culture
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When Your Privilege Is Whiter Than Top-Shelf Cocaine, This Happens
Here at The Root, we talk a lot about things like white privilege, whitesplaining, white fragility, etc. Some of the folks who read our site find it hard to understand these concepts, so it’s always helpful when we have an example that displays exactly what we mean. Today is one of those days. I would…
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Was Nicki Minaj’s SNL Performance Cultural Appropriation?
When Nicki Minaj took the stage to perform her hit song “Chun-Li” on the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, “callout Twitter” rumbled with accusations of cultural appropriation and the fetishization of Asian culture. While some, including a few Asian Americans, accused the rapstress of using stereotypical Asian imagery as a costume, others defended…
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Snoop, Please Spare Us Your Rage About Trump, Mr. ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’
Nigga, you? (In Nas’ “Ether” voice.) Ever since Snoop Dogg came forward with some very scathing public words for Kanye West, something has been stuck in my craw. Yes, it’s true, I’m a die-hard Kanye West fan, but this ain’t about him. Fuck him. Truth be told, I used to love Snoop with all my…
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‘Highly Offended’ White Teacher Kicked My 9-Year-Old Son Out of Class for Taking Knee During Pledge
When my 9-year-old son told me that he had been thrown out of his fourth-grade class for kneeling during the Pledge of Allegiance, I was mildly surprised by his actions, but furious with his teachers. Their instinctive responses were harsh reminders of how deeply white supremacy is embedded in the classroom. But more important for…
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Malcolm X Matters: Icon’s Words Still Ring True
As the #BlackLivesMatter movement continues to grow in strength like the perfect storm, the prescient words of Malcolm X (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) slice with laser-sharp precision through the rhetoric of politicians and pundits alike as if he still walked among us. He was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Neb., and he…
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#BlackMomMagic: District MotherHued Caters to Millennial Moms of Color in Nation’s 1st ‘Momference’
Even in the year of our Lord 2018, it is hard in these United States to find inclusive, welcoming spaces that actually feel that way if you’re a person of color. That’s why, often, if black people want to be represented in a space—whether it be hair, makeup, clothing (what is “nude”?), workspaces, you name…
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Is Making Star Wars’ Lando Calrissian ‘Pansexual’ an Assault on Black Manhood? Maybe, but Not in the Way You Think
Buckle up, everyone; we’re about to talk about sex, Star Wars and Hollywood! According to a recent HuffPost interview, Jonathan Kasdan, a screenwriter for Solo: A Star Wars Story, envisions Lando Calrissian, played by Donald Glover, as pansexual. “There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee [Williams’ portrayals of Lando’s] sexuality,” Kasdan explained. “I mean,…
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Can Someone Donate a Shit for Me to Give About the Royal Wedding?
I remember exactly where I was when the news broke that Meghan Markle would become a member of the British royal family. It was like a dream. My head and heart were immediately consumed with so many competing thoughts and feelings, such as: Who the hell is Meghan Markle? Stop playing. There’s a black woman…
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Read This Before Calling the Police: For Wypipo Who Have Considered Cops When Privilege Wasn’t Enough
As one of the world’s foremost wypipologists, I have been tasked with addressing the newfound epidemic of Caucasian cop-summoners that just began trending around … oh, I’m going to say it started in 1619, give or take a few days. That’s correct. None of this shit is new. White people have always loved calling the…
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Michael B. Jordan Talks Fake News, Internet Culture and Fahrenheit 451
Not even 24 hours after making his appearance at the Met Gala, Michael B. Jordan walked into the room I was sitting in with a huge smile on his face, a voice that sounded like it could use a throat lozenge, and a cologne that wasn’t too overwhelming and lingered nicely after he gave me…