culture
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Are Parents to Blame for a Child's Racism?
(The Root) — At some point every child does something to disappoint a parent. It may be a poor grade, a questionable romantic choice or, in some cases, getting into legal trouble. But for some parents such deeds pale in comparison to the shame and embarrassment a child may bring upon the family through his…
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Racism's Health Risks Flow From Parent to Child
Writing at the Huffington Post, Jason Silverstein follows up on a piece explaining the harmful physical effects of racial discrimination. Recently, I wrote a piece for The Atlantic on how racism is bad for the body. For the bulk of the essay, I discuss how racism harms a single person’s health directly — and I…
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Blacks Were Christians Before Slavery and Before White-Jesus Pieces
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, writing at Ebony, breaks down the relationship between more than 78 percent of African Americans and their religion. This Easter, over two billion Christians around the world will celebrate “the Resurrection of Christ,” and a large percentage of them will be Black. According to a 2007 Pew Report, 78% of Blacks in America identify…
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On Porsha's Divorce, and Whether We're Our Own Worst Enemies
Anticipating reactions to the latest big news from reality television in a piece for Clutch magazine, The Root’s contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas questions why women can be so quick to give men the benefit of the doubt, but not other women. Yesterday was D-Day. Yes, I’m referring to the divorce filing [heard] ’round the…
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5 Reasons Not to Write Off Tyler Perry's Latest
(The Root) — If you haven’t seen Tyler Perry’s Temptation, consider this an official semi-spoiler alert. The director — whose alter ego is an elderly female criminal — put silly shenanigans on the back burner this time around to deliver a more serious, even tragic, film that is worth the price of admission. Of course,…
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Race Advice Column Coming Soon to The Root
(The Root) — We’re excited to announce the April launch of Race Manners, an advice column that Staff Writer Jenée Desmond-Harris will be writing for The Root. Once a week, she’ll take on your toughest questions about the ethics and etiquette of racial interactions in a changing America. She’ll settle debates, provide explanations and address those concerns you’d never discuss in public for fear…
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Fired for Highlighting Tech Sexism, Adria Richards Speaks Out
In case you missed it: Last week, Silicon Valley veteran and “tech evangelist” Adria Richards tweeted a photo of two developers making crude jokes while attending a conference (“Not cool,” she wrote. “Jokes about forking repo’s in a sexual way and ‘big’ dongles. Right behind me.”) One man was fired as a result. As the…
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Judge Joe Brown Canceled: $20 Million Was Too Much?
Judge Joe Brown is just behind Judge Judy when it comes to court-show ratings, but a 17 percent decline in his popularity reportedly led CBS to attempt to renegotiate his contract and ultimately cancel his program. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the daytime-television judge was making $20 million a year, so he’ll probably be OK…
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Jet Covered a Lesbian Wedding in 1970?
Buzzfeed has uncovered a piece of marriage-equality history: a same-sex wedding from 1970. Bonus: the women — Edna Knowles and Peaches Stevens — were both black, and the nuptials were covered by none other than historic African-American publication Jet magazine. Granted, this wasn’t the usual celebratory wedding profile as much as it was a news…
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Mandela Back in Hospital With Lung Infection
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been hospitalized for the third time in four months, the New York Times reports. The 94-year-old is suffering from a recurring lung infection, according to a statement released by President Jacob Zuma, who asked people around the world to pray for the anti-apartheid icon: It was the third…