culture

This week’s flashback-heavy Scandal episode, directed by the multitalented Regina King, took us on a journey deeper into Cyrus Beene’s past, starting at his first marriage … to a woman, through his second marriage to James Novak (may he rest in peace), all the way to his latest trip to the altar with Michael the sex worker. We also uncover…

My best friend of seven years slept with my “friend with benefits.” Yes, I have no claim to the man, but I let them both know prior to this incident—after they made out in front of me while drunk—that it made me uncomfortable. They both agreed to respect how I felt. Fast-forward two weeks: We…

Editor’s note: This week we’re celebrating the birthdays of phenomenal performers who not only share late-March birthdays but who also have voices that have defined their generations. On Monday we honored the Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan. On Wednesday it was the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and on Thursday we celebrated the boss, Diana Ross. Today…

Maybe the two-city Small Axe: Acoustic Performance Series tour signals Lauryn Hill’s return to the contemporary-music scene. Her sporadic appearances and legal troubles did little to give fans hope that the artist who blew us away on the Fugees’ The Score and the path-breaking The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was indeed back for real, for…

Wednesday night in New York City at the event space 404, 180 African-American men came together to network, share insights and engage with a multigenerational panel of black men from all walks of life. The Root’s annual event, called manCODE, sponsored by Prudential, is designed to provide a safe space where men can speak openly about…

Editor’s note: This week we’re celebrating the birthdays of phenomenal performers who not only share late-March birthdays but who also have voices that have defined their generations. On Monday we honored the Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan. On Wednesday it was the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Today it’s the boss, Diana Ross; and on Friday, the…

Yusef “Bunchy” Shakur, Shaka Senghor and Chris Wilson are activists, community leaders and businessmen. They are also among the formerly incarcerated. The three are speaking out about their journey from prison to prosperity and why the American justice system needs to move away from mass incarceration and more toward rehabilitation and reform. Their efforts as…

Father. Son. Unarmed. Employee. The press could have chosen to use any of those descriptors in detailing how police shot a 25-year-old Georgia man outside his job at Goodyear Tire. Instead, countless headlines included the fact that a young black man was in a Maserati at the time of his death. Here’s what we know:…

It was an unprecedented event for NCAA swimming. It was as symbolic as it was historic in that it provided a revealing reality concerning the sport of swimming and marked the official introduction of African-American women as a force in an arena that has failed to attract or embrace them in the past. It was…