culture
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10 Reasons Facebook Declared Trump’s Favorite Black Women, Diamond and Silk, ‘Unsafe’
After being banned from Wakanda, in a blatant act of discrimination and an example of the erasure of women of color, News commentators Diamond and Silk were deemed “unsafe to the community” by Facebook simply because they are black women liars who spread misinformation. Lynnette “Diamond” Hardaway and Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, the two North Carolina…
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With Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B Crafted the Perfect Thot Bop Album
In a since-deleted post on Instagram, Azealia Banks, the poster child for self-destruction, launched another attack on hip-hop’s newest female superstar, Cardi B. News about Banks trolling a peer on social media in itself is as mundane as word about the color of the sky, but part of her critique—“Scary ass, ghost written, sucking and…
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Joy Reid and Black Twitter Offer Several Seats to Killer Mike
It is a vicious, slow-spreading bacteria that has infected some of the most well-meaning people of our time. Most often poisoning pulpit dwellers, the malady causes the victim—who usually has insight in one particular area—to believe he is a genius with answers to everything, including economics, history, politics and even behavior. After studying the syndrome…
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Roseanne Doesn’t Normalize Trump-Supporting Racists. It’s a Documentary
Although I might be in the minority of black people, I am willing to admit that I love ABC’s reboot of Roseanne. I haven’t watched a single episode—nor do I plan to—but I like the idea that it exists. As one of America’s foremost wypipologists, I didn’t enter this field of study because I find…
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A Cardi B Invasion of Privacy Think Piece Because We’re All Waiting for One
I like Cardi B a lot. Who doesn’t? It’s almost impossible not to enjoy her brand of in-your-face in-your-faceism. She keeps it real, and that authenticity has endeared her to folks near and far. When “Bodak Yellow” dropped and broke records and wormholed its way into your subconscious—I actually can’t just say “moves” anymore without…
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A Case for Educational Reparations for Formerly Incarcerated People
We don’t like to think of social justice as a zero-sum game. But there are costs associated with bringing equity and fairness to victims of discrimination, especially for those incarcerated throughout this nation. Those restitutions won’t come out of thin air. Stanford University research shows that the black incarceration rate nationwide is five times the…
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Tracing Your Roots: Why Did My Family Bury the Past?
Silence shrouded information about a family’s past, and those who could provide answers are deceased. Fortunately, there’s a paper trail. Dear Professor Gates: No one in my family would talk about our past, so it basically died with my great-great-aunts. Our family is from Robeson County, N.C.—mainly St. Pauls, in the Kintuck area—and my ancestors…
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Why Can’t Getting a Gun Be Like Getting a Driver’s License? A Conversation With NRA TV’s Colion Noir
In the 24 hours it takes for this column to be written, edited, copy edited and uploaded to The Root and to end up on your phone, about 318 people across the United States will have been shot (in fact, the shooting at YouTube headquarters happened between writing my first and second drafts of this…
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Memphis, Tenn., Honors 1968 Sanitation Workers With I Am a Man Plaza
Perhaps no phrase encapsulates the sentiment of the struggle for freedom, justice and equality more than “I am a man.” Every day during the 1968 Memphis, Tenn., sanitation workers’ strike, Memphis’ black sanitation employees would meet downtown at the historic Clayborn Temple. When the men arrived, they would pick up picket signs that read, “I…
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America Did This: An Open Letter to Memphis, Tenn.
You are beautiful. The way you sparkle in the reflection of the mighty Mississippi River. The way the trumpets bellow from the bowels of Beale Street. The way you don’t give a damn about consonants when you talk. The way you bathe yourself in blues riffs, barbecue smoke … and pain. A lot of pain.…