culture
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Stuart Scott: The Story of How He Fought Until the End
ESPN anchor Stuart Scott is in a production trailer by himself and he is in tears. It is days before the Jimmy V Perseverance Award speech he will give during the ESPYs that will become the pièce de résistance of his brilliant career; a career full of in-depth interviews, “boo-yahs” and well-timed, creative, black-folk puns like,…
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That Afro Is a Lie
A friend of a friend of mine a while back was lamenting why her natural hair did not look like X celebrity she really liked. That celeb’s hair was so big, thick and full, the curls so dynamic and bouncy. What products could this celeb be using? Was there a twist-out technique she could use…
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Violence Against South Asians Is Linked to Bias Against African Americans
When 57-year-old Sureshbhai Patel was slammed facedown to the ground by an Alabama police officer in February, leaving him partially paralyzed, the Hindu American Foundation moved quickly to announce that it was developing a Hinduism 101 training for first responders “to improve the cultural competency of police officers and avoid the escalation of incidents based on language…
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Why a Comical Book About Slavery? Ask Paul Beatty
Paul Beatty’s writing defies categorization. The author’s two collections of poetry and three novels have alternately been called satirical, dystopian, absurdist and postmodern. While the closest classification, Beatty himself admits, is absurdist, even that is rather wide of the mark. Beatty’s latest novel, The Sellout, is, on a plot level, the story of Mr. Me,…
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‘Anti-Semitic’ Tweets or Not, Comedy Central Will Stand by Trevor Noah
Given the speed at which modern news operates, it’s a miracle that anybody ever gets to have any fun. No sooner had Comedy Central announced that biracial South African standup comedian Trevor Noah would be taking over The Daily Show after Jon Stewart than the social media vetting began. First with the ubiquitous “Who is Trevor Noah?”…
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Celebrating Pioneering Black Trans Women
Thanks to the groundbreaking work of Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox and cultural critic and author Janet Mock (both The Root 100 honorees), the stigma and ignorance surrounding both the exterior and interior lives of trans women is slowly being chipped away. The work of such organizations as the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Trans…
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Poll: Who Should Play Dorothy in the TV Version of The Wiz?
When we think of “Home” we think of Stephanie Mills in her iconic performance as Dorothy in the original 1974 production of The Wiz on Broadway. Diana Ross took over the role in the 1978 film version alongside Michael Jackson, who gave an unforgettable performance as the Scarecrow. Now NBC is launching a live television…
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5 Things You Should Know About Trevor Noah
When Comedy Central announced Monday that South African comedian Trevor Noah would replace Jon Stewart as the next host of The Daily Show, the collective response around the country seemed to be “Trevor who?” After all, the 31-year-old comic only joined the show as a regular correspondent in December and has appeared three times since.…
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Dear Racists: We Don’t Owe You Our Forgiveness
Last week Levi Pettit, one of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon balladeers who was busted singing a rousing number about anti-black terrorism, held a press conference during which he made a public relations statement disguised as an apology. The sheer ridiculousness of the optics quickly made the spectacle go viral. Oklahoma state Sen. Anastasia Pittman, chair…
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Celebrating 75 Years of John Lewis in Atlanta
“If there were no airplanes, I would have walked across America to be here tonight to sing the praise song to John Lewis,” began Alfre Woodard, the night’s first speaker for the “Portraits of John Lewis: Celebrating the 75th Birthday” festivities at the Tabernacle in Atlanta Saturday. “I wouldn’t have even caught a ride in…