representation matters
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Best Thing They Never Had: Beyoncé Reportedly Walked Out on Reebok for Lacking Diversity
Beyoncé’s walk may be iconic, but if she walks out on you, it’s not a good look. That’s what Reebok reportedly found out the hard way while negotiating with the megastar ahead of the eventual partnership she announced with Adidas on Thursday. The reason Reebok wasn’t able to seal the deal with Queen Bey? According…
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'My Choice': With a Series of All Black, All Hijabi April Covers, Vogue Arabia Demystifies Muslim Modesty
“I think it’s important to remember that wearing a hijab is a woman’s personal choice. It doesn’t make her any better or worse than another Muslim woman. To me, it symbolizes modesty and gives me a sense of power,” supermodel Halima Aden tells Vogue Arabia. Aden, a groundbreaking Muslim model who has become a well-known…
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She's a Star: Lupita Nyong'o Debuts the Cover of Her 1st Children's Book, Sulwe
She plays a terrifying pair of maternal figures in Us, but Lupita Nyong’o’s next role is made for kids. After announcing last year that she’d be penning a children’s book named Sulwe, which deals with the issue of colorism, on Monday, Nyong’o gave a first look at the book’s cover, illustrated by Vashti Harrison and…
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Just the Way We Are: Inclusive New Options Are Changing the Face of Stock Photos
There’s a little known but running joke among The Root staff about the catalogs of stock photos we need to do our jobs; inevitably, they manage to be simultaneously inadequate and offensive in their representation of marginalized communities. For instance, a search for “black women and money” may also bring up images of prostitution, while…
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'We Need Some Women in Here': Tamron Hall Required ABC to Hire More Women for Her New Show
As if we needed another reason to support Tamron Hall’s new show when it debuts on September 9 on ABC, she just gave us one more. As reported by Page Six, when speaking to the audience at Rolling Stone’s Women Shaping the Future brunch on Wednesday, the veteran journalist disclosed that she’d demanded more women…
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Worship Her: Lizzo Makes Her Playboy Debut
She’s kind of a big deal, y’all. We’ve been singing the praises of Lizzo since we launched The Glow Up—even earlier this month, in fact. But now it seems the multi-hyphenate entertainer’s fandom is finally reaching critical mass as she continues to break down barriers. This week’s barriers? Joining the likes of Jorja Smith, Travis…
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‘This Is a Movement’: Dapper Dan and Gucci Announce Global ‘Changemakers’ Program
Honestly? If we never saw another balaclava again, we’d be good. As “Blackface-gate” has raged on throughout the fashion industry, several luxury labels—Gucci, Prada and Burberry, among them—have been forced to realize elite status doesn’t exempt them from difficult conversations and accountability on issues of race, diversity and cultural sensitivity. In response, diversity and inclusion…
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'If You Can Love Me, You Can Love Yourself': Lizzo Won't Shrink to Fit—and Says You Shouldn't, Either
She’s got a big personality, even bigger talent, and has never shied away from being a big girl in an industry that often prioritizes thin women with equally thin voices. But the rapper-flutist-singer-songwriter-bold and bodied badass-beauty icon Lizzo is finally beginning to get the recognition she deserves; this month as the star of Allure’s first…
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With HFR x Google's 1st Fashion Summit, Harlem's Fashion Row Pays It Forward
On Friday, February 15, in a room full of some of fashion’s most influential and aspirational people, Harlem’s Fashion Row founder Brandice Daniel delivered a bleak statistic: Less than 1% of designers sold in major department stores are of color. However, even in that moment, change was already afoot, thanks in large part to Google,…
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Amid Calls to Boycott Gucci, Collaborator Dapper Dan Takes a Stand
One of the biggest fashion stories of 2018 was the unlikely union of groundbreaking designer Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day and one-time nemesis Gucci. After being called out for sending its own versions of Dan’s classic hip-hop-era designs down their 2018 Resort runway, the Italian luxury label did more than apologize; they helped restore the father…