culture
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Who Is Burning Black Churches? Here’s What We Know
Since the June 17 killing of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., six predominantly black churches in the South have burned in the past week, including one on Tuesday, causing many on social media to wonder #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches. (Fires have also hit two other churches—College Heights Baptist Church in Ohio and…
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Stop Living a Fabulous and Broke Lifestyle
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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Shamone: How Well Do You Know Your Michael Jackson videos?
Do you think you know Michael Jackson’s entire videography? Put your knowledge of the King of Pop’s best works to the ultimate test by taking our quiz!
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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!
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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…