culture
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At 44, She Suffered 2 Heart Attacks and Joined a Club She Didn’t Want to Belong To
It was a wake-up call when Julia Allen, then only 44, sat in a hospital realizing that she had just survived, not one, but two heart attacks on the same day: April 15, 2013. “[During the ordeal] I was thinking about all the other things that were going on. Who was going to cook dinner…
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What Empire Gets Wrong (and Right) About Bipolar Disorder
Much of the early buzz around Empire was focused on Lucious Lyon’s ALS diagnosis. With the series’ skyrocketing ratings, there’s an opportunity to shed light on that fatal illness. When the show first addressed son Andre’s bipolar disorder, I was surprised and oddly delighted. Last year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I thought bipolar disorder…
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Calling All Men in NYC to Attend The Root’s manCODE Event
We’re calling on the men of the New York City metropolitan area to join The Root for an empowering evening of brotherhood, dialogue and learning. The Root’s annual manCODE series will kick off 2015 in New York City on March 25 with a dynamic men-only conversation. For those who are unfamiliar with manCODE, sponsored by…
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Scandal Recap: No Justice, No Peace
This week’s timely Ferguson, Mo.-inspired Scandal episode has been deemed by many as the best and most important episode to date, and by others the most divisive. Olivia has been back in Washington, D.C., for only two days since being rescued from kidnappers, and instead of resting, seeking therapy or catching up on the How…
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American Crime Recap: Murder, Junkie Love and Family Dysfunction
On Thursday night, American Crime premiered on ABC and delivered every bit of drama that was promised in the previews. The show opens up with a 911 call from an unknown man telling the dispatcher that his neighbors “pretty much look like they’re dead.” Russ Skokie (Timothy Hutton) is woken up in the middle of…
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Are You More NeNe Than Beyoncé? Take Our Quiz and Find Out!
In honor of Women’s History Month, The Root helps you determine which female star best represents you. Take our quiz and find out!
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Empire Recap: Miss Kitty Makes a Boo-Boo
A wedding planner dreams of retiring on the chunk of change she’ll make from Lucious and Boo Boo Kitty’s ostentatious nuptials. While they select sports teams to hand out as wedding favors, Cookie sweeps in with Porsha lumbering behind. As she passes Lola, Cookie gets a “Hi, Grandma!” That seems presumptuous of Little Miss Lola.…
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Why Malcolm X Should Be Recognized in Selma, Ala., This Weekend
The 50th anniversary of the assassination of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) came and went on Feb. 21 of this year. And just as in other years when the date of Malcolm’s assassination came around, his name trended for a few hours and then the stifling silence rolled back in, erasing his name from the…
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Since Obama Marched in Selma 8 Years Ago, We’ve Made Progress—but We’ve Got More Work to Do
As the eyes of the nation turn to Alabama this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, it gives us a moment to reflect on the progress we’ve made since that time, including the election of the nation’s first African-American president, and the work that remains…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: Bye-Bye, Baby
Let’s just take a moment to admit that Mama Patterson was right about Mary Jane telling all her business on TV. M.J. finds out on the air at the end of the egg-freezing procedure that she only has four 6 mm follicles. In layman’s terms: The chances of her getting pregnant are looking grim, although…