culture
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Justin Timberlake’s New Single Is Not the Trump’s-America Tune Many Anticipated
I assumed that Justin Timberlake’s new single would end up being some ol’ bullshit. The second half of his last album, The 20/20 Experience, certainly was, and based on the trailer for his forthcoming album, Man of the Woods, I had no reason to assume that the legendary Ms. Britney Spears’ ex-boyfriend was going to…
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Tracing Your Roots: Where Was Grandpa Before World War II?
A town lost to history and a family fracture are among the factors complicating a search for ancestors. Dear Professor Gates: I have been trying to research my maternal line for 10-plus years, but I have not been able to find any documentation of my great-grandfather beyond his enlistment in World War II. I have…
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The Caucasity of Outrage Because Erica Garner’s Family Won’t Talk to White Journalists
After the death of Erica Garner, the 27-year-old daughter of police-brutality victim Eric Garner, many people who were aware of her activism were left with a sense of loss. Others, including some of the writers at The Root who knew and respected Erica, were stunned at the sudden death of someone so young and so…
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Why Fox News, Littlefinger and Horse Twitter Are Beefing with The Root, Explained
Of course I do. You look concerned. Is something wrong? Oh, that? Yeah, Tucker Carlson is beefing with The Root for being racist against white people. Tucker Carlson is a white man. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to minimize Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson is not just a white man; he’s the white man. When…
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Vagina Valuation: What Is Yours Worth?
Last week on Twitter, I saw a tweet from a young lady bragging about how she had the Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO apps on her phone, and she wasn’t paying for any of them. “Let me tell about this good pussy,” she crowed. All I could think was, “Sis, that sounds like some…
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The Root’s 2018 Horoscope and Prediction Guide for Black America
As we embark upon a new year, instead of looking back at the dumpster fire that was 2017, The Root has decided to look forward at what lies ahead for black America. To help us with our predictions, we contacted our own psychic and fortune-teller, LaQuanda “Punkin’” Damus, a distant relative of the heralded French…
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Starting Fresh: 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2017
New year, new me. People make fun of that saying, but if you think about it, it is a mood, a message and a lifestyle. Each year on Dec. 31, we shed at least some part of our old selves and take on new habits, ideas or mantras. For me, Dec. 31, 2017, was no…
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With Bright, Will Smith Misses an Opportunity to Launch a Real Afrofuturistic Revolution
My friends and I constantly talk about how we want a bunch of black movies across the spectrum, from romance to science fiction. White actors get all the fun and we get all the supporting (and usually dying) sidekicks. Will Smith has been serving us all those movies we crave for years. He took a…
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Living Single Cast and Creator Reflect on Legacy 20 Years After Series Finale
Since leaving the air 20 years ago today, Jan. 1, Living Single continues to resonate in the hearts of loyal fans. Its legacy alone has dismissed critics (i.e., Newsweek’s 1993 article with its “booty-shaking sugar mamas” comment), paving the way for shows like Insecure, and still reigns as a beloved fixture of black entertainment and…
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For, by and About Black Women: Charlie Is a Reflection of How We All Deal Differently With Grief
What happens when you lose the person you care about the most? How do you deal with that grief? How does it express itself? How does it change you, and how does it keep you the same? How do the bonds of sisterhood hold us together? These are the questions the film Charlie answers and…