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Jim Crow

Politics

A Profile in Cowardice: Sen. Lindsey Graham Can’t Wait to Wave His AR-15 During the Next National Disaster

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina claims to own an AR-15. I don’t believe him. Maybe he does. Maybe he uses it as a hat stand or a leveling device to steady his kitchen table. But Graham wants America to believe that he’s a gun owner and that this isn’t about his dick. But…

By

Stephen A. Crockett Jr.

Published

March 29, 2021
Politics

A Black Woman Knocked on the Door Where a Southern White Man Was Suppressing the Black Vote. It Ended With Her Arrest

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is a comic book villain of voter suppression. No, on second thought, that’s actually offensive to comic book villains, as they usually have nuance and finesse. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is a throwback to an old South that is blatantly racist and doesn’t give AF who knows it. Kemp straight stole…

By

Stephen A. Crockett Jr.

Published

March 26, 2021
Politics

The Filibuster Is White Supremacy

I do not love America. To be fair, I don’t quite know what “America” is. Is it defined by the piece of paper that once counted me as three-fifths human or a series of borders on a map? Is America defined by the laws that govern it, or is it the people governed by the…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

March 22, 2021
Entertainment, Media

Exclusive: Our Forever President Addresses Race Relations, Social Activism on Newest Episode of Skimm This

With his political obligations in the rearview, our forever President Barack Obama has settled into a comfy life of content creation. The production company he founded, Higher Ground Productions, with the love of his life has blessed us with films like American Factory and Crip Camp, as well as popular podcasts like The Michelle Obama…

By

Jay Connor

Published

March 11, 2021
Clapback/Mailbag, News, Opinion

The Root's Clapback Mailbag: The Blacker the Content, the Whiter the Tears

The Clapback Mailbag was never supposed to be about me. When we first came up with this idea, I assumed every writer at The Root received damp emails, DMs and tweets soaked with the tears of white clowns. In my view, if you can’t make white people mad, are you even trying? (Sometimes, I am…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

March 5, 2021
Culture

Racial Segregation and Concentrated Poverty: The History of Housing in Black America

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the federal government writ large in the first seven decades of the 20th century. [HUD] invested billions of dollars in racial segregation and concentrated poverty.” —Sheryll Cashin, law professor and author text On Jan. 26, 2021, President Joe Biden signed four executive orders designed to address racial…

By

Jessica Moulite

Published

March 4, 2021
News

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Case With Critical Implications for Voting Rights Act

It’s no secret that Republicans are inimical to people with melanin having equal, fair access to the ballot box. And today, the Supreme Court—which has a Republican majority—heard arguments in two cases that could demolish what’s left of the Voting Rights Act, a critical bulwark against racial discrimination in voting. Of course, the landmark civil…

By

Ishena Robinson

Published

March 2, 2021
Culture, History

#WhiteHistoryMonth337: The Top 10 Whitest Laws of All Time

After a grueling 28 days of watching corporations, institutions and random white people pretend to care about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and that other Black guy with the big part in his afro (I think it’s Booker T. Douglass), we now return to our regularly scheduled program. Today marks the…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

March 2, 2021
Clapback/Mailbag, News, Opinion

The Root's Clapback Mailbag: How to Be an Anti-Antiracist

Are you white? Are you tired of people pointing out your whiteness? Does all this “antiracism” talk ruffle your feathers? Well, we’ve got something for you! From the people who gave you, slavery, Jim Crow, racism and reverse racism, comes the newest product from Wypipo Laboratories… It’s Anti-Antiriacism!* Anti-Antiracism© is a bitter pill that provides…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

February 26, 2021
Entertainment, Social Media

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa…Wait a Minute! Is Your Racism So Strong, You Can't Even Bop Along to Frankie Lymon?

“Little bitty pretty one, come on and talk to me” about that one time a vintage clip of Frankie Lymon performing amid the blandness of several saltines resurfaced on social media. On Tuesday, a Twitter account by the name of @africanarchives posted a video of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers performing their hit “Little Bitty…

By

Tonja Renée Stidhum

Published

November 11, 2020