culture
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Why I Decided to Become a Black Conservative
A few months ago, The Root began a series of stories under the name “I Tried It,” chronicling the experiences of writers who were willing to step outside their comfort zones to try things they normally wouldn’t consider. Some were incredibly adventurous, like senior reporter Terrell Jermaine Starr’s visit to one of the most radioactive…
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The Trouble With Hero Worship: Is #TeamKillmonger Also #TeamToxicMasculinity?
Editor’s note: Multiple spoilers ahead. After this blockbuster weekend, we’re all talking about Marvel’s Black Panther. We’re talking about the powerful women of the Dora Milaje and the scene-stealing M’Baku (Winston Duke), and we even got a new handshake to share with our folk. But as excitement reached its peak after our first look, or…
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You Have to See Black Panther in a Black Movie Theater to Really Understand It
Press screenings aren’t at all representative of what it’s like to roll up to a theater with your friends to see the latest blockbuster. Everyone’s fixated on the screen, and the movie’s jokes may get a laugh or two, but because most everyone there is there working, it’s just not the same as sitting back…
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Killmonger Was Wrong, and Y’all Know It
Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers for the film Black Panther. I am not here to defend the Black Panther movie. Now, I happen to like it. It was well-acted and moving and is probably the second-best Marvel movie after Captain America: Winter Soldier, but that’s just me. All black people don’t have to like…
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Can’t We All Just Get Along? Black Panther Is Revisionist History
Editor’s note: There are spoilers here. I admittedly missed a couple of key details during my first trip to Wakanda. Something about a nerdtastic property holding such cultural significance put me in a state of bliss. So I made a return trip, you know, to make sure I didn’t miss anything. (Yeah, sure. That’s the…
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Writer Bryan Edward Hill Explains Why Black Representation in Comics Matter and Why Michael Cray Is Out to Kill Aquaman and the Flash
Comic books have struggled with diversity since Famous Funnies was released in the United States in 1933. However, the past few years have finally seen some cracks in the proverbial glass ceiling as black culture has permeated into the mainstream of the comic book universe. From Marvel’s reimagining of classic rap album covers as comic…
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Robert E. Lee Beads Bring Mardi Gras’ Historic Racism Full Circle
The ongoing national debate over race and Confederate monuments reared its ugly head during this year’s Mardi Gras. Some of the infamous beads thrown into the crowds reflected the image of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to protest the removal of his statue from New Orleans’ most prominent traffic circle, which has been a symbolic…
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10 Things I Know About You if You Didn’t Cry Watching Drake’s ‘God’s Plan’ Video
Earlier this month it was reported that Drake, aka Canadian Screech, walked into a Miami grocery store and announced over a bullhorn that the patrons could get whatever they wanted and it was on him. It was a moment. What no one knew was that Drake had actually taken the money that was supposed to…
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We Went to Opening Night of Black Panther and Now We Want to Live in Wakanda Forever
When tickets for Black Panther went on sale late last month, we here at The Root just knew it was our duty, as the unofficial news source of Wakanda, to be there on the first night. Luckily, our editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, was able to score tickets so that we could be there to give you…
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Tracing Your Roots: Why Free Virginia Blacks Looked Over Their Shoulders
Finding Virginia forebears who lived uncertain lives in the shadow of the Nat Turner rebellion. Dear Professor Gates: I believe I have just about every record and newspaper clipping on my fourth great-grandmother Rebecca Howlett of Chesterfield County, Va. However, I haven’t been able to find out who her parents were. She was born in…