culture
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Insert Clever Title Here
Yesterday, Deputy Managing Editor Yesha Callahan told me, and I quote: “No one wants to wait around for the mailbag tomorrow … and by ‘no one,’ I mean me.” Fine, then. So I guess I won’t write an intro. This lede was gonna be funny as hell, too. I was going to explain how this…
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Ashes to Ascots: the Final Days of NewsOne Now With Roland Martin
The staff wrap party for the last episode of NewsOne Now with Roland Martin was not supposed to feel like it did. I walked into the staff kitchen and saw Martin in all of his fuchsia glory, smiling, ascot crisp, happily chopping it up. “What’s up, baby?” he said, then hit me with a hug…
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Tracing Your Roots: Were My Ancestors Melungeon?
A find in the 1860 census catches a reader by surprise, and points to a possible heritage that is subject to debate. Dear Professor Gates: I have been asked many times, “What are you?” My response was always, “My mother’s family is from the mountains near Chattanooga in Tennessee, so probably a little bit of…
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Talking Dirty to My Mom
The other night, I was having a phone conversation with my mother, catching her up on everything that had been going on with me this week. I got to a part in the story where I made a mention of dickfishing, and it occurred to me that she might not know what it meant. So…
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Our Elected Officials Must Give Children 2nd Chances
Just last week, 71-year-old Henry Montgomery found out he would spend yet another Christmas behind bars in Louisiana. He has spent more than 50 Christmases there, but he thought this year might be different. The parole board was set to hear his case for release, but on the day of the hearing, the board delayed…
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Caught Out There: Beware of the Lying Twitter Man-Whore
Your MCM was secretly engaging in personal relationships with three women on the timeline, lying to each of them, telling each of them lies about the other in an attempt to pit them against one another, all the while denying accountability for his actions by saying, “We were just talking.” He’s 33. There are plenty…
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Stigma Against Sex Workers Must End
I’m a black woman who is over 35, and for a little over a decade, I was a sex worker. It doesn’t matter what kind of sex work; what matters is that I have an adult lifetime of experience, not only in sex work, but also with the painful stigma attached to it. The thing…
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For Those Considering Blaxit, I Present to You: Seoul, South Korea
Like most people who aren’t from Asia, I was tempted to paint South Korea and Japan with the same brush. Not because I had read ample historical literature about them and had come to an educated conclusion, but because I was lazy, young and stupid. Should you find yourself fascinated by tae kwon do, kimchi…