culture
-
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
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…
-
If You’re Not Watching Ts Madison and Khia’s The Queens Court, What’s Taking You So Long?
My introduction to Ts Madison, the adult entertainer-turned-trans activist, recording artist and internet personality, was a video of her cursing out critics who felt she may not be the right kind of transgender activist. “Fuck alll you hoes that feel some type of way about Ts Madison, ’cause guess what, bitch? I’m that ho in…
-
#2017WeMadeIt: What The Root’s Top 25 Stories of the Year Say About 2017
Donald Trump became president. White supremacy became normalized. Black women had to strap on their work boots to prevent an alleged pedophile from becoming a U.S. senator. We discovered that men everywhere were sexually harassing women. The Atlanta Falcons blew a 25-point halftime lead in the Super Bowl … Let’s face it: 2017 sucked. And…
-
Habari Gani?! Umoja! Tarana Burke Was the Embodiment of Unity in 2017
This year, The Root is making the blackest holiday of them all great again! And for each day of Kwanzaa, we will be highlighting one person from the community who exemplifies the principle of the day. On the first day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 26, the principle is Umoja, or “unity.” To practice Umoja is to…