dating

  • Return of the Mack: How Does Momo Get Her Groove Back?

    Previously on The Root After Dark, I told you about my ill-fated dalliance with a man I dubbed “Mr. Big.” It started off beautifully, trended toward being something good, then crashed and burned at the end. I spared you most of the sordid details because, to be honest, I just didn’t have the bandwidth to…

  • Why I Had to Stop Seeing Mr. Big After Our 5-Day Date

    I wrestled with this experience for weeks. I had to sit with it, talk with Mr. Big and ask questions, sit with it again, meditate, journal and talk to my confidante—all to process what turned out to be a very eye-opening and enlightening experience in more ways than one. In “regular” dating, you usually go…

  • If You’re Still Mad That People Didn’t Want You in High School, I Get It, but Please (for Your Own Sake) Get Over It

    If you happened to be a teenager in 1996, and if you were a teenager who also happened to be black, there is a moderate to strong likelihood that you have a soft spot in your heart for the Ghost Town DJs. If this describes you and you heard Virgo Williams’ 18-word-long a cappella soothe…

  • The 1st Date Was Successful. Now What? 

    Dating in the age of Twitter should really come with a manual or a rulebook or at least some guidelines for what happens after you successfully complete the first date and decide that you want to continue seeing the person. I either like you all the way or I don’t; there is no in-between. This…

  • There’s Nothing Wrong With Having Dating Preferences

    I recently went on the world’s longest first date. It was in Vegas, it lasted 48 hours and it was magnificent. He treated me like a queen and never said no to anything I asked. I’ll tell you about the date in a separate column, because it warrants its own space, but the significance of…

  • It’s the Little Things

    Editor’s note: This is part 3 of a multipart series. Catch up with part 1 and part 2. I was on a high for the entire week after our encounter. I got back home to Los Angeles and did everything with a grin on my face. I felt like I was walking on a cloud.…

  • Love, Afro-Brazilian Style: Afrodengo Is Making It Easier to Find Black Love in Brazil

    Thaisa Moreira Xavier met her husband in a Facebook group. Although she was conscious of her Afro-Brazilian heritage, she had few black friends growing up. The city she lived in and schools she attended were mostly white. But when she moved to Campinas, a city of 1 million approximately two hours outside of Sao Paulo,…

  • Why I’m Open to Dating Bisexual Men

    Why I’m Open to Dating Bisexual Men

    It’s 2018, in the year of our lord and savior Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and people are still 7-year-olds when it comes to sexual fluidity. A while back, while we were dining over fine cuisine at the Waffle House, a friend of mine asked if I had ever considered the fact that my ex-boyfriend was ……

  • Starting Fresh: 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2017

    Starting Fresh: 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind in 2017

    New year, new me. People make fun of that saying, but if you think about it, it is a mood, a message and a lifestyle. Each year on Dec. 31, we shed at least some part of our old selves and take on new habits, ideas or mantras. For me, Dec. 31, 2017, was no…

  • What Well-Meaning Men Don’t Understand When It Comes to Life as a Woman

    It seems we can’t go but a few days without hearing about another famous man’s name being linked to sexual harassment allegations. This has led to conversations from well-meaning men who don’t understand the prevalence of the threat of harassment. Well-meaning men have asked everything from the stupid, “Do I need to apologize to every…