottage has created work that has boldly inserted black women into the American theater conversation. Her numerous honors include a MacArthur “genius” grant and the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined, her play centered on Congolese women surviving their nation’s civil war that earned then-newbie Condola Rashad a Drama…
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Celebrating 15 Years of Finding Forrester
How does a black kid from the Bronx come to possess the skill of writing? How does a black kid from the Bronx come to befriend a reclusive, older white man who turns out to be a celebrated author? It happens in the movie Finding Forrester, which celebrated its 15th anniversary Jan. 12. But this…
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Watch: The Root Chats With Director Ryan Coogler at #MLKNow
Ryan Coogler is probably best known as the director of the record-breaking blockbuster Creed. But aside from directing, Coogler has a passion for social justice and equality. He is an activist and the co-founder of the Blackout for Human Rights collective. The Root had an opportunity to catch up with Coogler and several performers at…
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How to Fix Will Smith’s Career
I know, I know, I know. You don’t have to say anything. I realize that writing a piece about “fixing” Will Smith’s career implies that there’s something wrong with Will Smith’s career. And I also realize how ridiculous it is to imply that anything is wrong with Will Smith’s career. I cannot think of anyone—no,…
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Janet ‘Aunt Viv’ Hubert’s Video Rant Misses the Point About #OscarsSoWhite
Martin Luther King Jr. Day turned out to be quite eventful for Hollywood. Jada Pinkett Smith announced via video that she would be boycotting this year’s Academy Awards because of the exclusion of black performances in the four major acting categories. This is the second year in a row that black actors have been shut…
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Want to Make Hollywood Pay Attention to Diversity? Boycott the Box Office, Not the Oscars
Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith are planning to boycott this year’s Oscars ceremony because of the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees. Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is the first black woman to head the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, issued a statement saying that she was “heartbroken and frustrated about the…
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African American Policy Forum Demands Justice for Holtzclaw Survivors
Daniel Holtzclaw, the former Oklahoma City police officer convicted on 18 of 36 charges of rape and sexual assault against seven black women and one underage black girl, will be sentenced Jan. 21. Holtzclaw was found not guilty of similarly horrific crimes against five black women who were not given even the possibility of justice.…
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Why I Will Never Spank My Daughter
I’m typing these words in fear, my fingers softly brushing the keys on my laptop so I don’t make too much sound. I’m also eating my breakfast quickly, furiously, madly and quietly, like a prisoner in solitary just given a pack of saltines. I’m shoeless because my Tims make too much noise on the hardwood…
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#ReclaimMLK: My Apology to the ‘Most Dangerous Negro’ in America
I practiced for weeks, and when the big day came I was ready. My hair was styled in the way that Southern mamas do their daughters’ hair for special occasions—a pressed, puffy ponytail on top, with the rest hanging and curled beneath a large part, some ribbon probably lost to memory. I felt special in…
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30 Years of MLK Day: What We’ve Gained and What We’ve Lost
As the United States celebrates the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we take a look at some of the gains and losses of the civil rights movement since the holiday’s enactment. America elected its first black president in 2008, but the assailment of unarmed blacks, and efforts to repeal voting rights and…