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  • In An American Marriage, Tayari Jones Gets to the Heart of Our Matter

    “When love calls, you better answer”—at least, that’s what Atlantic Starr once told us. But what happens when Oprah calls? The Glow Up asked writer Tayari Jones, who got the call from the great and powerful O in October when her latest novel, An American Marriage, was chosen as the first Oprah’s Book Club selection…

    By

    Maiysha Kai

    Published

  • Chiwetel Ejiofor Delivers Oscar-Worthy Performance in Come Sunday at Sundance

    In 2005, NPR’s This American Life broadcast the story of Bishop Carlton Pearson’s struggles with his faith that divided a church during the late 1990s and put him in the crosshairs of religious folk after he questioned God’s intentions. Director Joshua Marston brilliantly reimagines this narrative with Come Sunday, which is heading to Netflix after…

    By

    Andreas Hale

    Published

  • An Open Letter to the Mainstream Media Covering the Death of Black People by the Police

    The presence of news media at Wednesday night’s Town Hall in South Los Angeles to address the deputy-involved killing of unarmed 16-year-old Anthony “A.J.” Weber could’ve been a blessing. The grieving family and community had an opportunity to be heard on a national level. An opportunity to say or do what they needed in front…

    By

    Angela Helm

    Published

  • Barack and Michelle Obama’s Official Portrait Unveiling Was a Shining Moment of Black History

    It may not have been completely intentional, but the unveiling of the official portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during Black History Month was certainly something to behold. It was the first black president and the first black first lady, painted and portrayed by black artists in a way that told…

    By

    Breanna Edwards

    Published

  • Donald Trump: White Jesus

    “The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and … people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.” —Denis Diderot Any day now, the Robert Mueller investigation will end and everyone will read an FBI report about how President Donald J. Trump obstructed justice…

    By

    Michael Harriot

    Published

  • These New and Upcoming Books by Black Authors Will Give You Life in These Perilous Times

    In these dark, cold winter months, let us take comfort in the amazing things black people are doing in literature. 2018 is going to be lit, y’all. Morgan Jerkins’ newly released debut essay collection, This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America, is, simply, incendiary. The…

    By

    Hope Wabuke

    Published

  • Maryland Governor Tries to Settle HBCUs’ Lawsuit With $100 Million; Schools Say ‘What Else You Got?’

    Years ago, The Root Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton and I were having a conversation about America’s jacked-up relationship with black people. We were enslaved for more than 200 years, lived under American apartheid for another century, and then finally, in the last 50 years or so, America has made a half-hearted attempt to erase its terrible…

    By

    Jason Johnson

    Published

  • Tracing Your Roots: My Ancestor’s Census Record Is Confusing!

    Here’s how to approach an unrecognized or illegible notation, as well as missing information, in a record. Dear Professor Gates: I have come across the abbreviation “WS” in the column for “Place of birth” in the 1910 census for Monroe County, Miss. It occurs several times, in both the mother’s and father’s “Place of birth”…

    By

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    Published

  • Up in the Air Life Features Black Travel That Gets Both Lit and Luxe

    Black. Travel. Excellence. It’s a concept that has literally taken flight—courtesy of skyrocketing black-owned and operated tour company Up in the Air Life. A glittery diamond on an increasingly dark travel-movement landscape, UITAL’s rep for serving up consistent black excellence from Cuba to Croatia is so strong, it’s caught the attention of corporate giants like…

    By

    Tomika Anderson

    Published

  • Sundance’s Tyrel Is Get Out Without Hypnosis or the Sunken Place

    Tyrel may immediately draw comparisons to Get Out for its initial premise of an African American finding himself in an awkward situation during a weekend getaway surrounded by white people. But where Sebastian Silva’s Sundance flick differs from Jordan Peele’s Oscar-nominated movie is that Tyrel exists without hypnosis or the sunken place. It doesn’t pack…

    By

    Andreas Hale

    Published