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Nominate a Young Person for The Root 2016 Young Futurists
Who are the young black superstars in your community? The Root is preparing to shine a light on the African-American leaders and innovators of the future, and we need your help. We are now accepting nominations for The Root 2016 Young Futurists, to be revealed in February. To qualify for consideration, a young person needs to be between the…
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The 10 Blackest Songs Of All-Time
On Monday, we learned that Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and D’Angelo’s Black Messiah — two albums so Black they should have come with a barbershop poster and a pic of Margaretta Forten — were nominated for Grammys. The recognition of this unambiguously Black art in such an unambiguously non-Black space should not have been a surprise.…
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14 of the Best Nonfiction Books by Black Authors in 2015
Hope Wabuke is a Southern California-based writer and a contributing editor at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.
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17 Brilliant Black Artists Featured at Art Basel in Miami
Black art matters here at Art Basel Miami Beach, Dec. 3-6, 2015, the premier art show in the United States. During a time when “Black lives matter” has become a rallying cry for people across the country, it is important to remember that black artists have been contributing to social-justice movements from the beginning of…
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The 5 Stages of MacBook Charger Death
I realized the depths of my technological dependency when I first had the misfortune of watching the vibrancy and life fade from my MacBook Pro charger for the very first time. I wouldn’t wish the experience on my worst enemy or the most fervent Slim Jesus fan. As Rebbie (my charger) gracefully transitioned from this…
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The Wiz Live! An All-Star Cast Carries on the Decadeslong Legacy of The Wiz
For generations The Wiz has been a fixture in African-American culture. And 40 years since its introduction to the world, this sentiment still rings true. The Wiz Live!, the highly anticipated rendition of the 1975 play, airs Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. Directed by Tony Award-winning Kenny Leon, this event marks the network’s…
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An Abridged Guide to White People Shit
Don’t let my Neon Carrot crayon complexion fool you. Both of my parents are Negroes. Mind you, they’re also Neon Carrot Negroes: Pops is Louisiana Creole – a (literal) cotton-picking product of the rural Jim Crow south. Mama was raised around the project housing culture of Detroit in the 1950s and 60s. I was born…
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Love & Hip Hop Hollywood Season 2 Reunion Part I Recap
So I didn’t write a recap for the season finale last week. I actually hoped nobody would notice. I was getting my Empire on. And frankly, I think that anybody who has been watching this long was mostly exasperated by that last episode anyway. Nikki was being messy. Moniece went Hulk Smash. Fizz is selling…
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10 Things Your Bitch Ass Better Not Do At Thanksgiving Dinner
20 years or so ago, Thanksgiving officially surpassed Christmas as my favorite holiday. Because that’s around the time “food” finally surpassed “new wallets and sweaters from The Gap” on my importance scale. Anyway, if you don’t want to ruin it for everyone, here’s what not to do. 1. Undercook the turkey Unlike other family gatherings…
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10 Things Worse Than Slavery, According To Ben Carson
While on Meet the Press last weekend, unintentionally ironic neurosurgeon Ben Carson compared abortion to slavery, stating “During slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave. Anything that they chose to do. And what if the abolitionists had said, ‘I don’t believe…
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