culture
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I Got My 1st-Ever Brazilian, and It Changed My Life
Welcome to The Root After Dark, where I get to talk about all the things Danielle Belton (our editor-in-chief), Genetta Adams (our managing editor) and Yesha Callahan (our deputy managing editor) won’t let me talk about during the day. This is going to be fun for me, and I hope it is fun and enjoyable…
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6 Things to Watch Now That Harry Put a Ring on Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle’s engagement is #BlackGirlMagic. Now, not everyone may feel that way, but I felt that way from the moment the news hit me via text at 5:25 a.m. Monday. Heck, I felt that way even before the engagement, back when Kensington Palace broke precedent and put out a statement on behalf of Prince Harry…
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Photographer Afshin Shahidi Gives the World ‘a Private View’ of Prince’s Life
Prince has had numerous photographers over the years, but there’s one who stuck out to the Purple One from the day they met: Afshin Shahidi. If his name is familiar, it’s because you know and adore his beautiful daughter, Yara Shahidi, who shines as Zoe on Black-ish and will continue to sprinkle her Black Girl…
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Turning the Tide: Nonprofit Helps Black Female Entrepreneurs Compete With White Men
Social entrepreneur Alfa Demmellash may be a married mother of two, but she knows the plight of single mothers intimately. Raised in part by a single mother in her native Ethiopia at the height of the devastating Derg regime, Demmellash—who escaped violence that killed family members when she immigrated to the United States at age…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: White Friday
In the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday, we would like to offer a kinder, gentler Clapback Mailbag this week. Instead of clapping back at the people who send emails, tweets and direct messages, we would like to thank our haters, because without them, where would we be? As you sit back munching on your leftover…
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Tracing Your Roots: How Do I Research My Cuban Origins?
Inspired by a shocking revelation on Professor Henry Louis Gates’ show, a woman wonders how to research her own heritage. Dear Professor Gates: My family is from Cuba. I have always had a desire to verify the oral histories from both sides of my family about our heritage. The episode of your PBS television show…
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These Blackity-Black Productions Will Be Coming to Your Screen in 2018
This year we have seen the magic that unfolds when black people have full control of their own art. From Get Out to Insecure, black writers, producers and directors have exemplified that the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. And they aren’t finished! I would recommend clearing your schedules, because 2018 is stacked with…
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Watch: Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Race’s Importance in Narratives
“It blew my mind the first time I saw a black character on an HBO show that wasn’t in jail. Diversity is important because the world is diverse.” —Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was recognized on The Root 100 this year for his work changing narratives through the theatrical arts. In 2016, Jacobs-Jenkins was awarded a…
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Don’t Sleep! Gifts for the Newly Woke on Black (AF) Friday
Let’s just keep it real: The newly converted, whether they be Muslims or Masons, AKAs or vegans … can be totally exasperating when they see “the light.” In the case of the freshly woke, that light is noire, and it manifests in tried-and-true platitudes like, “Black is beautiful,” “Natural hair is fabulous” or “Resistance is…
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The Caucasian’s Guide to Black Thanksgiving, Part 3: Giving Thanks
Dearly beloved white people, Today we are gathered here among our cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews to celebrate the tradition called Black Thanksgiving. We have already informed you about the invited guests, so you should be familiar with all of the people in attendance. Black Thanksgiving is a holiday based on family and love,…