Politics

In November 1969, the great Nina Simone released what would be her entrée to mainstream popular culture, one of her biggest selling records ever, and an anthem of a movement that, robbed of its messenger 19 months earlier in Memphis, still carried forth his message: To be young, gifted and blackIs where it’s at. The…

Being a Republican on Capitol Hill may be a little lonelier over the next two years than it has been over the past two. In the U.S. Senate, Republicans can look back just two short election cycles and be wistful about what they’ve lost: a Republican president, a GOP-controlled Congress and, more broadly, the country’s…

A few weeks ago I received a phone call from two semi-drunken friends who were at a bar on the East Coast. They demanded I write about the idiot formerly known as Gov. Rod Blagojevich. I promised to do so, but deep down I probably wanted the whole shameful situation to go away. As an…

The inauguration of Barack Obama is 15 days away, and here in a cold capital, the anticipation is palpable. People are shelling out recession cash for ball dresses and tuxedos; others are leaving town in advance of the hordes. Pennsylvania Avenue is slowly being turned into a great stage for the grand human drama that…

Back when I had the good sense to see a therapist, she made a suggestion that stuck with me.  Every year, she said, sit down and compose a list of the 10 things that you are thankful for over the past 12 months.  I have composed such a personal list every year since. It is an exercise…

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…