culture
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How the AME Church Helped Build My Armor of Values
Even though I can’t physically be at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., for Friday’s funeral service, I am there in spirit—through a connection planted deep in my soul from an early age. My father, Charles, and grandfather, known as Shep in an abbreviation of his middle name Shepherd, were both pastors at the AME Church. My…
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Founder of Black Girls Pole: Pole Dancing Isn’t Just for Strippers
Dalijah Franklin’s move to New York City almost sounds textbook. The Warren, Ohio, native planned to become a commercial dancer in the Big Apple, and after graduating from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in nutrition science, she made the move to pursue her dreams. However, her journey in artistry unfolded in an…
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Capturing the Beauty and the Struggles of Nina Simone
Nina Simone was one of a kind. Her voice, a striking, resonant contralto, could convey a clarion call to action or a deep reservoir of emotion. Her music is cherished by nearly everyone who knows it, but her legacy, well, that’s a little more complicated. Simone, who died in 2003, lived a tumultuous life. She…
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Finding Your Roots Season Delayed by PBS Over Ben Affleck Story
The third season of the ancestry-research program Finding Your Roots, hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., has been postponed by PBS after a determination that an episode of the program featuring actor Ben Affleck violated the network’s standards. In a strongly worded statement, PBS announced that the network is “postponing the scheduling of…
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On Privilege and the Monsters We Create
Celebrity privilege, white privilege, black privilege—all the same. They are all conditions that allow people to believe they are better than others, can act in a way others cannot, and can be afforded luxuries and benefits reserved for those in that privileged class. Taken to an extreme, privilege often has you thinking that you can…
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You Can’t Be the Next Wife if the Ex-Wife Still Comes 1st
My long-distance significant other and I have been dating for a little over two years. It’s serious. Ring shopping has happened; he’s met my dad (no man in my life ever gets to meet Dad). Anyway, his daughter’s birthday is coming up, and we agreed that I would be attending this year. I couldn’t last…
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#WakeUp: 7 Classic Revolutionary Reads for Black Millennials
Some of us have had that experience of awakening to what’s going on in the world. Whether it’s from watching a movie documenting the civil rights movement or reading about the life of Malcolm X, there comes a point in time when young black Americans “wake up” and start reading and researching about the issues…
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T.D. Jakes, A.R. Bernard and Other Voices From the Pulpit Discuss Charleston Tragedy
For black America, the church has long symbolized freedom, faith and reconciliation. Since slavery days, it has always been a place for refuge and deliberation and a catalyst for great change. It is where many blacks learned to love, find fellowship and praise, study, sing and honor their history. Church is the place where black…
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So You Want to Be Famous?
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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The 7 Most Common Caribbean Myths and Stereotypes
The Caribbean is a vibrant collection of people, cultures, sights and sounds. Yet those various layers of the region are often lost behind inaccurate stereotypes. Before National Caribbean-American Heritage Month concludes, let’s unravel some myths about the West Indies. Perhaps this will highlight the not-so-hidden gems in a place that millions of people call home.…