culture
-
Thanksgiving and Chill: All the Shows to Binge-Watch Before You Get ‘The Itis’
It’s that time of year again. White folks are clamoring at Starbucks for their pumpkin-spice lattes, and black folks are calling around to make sure Aunt Sheila is still making her signature turkey this year … it’s Thanksgiving! And while many of us side-eye the massacre and theft masquerading as a family-friendly holiday, we’ve managed…
-
The Great Migration: National Museum of African American History and Culture Offers to Digitize Black Family Home Movies for Free
The National Museum of African American History and Culture has launched a new initiative aimed at helping black families preserve their history and analog audiovisual media with a unique digitization service, and it’s completely free! The Great Migration Home Movie Project invites people to schedule an appointment with the museum’s audiovisual conservation team and have…
-
HBCUs Can Revive US Cities
Looking to move to a new city to live or to set up a business? Consider a town where there’s an HBCU. “I didn’t realize that it wasn’t normal for your barber to live next to your professor until I left Grambling [in Louisiana],” said Grambling State University President Richard Gallot Jr. If there’s anyone…
-
Gifted Singer and Actress Della Reese Dead at 86
From the clubs to stages, Della Reese captured audiences with her melodic voice and ballads that crossed many genres, including jazz, blues and gospel. The songstress, who also displayed her talents as a character actress on TV and the big screen, died Sunday evening at age 86, People reports. Born July 6, 1931, Delloreese Patricia…
-
Watch: The Root 100 Gala Co-Host A.J. Calloway Celebrates the Obamas
The Root 100 gala co-host A.J. Calloway breaks down why Barack and Michelle Obama are the epitome of black excellence. The Root 100 prime-time special airs on Fusion TV on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 9 p.m.
-
This Is What Child Sex Trafficking Looks Like in Madagascar
Approximately 10,000 international tourists from countries like France and Italy travel to Madagascar, the world’s fourth-largest island, to explore pristine and vast ecosystems every year. From its enigmatic rows of baobab trees to several species of distinct lemurs, the Indian Ocean island provides travelers with an array of sightseeing options. But beyond the bountiful and…
-
I Tried It: A Night at the Opera
If I had to guess about my first real introduction to opera, it was back in the Napster days. I was in high school, and like many other kids who knew how to use the internet at that time, I was frequently solicited with musical requests once my parents got wind that there was a…
-
Jenifer Lewis Is the Mother of Black Hollywood and She Has the Receipts to Back It Up
It seems as if you can hear her laugh from miles away. Her smile is so bright it lights up the darkest theater, cabaret, movie or television screen. Jenifer Lewis—of Black-ish; Broadway’s Eubie!; the films Beaches, Poetic Justice and What’s Love Got to Do With It, among scores of others—is fearless. That’s a good thing…
-
I Tried It: I’m Not Mad at the ‘Come Meet a Black Person’ Event Organizer and You Shouldn’t Be Either
When I told my mother I was going to the “Come Meet a Black Person” event in Lawrenceville, Ga., she readily told me, “Pickeny gal, a mind dem a nah sum ku klux klan sin ting yah nuh.” This is Jamaican patois for “It’s a trap!” My friends also warned me that it was a…
-
Denzel Washington’s Roman J. Israel, Esq. Isn’t Exactly What You’re Expecting, but What You Might Need to See
I walked into Roman J. Israel, Esq. with an open mind. I knew that director Dan Gilroy’s previous film Nightcrawler was dark and gritty. I also knew that Denzel Washington, before his most recent appearance in Fences, had taken a leap into the world of dark and gritty with his award-winning performance in Training Day…