culture

A few days ago the Internet, especially the black quarters, was aflame with disbelief and WTF-ness at the news that, yes, Sanaa Lathan was indeed dating Karim Kharbouch, aka French Montana. Haaanh! The jokes only flew from there, with people questioning why such a refined, educated, well-to-do woman would date such an opposites-attract specimen like Mr.…

If you’re black and in America, there’s somewhere between a 100 percent and a 100 percent chance that the following has happened to you at least once. And somewhere between a 95 percent and 99 percent chance that it’s happened at least once this week. You’re minding your black-ass business, living your black-ass life. You…

The recent opening up of the Internet in Cuba is creating new international connections between Afro-Cubans and broader black global cultures. Francisco, a dark-skinned Cuban based in Havana who practices Santeria, an African-Diaspora religion from Cuba, stated, “Now we are finally connected,” as he added my email address to his phone and told me he…

Over the past year, shows like Black-ish, Empire and How to Get Away With Murder helped usher in a new level of entertainment-industry interest and confidence in shows featuring more diverse actors in key roles. Some people even expressed concern that the industry might overcompensate for years (decades) of lack of diversity with too much of it in the next TV-pilot season. Gasp!…

I went gaga the first time I saw the trailer for The Perfect Guy months ago. There was gorgeous, blue-eyed Michael Ealy playing crazy again, which he’s phenomenally good at, and there was Morris Chestnut, who is Idris Elba’s sole rival for finest celebrity man alive (in my opinion). And they were fighting over Sanaa…

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. 

It’s a challenge for African Americans working in California’s Silicon Valley to have a sense of community. Clennita Justice has worked for several technology companies there over the past 25 years. “At many of those companies, you could go for days without seeing another black person,” says the senior engineering program manager, who now works…

I turned 4 the year Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America. I don’t actually remember the pageant or even the subsequent drama when she was asked to resign 10 months later. I just heard a lot about it growing up. I got the gist: Williams was a black first and that was a big deal.…

What makes the choke-slam, arrest and street detainment of James Blake so remarkably telling is the fact that he is, well, remarkably unprofilable. He’s an underwear-model-ad-handsome and wholesome Harvard grad who’s a retired star in the American sport with perhaps the most affluent demographic. He was also standing in front of an upscale hotel in…