culture
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Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need to Know About … New Edition’s All for Love
Just because you’re a ’90s baby doesn’t mean you shouldn’t brush up on your pop-culture history. The Root is here for you. In a new weekly feature called Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need to Know About, The Root will celebrate the anniversary of a major event in pop culture and make sure you know why…
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Ben Carson, aka the Negro Pat Robertson, Should Own His Homophobia
If there’s anything more annoying than a bigot, it’s a bigot who can’t own his prejudice. During last week’s CNBC Republican presidential primary debate, Ben Carson was asked why he would sit on the board of a gay-friendly company such as Costco, given his views on homosexuality. (He resigned from that board, as well as…
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Working While Black and Male in America
Harriette Cole is the author of the book of meditations 108 Stitches: Words We Live By and a contributing editor at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
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A Letter to a Friend About Becoming a Parent
Dear Homie, If my math is correct, you’re set to become a father next month. Congratulations. There are few times in the life of a person more exciting (and nerve-racking) than the birth of your first child! As your friend and brother, I couldn’t be happier for you and the wife on this life-changing event.…
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BET Documentary Explores the Complexities of Being Black and Gay in the Church
“It’s about the fight for your soul,” says Clay Cane about his new documentary, Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church. “It’s about the struggle to be authentic, to honestly live your own life and have a spiritual space, too.” The battleground in the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender…
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With Lalah Hathaway Live, Singer Boldly Steps Into Her Father’s Legendary Legacy
It is no small thing to invite comparison between your own first live album and one of the greatest live albums ever made—even if the person who made that classic record is your father, and even if you are a Grammy Award-winning phenom in your own right. But such is the bright boldness of Lalah…
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Is ‘Nappy’ an Insult? … Hint: No, It’s Not
Last week The Root published “The Nappyheaded Black Male Revolution Is On”—a piece articulating my reasons for deciding to grow my hair out, and also tying this decision to a trend I’ve observed over the last couple of years, in which young black men seem to be experimenting with and embracing new hairstyles. The piece…
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It’s Time to Admit It: The Police Are Racist
While the Internet was once again awash in what seems like its semimonthly outrage over cellphone footage of a police officer abusing another unarmed person of color, the New York Times published a story that was far more frustrating and scream-about-able. Selecting Greensboro, N.C.—because of the state’s detailed traffic-stop data collection—the article documented a systemized…
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How to Grieve Over Black Celebrities’ Stupid Comments About Race and Racism
There are two quotes I cling to when it comes to responding to questionable commentary from members of my community. Of course, there is Zora Neale Hurston’s notorious declaration, “All my skinfolk ain’t kinfolk.” There is also my favorite auntie—and, more than likely, yours, too—who always throws out a “This n—ga here” when stupidity greets…
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If You Think They Don’t Want You on the Jury, You May Be Right
The issue of black participation on trial juries is one with multiple layers of complexity. As a civil rights trial attorney and former criminal prosecutor, I am always disappointed to see the myriad ways in which many in our community attempt to avoid their civic duty of participating in the criminal-justice system as jurors. Even…