Politics

Republicans are trying to get their national nominating convention underway after deep worry about the effects of Hurricane Gustav, but the Grand Old Party faces other significant challenges, including an unpopular president and a country frustrated with both the economy and foreign policy. And a Democratic ticket—led by a charismatic African American that has enthralled…

It was striking, the tears that welled up in the eyes of Texas delegate Anne Price Mills as she spoke of her devotion to her candidate at the Democratic National Convention. She was talking to CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux on the convention hall floor. The way she gushed about inspiration, experience and presidential credibility seemed emblematic…

For several weeks, there has been a tiresome, two-part drum beat, the sort of somber thumping one associates with a funeral procession or wake. One droning beat came from the press. Can the Democrats unite? Will Hillary and Bill support Barack? Is there any hope that working-class whites or feminists will find a way to…

Yes, I did think this moment would happen. I believed that an aging, maturing democracy was capable of separating itself from race to evaluate the merits of an exemplary candidate. I believed that while the Clintons are formidable, my party would not resist the chance to capture lightning in a bottle. I believed from the…

It is hard to separate out all the different levels of astonishment and euphoria attached to Barack Obama’s acceptance speech tonight. For many people, Obama’s triumph thus far so fundamentally shatters the worldview of what is possible in America that there are no words up to the task of describing what they feel. For black…

“I decided, you are the him for me.” —Solange Back in the day, KRS-One penned “Jack of Spades” for Keenan Ivory Wayans’ ‘hood Robin Hood in the blaxploitation send-up I’m Gonna Git You Sucka because, “every hero should have his own theme music.” We probably won’t see a reconstituted BDP performing “My Philosophy” behind Sen.…

One of the most remarkable things about Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden as his vice presidential nominee—apart from the fact that he managed to keep it secret—is that in this remarkably contentious election season, it did not seem to anger anyone. That is a remarkable feat for a party so desperate to win and…

Covers the White House and Washington for The Root. Follow her on Twitter.

Let’s start from the beginning. The concept of catharsis has a powerful pre-Freudian connection to the sacred feminine. In 355 B.C., Aristotle developed the idea of collective purging in response to tragedy based on the medical term katamenia, which described reproductive fluids. Hundreds of years later, devotees of Mary Magdalene found inspiration in his idea…

Without a doubt, Hillary Clinton has been a trailblazer. She steeled herself for a tough primary battle, became a terrific campaigner by the end of the season and ended up, in her own words, making 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, with the help of her fiercely loyal and energized base of supporters. Those…