culture
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As Baltimore’s Homicides Reach 300, Activists Call for Another Cease-Fire Weekend
As the number of homicides in Baltimore this year climbs past 300 and the city’s Police Department remains embroiled in scandal, with officers caught on camera planting evidence and eight others facing federal racketeering charges, fed-up Baltimore City residents have decided to take matters into their own hands. And they’re doing it using a simple…
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A Tale of 2 Mich. Water Crises
On Oct. 23, 12 Oakland County, Mich., communities spent roughly nine days without water after a major water main break. Almost 305,000 people were affected by the break. Oakland County and the Great Lakes Water Authority worked nearly around the clock to ensure that the residents in those communities had safe, potable water. Water stations in…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: First of All …
Happy Clapback Day! Yes, we’re making it a day of the week. The name “Friday” wasn’t imaginative enough. Plus, it has nothing to do with frying. If they only served fried chicken and french fries, then I’d be cool with the name, but I think the last day before the weekend should be reserved for…
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Tracing Your Roots: Where Did My Infamous Ancestor Come From?
A grandfather made headlines for his various run-ins with the law, but his origins and racial identity are mysterious. Dear Professor Gates: I can’t seem to find much information on my grandfather Kelly H. Godwin. Several newspapers in Robeson County, N.C., have carried stories about his different run-ins with local law enforcement. I even found…
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We Get It. It’s Harvey Weinstein’s News Cycle. But What About Our Black Girls?
I stopped watching broadcast news five years ago, after a sex crime was reported in close proximity to where I live. The local news was beginning to feel like trauma porn and was much too close to home. The purge had been a healthy choice—that is, until national news infiltrated my timeline, the Twitterverse and…
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Thor: Ragnarok: This Time the Magical Negroes Have Swords
At this point in America, there are two types of people: those who enjoy the nearly decadelong series of Marvel Avengers movies … and deplorables. That’s about it. If you don’t like these movies by now, you’re probably a deplorable who hates everything coming out of Hollywood or you just hate superhero movies because you…
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The Unsinkable Nikki Giovanni Reflects on a Life of Tears and Laughter in New Collection
You don’t have to wonder where Nikki Giovanni is on a Saturday night. The iconic poet, who just released her latest collection of poems last week, is a devout Saturday Night Live fan and is especially impressed by Alec Baldwin and his Donald Trump impersonations. “He has Trump nailed as the fool that he is,”…
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Facebook Ran Russian Ads on The Root’s Page, but It Didn’t Work. Here’s What They Should’ve Tried
News outlets have reported that Russian operatives, in an apparent attempt to sway voters toward Donald Trump, bought social media ads targeted toward certain groups of people. This week, Facebook revealed to our parent company, Fusion Media, that Russia-related content ran on two of our sites: Splinter (formerly Fusion) and here at The Root. Even…
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B.o.B.’s Apparent Belief That Slave Ships Never Existed May Be the Most Hotep Conspiracy Theory of All Time
Flat-earther B.o.B constantly proves my belief that a person can be a genius in one field and totally clueless in another. We previously reported that the talented rapper and singer was raising funds to build a satellite that will once and for all settle the debate about whether or not the planet is dinner-plate shaped.…
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Kevin Spacey and the Damage Done
By now, we’ve all heard about Anthony Rapp’s allegations of sexual assault by Kevin Spacey when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Waking up in the middle of the night to the revelation of Rapp’s story and Spacey’s response felt like a punch in the gut because it doesn’t just happen in Hollywood. As…