culture
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Who Do We Have to Shame to Get a Gun Law Passed?
At Essence, Daniella Gibbs Léger explains her rage over the failure of background check legislation — and who she says is to blame. Before the events unfolded last week, Washington was going to be all about gun violence. Specifically, Congress was debating a bill on universal background checks. After the Newtown massacre, after the 3,500…
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Loving Your 'Thickness' Is Not a Barrier to Fitness
Ebony‘s Erika Nicole Kendall says that black America’s health problems are not caused by black women who love their “thick” bodies, and destroying their self-esteem isn’t a solution. We talk a lot about what fat-shaming does to us as a society, but do we ever really talk about what it does to us as individuals?…
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Should a Dinner Guest Call Out Racist Jokes?
( The Root) — “I’m white, but I’ve read an extensive amount of material about race-related issues. In learning more and more about them, some of which I had never even been able to conceive because of my whiteness, I’ve attempted to engage my white peers in order to educate them about how some of their…
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30 Things Every 30-Year-Old Should Know About Money
Writing at the Huffington Post, Tiffany Aliche says that she’s made just about every financial mistake you can think of — and learned some important lessons. … As a result of all my mistakes, I’ve learned some pretty valuable lessons. I’m doing relatively awesome now (financially speaking), so I figured I’d share what I’ve learned…
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Jane Fonda on Adoption: 'Maybe More Black People Should Reach Out'
(The Root) — Tonight on his PBS program, host Tavis Smiley speaks to Mary Williams, the African-American writer whose book, The Lost Daughter, chronicles her adoption by actress Jane Fonda. Check out this clip, in which Smiley asks whether the story of how Fonda “saved” Williams could lend itself to a Hollywood film, and whether…
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Meet the LPGA's Youngest Member
(The Root) — Meet Ginger Howard. She’s 17 years old. She has 78 golf trophies, 41 of them for first place. She was named to Tiger Woods’ Junior Golf Foundation back in 2003 and 2005, and now she has officially become a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, making her the youngest member ever.…
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Winehouse's Dad: Beyoncé 'Doesn't Bring Anything' to 'Back to Black'
Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch, is understandably feeling protective of his late daughter’s musical legacy — and he doesn’t think Beyoncé’s cover of “Back to Black” for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby does it justice. He said in a recent interview that the version, a partnership with André 3000, “doesn’t bring anything” to the song. Unfortunately,…
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Kerry Rhodes: Gay or Straight? Who Cares?
(The Root) — I said I wasn’t going to touch the “Kerry Rhodes drama.” If you stick to higher-end news sites, you have no idea what I’m talking about. If you occasionally find your way to urban-gossip sites to pass your lunch hour, then you know exactly what I’m referring to. See if you can…
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Is Retirement Really an Option Anymore?
In the years since the Great Recession, many 30-somethings have had to rely on their 401(k)s to keep them afloat. Danielle C. Belton, writing for Clutch magazine, points out that the idea of being “done” with the rat race might be reserved for superstars like Janet Jackson and her billionaire boo. How many of us…
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Free the Slaves — and Then What?
(The Root) — This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. This large, impressive painting, so redolent of the ideals of liberty and future prosperity, is rooted in a staunch…