culture
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Roy Moore vs. Doug Jones Has Nothing to Do With Little Girls; It’s About White Supremacy
When die-hard Republicans engage in the often fruitless exercise of soliciting black and other minority voters to buck the stranglehold of the Democratic voting bloc and join the constantly shrinking tent of the Grand Old Party, they always resort to the same tactics. They declare themselves “the party of Lincoln” and mention how they ended…
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Nominate the Leaders of Tomorrow for The Root’s Young Futurists
Who are the young, outspoken activists standing up for their communities and calling out injustice? Who are the young, creative artists and entertainers who will tell our stories and represent us in the worlds of music, film, television, books and theater? Who are the young, business-savvy entrepreneurs who are not just looking for a job…
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Taxicab Confessions: On Being Friendly When You Can’t Be Bothered
The new World Trade Center in all its grotesque, sanitized and bleached whiteness still makes me a bit sick. I remember the towers before the planes hit; I remember the smoke and grief that wafted into Brooklyn after they fell. So this new whale carcass filled with high-end stores and corny tourist attractions turns my…
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Fear of the State, Fear of My Home: To Be Black and Queer in America
“I was called a faggot before I was ever called a nigger.” I’ve heard this statement from LGBTQ people hundreds of times across social media platforms, drawing various reactions from both hetero and homosexual communities alike. For many of us, this statement, albeit true, often lacks the full context and explanation of how both offensive…
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On the Ground at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Opening in Jackson
It is debatable whether the unexpected snow hitting the South, including Jackson, Miss., affected attendance at the grand opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History more than Donald Trump’s appearance Saturday. Civil rights icon U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) were not the only ones…
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If You Think the #MeToo Movement Means You Can’t Hug a Woman Anymore, You’re a Simpleton Who Needs to Hug a Wet Electric Socket
I swear on the immaculate weave on Janet Jackson’s head that men are ridiculous, and if I weren’t sexually attracted to them, I’d join the calls to ban them permanently. Yes, I am a man, but like 2Chainz, I’m different, so don’t lump me in with these fools who continually give me the gender equivalent…
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Letting Him Back In: Why Are We Unable to Let Go of Our Problematic Exes?
It could all be so simpleBut you’d rather make it hardLoving you is like a battleAnd we both end up with scarsTell me who I have to beTo get some reciprocitySee, no one loves you more than me And no one ever will. I can’t count how many times I played Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor,” singing…
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Emil Wilbekin’s Native Son Will Change the Way Black Gay Men Are Represented in the Media
Emil Wilbekin is a superstar journalist who intends to change the way black gay men are perceived and received in mainstream media. He intends to shift culture through his initiative, Native Son, which is inspired by James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. “Mr. Baldwin talks a lot about social justice, the black church, family,…
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Tracing Your Roots: Were My Southern Kin From Jamaica?
A search for the Caribbean origins of a reader’s family takes a few surprising turns. Dear Professor Gates: I want to learn about my paternal grandparents, Cecil E. Burley Sr. and Beatrice (King) Burley. They were both born in Jamaica but lived out their lives in Rome, Ga. I want to know how my grandmother…
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A Woman-to-Woman Conversation About a Man Is Not Always the Move
“Hello? May I speak to Barbara? Barbara, this is Shirley.” So begins a classic R&B song where one sista reaches out to another to have a woman-to-woman conversation about the man they are unwittingly sharing. Shirley found Barbara’s number in her man’s pockets and decided to call Barbara to break the news to her. But…