Politics

South African politics is “hotting up,” as they say down this way. Earlier this month a new party, formed by disaffected members of the ruling African National Congress, was launched in Bloemfontein, ironically, the very city where the ANC was born in 1912. But the brash, new political kid on the block, known as the Congress…

HOMEWRECKERS: I wouldn’t necessarily say that Kai’s piece on sub-prime mortgages was ahead of its time, but I would say that it was right…on…time… A few months later, the conservative commentariat was trying its best to blame the collapse of the financial sector on “unqualified minority borrowers.” Yeah, right. Because black people control all the…

THE WIRE GOES DEAD: Two of my favorites this year have to do with the end of HBO’s miniseries “The Wire.” Stephen Crockett’s farewell essay, “The Wire Goes Dead” captured exactly what the show was about and what fans were feeling when it ended. “The Wire” was more than a television show, it was a…

IF THEY ARE SO SCARED, HOW COME WE’RE THE DEAD ONES?: I remember reading this piece when I first joined The Root team. At the time folks were still reeling about the acquittal of police who killed Sean Bell. Kai Wright was immediately able to broaden the scope. The Sean Bell case wasn’t just about…

OM, SWEET OM:I took my first yoga class 16 years ago and never looked back. I loved the combination of strength training with length training. It made me think about my relationship to gravity in healthy ways. One of the first instructors was black, and I recall doing sun salutes to Mary J. Blige, and…

HILLARY’S SCARLETT O’HARA ACT: It has been a rollercoaster year, and this feels a bit like picking your favorite baby, but I have three picks for The Root. I have always been a fan of Hillary Clinton. But in the heat of the Democratic primary campaign, when the white entitlement was flying everywhere, I was…

THE LATEST WAVE OF BLACK GENIUS: Veronica Chambers’ piece, “The Latest Wave of Black Genius,” is my all-time favorite on The Root . I actually brought it up during my job interview to work here. Since I’m a big Erykah Badu fan, the image of her with her oversized afro sticking out of a large,…

THE REAL PRIZE : I was torn between two essays, both by Kim McLarin—one of The Root’s gems, by the way. I loved her playful but devastating response to Whiteygate. So much about America’s purported conversation on race is simply absurd, and Kim beautifully illustrated that fact with her mocking attempt to take America’s bizarre…

GOODBYE TO A STANDUP BROTHER : Since his sudden and untimely death on June 13, it’s been said that no newsman would have enjoyed Campaign 2008, and its historic climax, more than Tim Russert. Gwen Ifill’s smart and surprisingly emotional reflection, “Goodbye to a Stand-Up Brother,” on the death of NBC’s Washington bureau chief is…