culture
-
An Open Prayer for the Little Girl Who Saved Her Own Life in Charleston
Listening God, When the murderer who embodied evil visited his bloodthirst on the good people gathered at Emanuel AME, a 5-year-old girl saved herself by lying motionless on the floor, pretending to be dead so that she could live. In the familiarity of a church where she’d been blanketed in love, she witnessed the ferociousness…
-
Why Bree Newsome’s Temporary Takedown of the Flag Wasn’t Enough
Brittany “Bree” Newsome has spoken out about her powerful climb up a pole in South Carolina to remove a “banner of racial intimidation and fear”: the Confederate flag. The controversial emblem stood—and still stands, waving like a taunting child sticking its tongue out—above the Statehouse grounds. Daily, it reminds those who were tortured under its…
-
Jada Pinkett Smith: Why This Exploitation Activist Stars in the Sexually Charged Magic Mike XXL
Jada Pinkett Smith has had one heck of a career. The dancer-turned-actress, who got her start on NBC’s A Different World and a slew of roles in 1990s films (Menace to Society, Jason’s Lyric, Set It Off, The Nutty Professor), has risen to A-list status, navigating her way through the precarious maze of Hollywood and the…
-
The BET Awards: A Much-Needed Break From All the Drama
Last night’s 15th annual BET Awards, held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, gave black folks just what they wanted and needed: one another and a good time. The past fortnight has existed as a surreal melodrama for people of color. We persevered through terrorism in Charleston, S.C.—a tragedy that offered yet another shock…
-
Take Our Quiz: Are You More Beyonce or Nicki Minaj?
As June’s Black Music Month winds down and the BET awards heat up, The Root helps you find out if you’re King Bey or Queen Nicki. Take our quiz and find out!
-
A Movement to Put the Church Back in the Fight Against Racism
Some say the church is irrelevant. Others say the church is more powerful than ever. One thing is for sure: Studies and polls suggest that the church has lost the millennial generation and the moral power it once had on issues of civil rights. Whatever the case, the church now finds itself once again at…
-
#TeamRelaxer? #TeamNatural? #TeamNobody
The summer before I went to college, I stopped getting relaxers because they damaged my hair, and as a result, my self-esteem was in the dumps. This decision may seem uneventful now, but this was 2002, and I was living in the Midwest. The natural-hair movement, which is now on track to be a $500…
-
Black or White: Texas Woman’s Story About Her Recent Discovery Seems a Little Shady
My first real job out of college was working for People magazine. In the early 2000s, I was a stringer for the mid-Atlantic region. The fun part of my job description was running around Washington, D.C., attending events and asking well-known people about their latest project or intimate nuggets about their lives. The grueling part…
-
9 Transgender Men of Color You Should Know
Janet Mock’s advocacy and activism. Laverne Cox’s rise to fame in Orange Is the New Black. Even Caitlyn Jenner’s recent Vanity Fair cover. All eyes are on these trailblazing transgender women who have helped to highlight the people and issues surrounding the trans community. But what about the often less visible faces of transgender men…