culture
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‘She’s Gotta Have It’ … but Do We?
I remember the first time I saw She’s Gotta Have It, Spike Lee’s groundbreaking, critically acclaimed and very first “joint,” which premiered in 1986. When it debuted on HBO a year later, I was 12, a latchkey kid, and the parental controls that would lock me out of my parents’ premium channels after school had…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Not All Mailbags
Today’s Clapback Mailbag is dedicated to last week’s mailbag. I know this sounds like some Inception-level shit where we make references to a mailbag inside a mailbag about the mailbag, so I will include some new stuff, too. Last week was a rough week for mail. I feel like you guys weren’t bringing your racist…
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I’m Tired of Hearing About White Men’s Penises
A Los Angeles woman accused Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) of sexual misconduct while the two were on a USO tour to entertain American troops nearly 11 years ago. The woman, Leeann Tweeden, a Los Angeles radio news anchor and occasional Fox News contributor, says that she kept quiet about the incident for so long because…
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Justice League Is Trash and a Desperate Money Grab, but You’re Still Going to See It
The universe was giving me every sign that Justice League was going to be trash. I asked four friends, who usually love going to the movies, to go to the Justice League screening and the collective answers were “I’ve got Bible study,” “I’m mentoring” and “I’m sleeping,” until finally someone said, “I guess, since the…
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WTF Is Wrong With Alabama?
Dear Alabama, First, allow me to say that I like you. I’ve lived here for nine years, and when I told my friends and family that I planned to make a home in Alabama, the most frequent response that I received was, “But why, though?” I must admit that I don’t remember much about the…
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Wakanda Forever: On the Importance of Black Panther
The time has finally come. After waiting 20-odd years (read: my entire life), we are finally on the eve of Black Panther’s arrival. And by “eve,” I mean that finally, Black Panther will be the very next Marvel film to grace our eyeballs. Indeed. Come Feb. 16, 2018, black people across the African Diaspora will…
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The Real Anti-Blackness of Comedy
Tiffany Haddish has had quite a year. From her breakout role in the film Girls Trip to landing her own comedy special on Netflix, Haddish has become quite the household name. Recently she had the opportunity to be the first black comedienne to host Saturday Night Live in the show’s 42-year run. While much of…
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Every Argument Against Commonsense Gun Control Broken Down to Its Idiotic Nonsense
Baby killing is bad. It is difficult for Americans to come to a consensus on almost anything. Some people think Kevin Hart is funny. There are people out there who believe Beyoncé is fair to middling in the looks department. The Root employs a full-blown Nazi. (She isn’t a white supremacist or anything, but she…
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‘Sometimes I Just Don’t Wanna Be Here Anymore’: On Black Children and Suicide
A scarred brown palm flew in the air. A squeaky preteen voice followed: “Can you tell me how to cope with suicidal thoughts? Because sometimes I just don’t wanna be here anymore.” I was sitting in front of a class of middle schoolers who were reading my book, Raw Wounds, when a student asked that…