culture

  • After the Breakup: How to Win the Petty Olympics on Social Media

    Breakups are a fact of life. All things both good and bad come to an end, leaving us feeling some type of way afterward. When things end on a good note, we go our separate ways and let each other exist in peace. When things end on a less-than-stellar note, we think of ways to…

  • Relish Belongs in Deviled Eggs. Period

    Over the holiday, a lively debate got started in our Slack chat over the proper way to make deviled eggs. Actually, let me tell y’all what the fuck happened. Genetta Adams, our managing editor, posted a picture of some deviled eggs that she had just made, and at first we were all like, “Mmm, deviled…

  • What a Recovering Catholic and Out Gay Man Makes of the Priest Who Just Came Out

    On Dec. 17, the Rev. Gregory Greiten shared a secret with parishioners at the St. Bernadette Catholic Parish: “I am gay.” Greiten was then greeted with a standing ovation, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The next day, Greiten wrote a column in the National Catholic Reporter. As someone who now uses the descriptor “recovering…

  • Top 10 Moments Black People Won in 2017

    Top 10 Moments Black People Won in 2017

    2017 has been, how do I put this succinctly, a fucking shit year. From the plagues of biblical proportions that this administration keeps trying to drop on us to the fact that Mother Nature is sick of the bullshit and has been trying to finally kill us all via hurricane, 2017 has not been skimpy…

  • Habari Gani?! Kujichagulia! Cardi B Was the Embodiment of Self-Determination in 2017

    This year, for each day of Kwanzaa, The Root is highlighting one person from the community who exemplifies the principle of the day. On the second day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 27, the principle is Kujichagulia, or “self-determination.” To practice Kujichagulia is to define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.…

  • The 2017 Wypipo Awards

    The 2017 Wypipo Awards

    We’d like to welcome you to the 2017 Wypipo Awards. For those of you attending for the first time, these awards are not focused on all white people. Instead, this is a ceremony that celebrates the class of our Caucasian constituency that constantly complains that the BET Awards, the NAACP Awards and even the Soul…

  • The 2018 Single-Life Reboot for Your Best Year Ever

    We made it through Christmas, and if you are anything like me, you are glad that shit is over with. Now, with just five days left in 2017, it’s time to prepare ourselves for the new year by clearing out the old stuff and starting up new habits that will make 2018 the best year…

  • 5 Things Movie Theaters Can Do to Win Audiences Back in 2018

    When is the last time you actually sat in the movie theater to watch a film? What movie was it? How much money did you spend on the entire experience? How soon are you likely to go to the movies again? These are the questions that came to mind for me as I looked at…

  • Azealia Banks Issues Apology to Beyoncé 

    Azealia Banks must have gotten common sense for Christmas, because she just issued an apology to Beyoncé. In 2016, Banks poked at the Beyhive when she came for the Queen in a series of social media posts that not only criticized the greatness that is Lemonade but also claimed that Beyoncé had sold her soul.…

  • Watch: ‘Make Kwanzaa Great Again’ Campaign Video

    [This post originally ran on Dec. 26, 2017.] Many people have wondered why Kwanzaa is not a bigger holiday or why it is overshadowed by Christmas every year (and when we say “many people,” like our esteemed president, we mean four … maybe five, tops). In response, we decided to celebrate Kwanzaa Week by pouring…