Politics
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If You’re Not Voting This Election, You’re Ridiculous
Y’all, we need to talk. We need to put our heads together, get on the same page and come up with strategic solutions to avoid almost certain doom come November. I say this because there’s some dangerous rhetoric floating around. It’s bitter and fearful and frequently reeks of entitlement. And as this ideology gains momentum…
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To Conservatives Outraged Over Nude Photos of Melania Trump: Where Were You When Michelle Obama Faced Racist Attacks?
Some say the New York Post went too far. The Sunday cover of the newspaper, which had endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the New York primary, featured a controversial image of his wife. Under the headline “Melania Trump Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before” (NSFW), she was shown completely nude, save for a…
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Hillary Clinton Reminds America It’s Not About Qualifications
Qualified people get passed over for jobs all the time. Having the best résumé, doing the perfect interview and even providing the most stellar references (“Applicant saved me from a burning building once and makes a damn good cup of coffee; hire him!”) does not always guarantee that you’ll get the job. More often than…
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The Democratic National Convention Didn’t Talk About a Black Agenda, so We Did
On Wednesday, as Philadelphia’s center was overrun by throngs of Democratic conventiongoers, The Root and legendary Philadelphia radio station WURD 900 AM collaborated blocks away on Broad Street to discuss what the black agenda might be—especially after what is shaping up to be the most contentious presidential election in nearly 50 years. In the war…
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So, Who’s With Her? Clinton May Have Made History, but It’s Just the Beginning
The Democratic National Convention ended on history. Hillary Clinton became the first woman to lead a major American political party’s ticket as a presidential nominee. Now, to complete her game of ultimate women’s-history bingo—from Ivy leaguer to first lady of Arkansas to first lady of the United States to senator from New York to secretary…
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President Obama Rebukes Trump’s Pessimism, Embraces Clinton, Gives America Some Love
When President Barack Obama embraced Hillary Clinton at the end of his rousing speech at his last Democratic National Convention as president of the United States, it was a fascinating bookend from 2008 when the then-rivals battled hard to reach an uneasy detente. “We battled for a year and a half,” recalled Obama during his…
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Hollywood Celebrities Show Up in Support of DC Statehood
In a room sprinkled with celebrities—and there were quite a few, from Ashley Judd to David Schwimmer—one stood out for reasons other than a starring role on TV or in the movies. Eleanor Holmes Norton has been on the front line of social-justice causes her whole life, and she has no problem uniting with more…
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#DNCinPHL? Don’t Forget to Ask Black Philly About That
No convention of a major political party in the city of Philadelphia can take place without great degrees of deference to its blackness. Pundits unable or unwilling to do so will quickly melt into nonsensical half-assedness, the consequence of white-typecasting Philly with the lore of cheesesteaks, perennially angry Eagles fans and “Brotherly Love.” But in…
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Dear Michelle Obama, Never Leave. Sincerely, Everyone
I am not unique when I say I have had a long and special relationship with first lady Michelle Obama. It started way back in 2008 when I got so many robocalls from her to get out and vote that I thought Barack might get jealous. In the last eight years, that nonexistent fantasy relationship…