culture
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It Be Your Own People: On Universal FanCon and the Perversion of Community
My mother, God bless her (she’s still around, but still), grew up in a certain village in rural Nigeria. And to survive this upbringing, she had to adopt some beliefs, behaviors and coping mechanisms that would seem paranoid to untrained and Americanized eyes like mine. One of these behaviors was continuously forbidding me and my…
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Don Cheadle Talks Social Media and How He Deals With Trolls
For many years, Don Cheadle has received massive praise for both his dramatic acting chops in works like Hotel Rwanda, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor, and his comedic ability in the series House of Lies, for which he received a Golden Globe. Not only is he a beast…
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HBCU SpringComing Brings Black-School Spirit to New York City
Homecoming is traditionally a time for alums to return to their alma mater, kick it with old friends and pay respect to the institutions that (presumably) meant so much to them as graduates. For the alumni who showed up at HBCU SpringComing this past weekend, it’s like they never left. Lauren Grant and George Twopointoh…
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Happy Confederate Day! On Lynching Memorials and Winning the Narrative War
On Monday, Alabama is set to observe Confederate Memorial Day, commemorating the sons of the South killed in the Civil War. No surprise there. Alabama loves fighting with Mississippi for the title of “most racist state” (though they actually may be running neck and neck with “everything south of the Canadian border,” if we’re keeping…
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The Takedown
“And that was when Mr. Bailey groped you?” the human resources manager’s face showed no trace of emotion. He had put a box of tissues on the table, setting it down with a dull thud. The tissue sticking up looked like a staircase that went nowhere. “Yes,” Megan said. “He closed the blinds, locked the…
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From Stand-Up to Broadway: Rick Younger Is the New ‘Mr. Duvall’ in Broadway’s Mean Girls
You’ve probably seen Rick Younger’s face in countless commercials and TV shows. Last year, as I was watching the series finale of HBO’s Girls, I caught him as one of the few black people who made an appearance on the show. Younger was the police officer with Lena Dunham’s character in the last scene, and…
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Stans, Ranked
Rapper J. Cole’s new album, KOD, has reignited a recurring discussion about the appreciation of “real” hip-hop between his fans and the people who find him interminably boring. While I am a big fan of J. Cole’s, I cannot call myself one of his “stans” because, while I love his music, I cannot bear the…
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Tracing Your Roots: Where Were My Black Homeowning Ancestors From?
Records reveal a proud legacy in Mississippi, yet data shows why we should not be all that surprised. Dear Professor Gates: My great-great-grandparents were George Derden (or Durton) and Beatrice Derden. My great-grandmother Christine was one of their daughters. I was told by my grandmother that my great-great-grandfather owned land or his own house in…
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The Root’s Guide to the 10 Blackest Experiences of the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival
If Beyoncé can bring Wakanda to Coachella, we’re going to do the same for Tribeca, the annual film festival that reps the grit and greatness of New York City. As with last year, we here at The Root are here to give it to you, racks on racks of that beautiful black (except, perhaps, No. 5).…