culture
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An Open Letter to the Mainstream Media Covering the Death of Black People by the Police
The presence of news media at Wednesday night’s Town Hall in South Los Angeles to address the deputy-involved killing of unarmed 16-year-old Anthony “A.J.” Weber could’ve been a blessing. The grieving family and community had an opportunity to be heard on a national level. An opportunity to say or do what they needed in front…
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Donald Trump: White Jesus
“The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and … people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.” —Denis Diderot Any day now, the Robert Mueller investigation will end and everyone will read an FBI report about how President Donald J. Trump obstructed justice…
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Maryland Governor Tries to Settle HBCUs’ Lawsuit With $100 Million; Schools Say ‘What Else You Got?’
Years ago, The Root Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton and I were having a conversation about America’s jacked-up relationship with black people. We were enslaved for more than 200 years, lived under American apartheid for another century, and then finally, in the last 50 years or so, America has made a half-hearted attempt to erase its terrible…
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Tracing Your Roots: My Ancestor’s Census Record Is Confusing!
Here’s how to approach an unrecognized or illegible notation, as well as missing information, in a record. Dear Professor Gates: I have come across the abbreviation “WS” in the column for “Place of birth” in the 1910 census for Monroe County, Miss. It occurs several times, in both the mother’s and father’s “Place of birth”…
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Up in the Air Life Features Black Travel That Gets Both Lit and Luxe
Black. Travel. Excellence. It’s a concept that has literally taken flight—courtesy of skyrocketing black-owned and operated tour company Up in the Air Life. A glittery diamond on an increasingly dark travel-movement landscape, UITAL’s rep for serving up consistent black excellence from Cuba to Croatia is so strong, it’s caught the attention of corporate giants like…
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Sundance’s Tyrel Is Get Out Without Hypnosis or the Sunken Place
Tyrel may immediately draw comparisons to Get Out for its initial premise of an African American finding himself in an awkward situation during a weekend getaway surrounded by white people. But where Sebastian Silva’s Sundance flick differs from Jordan Peele’s Oscar-nominated movie is that Tyrel exists without hypnosis or the sunken place. It doesn’t pack…
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This Country Does Not Care About the Claims of Abused Women, and It Enables the Men Who Have Been Accused
Before Donald Trump even won the presidential election, women had come forward and accused him of various types of sexual misconduct. A recording surfaced in which he bragged about being able to do whatever he wants with women, and in which he said you should just “grab ’em by the pussy.” No one thought he’d…
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John Kelly Is a White Man
On Wednesday night, as the world learned about allegations of domestic violence against presidential aide Rob Porter, pundits and politicians from across the political spectrum focused on White House chief of staff John Kelly’s defense of Porter and Kelly’s recent comments about the laziness of immigrants. The sentiments of the wide-eyed people perplexed by the…