culture
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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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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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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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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,…
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Put Some Respeck on It (and Some Frank’s Red Hot): Isn’t It Time We Celebrate Chitlins?
My extended family has a text thread that we use to stay in touch. Last week, the subject of Thanksgiving came up and we started talking about our respective menu plans. Of course, we all agreed on the basics: dressing, mac and cheese and sweet potato pie. Those dishes have been part of our collective…
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The Caucasian’s Guide to Thanksgiving, Part 2: The Menu
Welcome back, white people! (I bet you’ve never heard anyone say that before.) After learning about the guest list for Black Thanksgiving, you might be wondering why Black Thanksgiving is so different from wypipo Thanksgiving. As you learn more about Thanksgiving, many of you will say: “This is almost exactly like white Thanksgiving, but not…
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6 Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving as Unproblematic as Possible
Ah, Thanksgiving. Everyone’s favorite official-yet-unofficial holiday. Retailers don’t really know what to do with it, since they tend to jump from a Halloween marketing blitzkrieg straight into Christmas marketing overexposure, but that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that Thanksgiving is that in-between holiday that chiefly exists for us to nearly and unabashedly…