culture
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Black Girls Matter in Brownsville, Too
On Monday, prosecutors in Brooklyn, N.Y., charged four teenage boys with first-degree rape after the sexual assault of an 18-year-old black girl at a park late last week. The name of the victim hasn’t been released. Police have revealed the identities of the alleged perpetrators, however: Ethan Phillip, 15; Denzel Murray, 14; Shaquell Cooper, 15; and Onandi Brown,…
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I’m Raising My Boyfriend’s Kids and He Refuses to Help in Any Way
I am 31 with two children. Two-and-a-half years ago, I started dating a guy I knew in high school. He has custody of his three kids, but ultimately, I am raising them without his company. He is a business owner, and all he seems to care about is money! Of course, I hate it! He…
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I’m Reading James Baldwin for the 1st Time as an Adult, and I’m in Love
As a book-loving black, literary homo-thug who writes openly about life, sexuality, society, the innumerable consequences of white terribleness and the absence of Teen Summit in post-Y2K childhood development (hint: They’re doomed), I’ve always felt that Sir James Baldwin occupied a peculiar space in my world. I’ve always known that his work was important to…
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Online Dating in the Age of Netflix and Chill
Online dating is like bargain shopping for a Chanel bag at Goodwill. You might find it, but you have to dig. Recently, I relocated to New York City and was told by a friend to try online dating; against my better judgment, I took his advice and joined OkCupid. Within hours of being on the…
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How David Bowie Inspired—and Was Inspired by—Black Artists
David Bowie was an iconic figure whose genius, vision and artistic versatility inspired—and was inspired by—generations of black musicians and artists. Bowie was an outspoken champion for diversity in the entertainment industry, and he was widely known to embrace black artists and their work. In his recent retrospective touring exhibition, David Bowie Is, he…
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Sad Sack: How Redskins Quarterback RGIII Bows Out in Washington
As the clock wound down on the Washington Redskins’ final home game Sunday evening, Robert Griffin III began giving hugs to people on the sideline whom he may never see again. The camera caught him hugging an equipment manager, their embrace longer than usual, then he walked into the locker room and cleaned out his…
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Rape Culture: Why Prison Rape Needs to Be a Part of the Discussion
In less than two weeks, former Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw will be sentenced for the rapes and sexual assaults of seven black women and one black child. And if this is to be a rare instance in which Lady Justice holds black women in her unfamiliar embrace, he will serve 263 years in prison. Justice, however—no…
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Why I Would Never Marry My Best Friend
I was recently reading my girl Dara’s latest blog post about marriage being boring and unmysterious (prompted by the Netflix show Master of None). She also discusses the way in which she is comforted by the familiarity of her husband and their routine, and the newness that they still experience as they grow and evolve, both…
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How Black-ish Became the Blackest and Best Comedy on TV
Last week The Root contributor Demetria Lucas D’Oyley wrote a response to Tyler Perry’s recent assertion that the reason his work and his characters get so much criticism is that they’re “fat.” In her piece, Lucas D’Oyley (rightly) stated that the weight of his characters has nothing to do with how Perry’s work is perceived.…
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Top 5 Travel Destinations for 2016
In 2016, a lot of people are making New Year’s resolutions to get out more. How about getting way out? Like, out of the country! Here are The Root’s top five international spots you should hit up this year. Cuba: Unspoiled and Easier to Visit Danielle Horry, a travel consultant based in New York, visited…