the root 100
-
Watch: Maxine Waters Honored With The Root 100 Gladiator Award
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) was honored with The Root 100 Gladiator Award for Public Service on Nov. 9 at The Root 100 gala. Rep. Waters, the first-ever recipient of the award, has tirelessly resisted white supremacy and spoken out against the current presidential administration. The award acknowledges her political career and her work in…
-
Watch: The Root 100 Gala Co-Host A.J. Calloway Celebrates the Obamas
The Root 100 gala co-host A.J. Calloway breaks down why Barack and Michelle Obama are the epitome of black excellence. The Root 100 prime-time special airs on Fusion TV on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 9 p.m.
-
Watch: Raquel Willis on Bringing Your Black Transgender Identity to Work
“Right now is the time to be your most different, most radical, most unique self—and you should own that.” —Raquel Willis Raquel Willis was recognized on The Root 100 this year for her unapologetic voice and dedicated work to elevate the transgender community. Watch above for her personal story about how hiding her true identity…
-
Watch: Lena Waithe Is Black and Unapologetic in the Writers’ Room
“I always wanna be a Muhammad Ali, a Colin Kaepernick. I’d rather lose a check and stand up for righteousness than to sit on my pile of money while my people are suffering.” —Lena Waithe The Root 100 honoree Lena Waithe made history earlier this year when she became the first black woman to win…
-
Watch: Dee Rees Says It’s Not Enough to Just Be a Black Woman; You Must Be Excellent
Dee Rees is out here making movies that stick to your ribs. From Pariah to Bessie to her latest, Mudbound, which was released on Netflix Friday. It’s because of these amazing films that Rees was recognized on The Root 100 as an honoree, holding down the 42nd spot. Full Disclosure: Netflix flew The Root to…
-
Watch: Don’t Tell Michael Smith to ‘Stick to Sports’
“The people who rail against shows like ours that embrace the intersection of sport and society, what they’re really saying is, ‘It’s too black for me.’ The difference is you have a black man and a black woman being unapologetically black, and that turns some people off.” -—Michael Smith, co-host of ESPN’s SC6 The Root…
-
Watch: Angela Rye Makes Power Moves at The Root 100 Gala
“I was being Taylor Swift and you just Kanye’d me,” Angela Rye said, scolding her The Root 100 gala co-host, Extra’s A.J. Calloway. Only someone as strong-willed as Rye could use “Kanye” as a verb. But what else do you do when you’re having your shining moment and A.J. Calloway comes up, attempting to take that…
-
The Root 100 Gala Is an Unapologetic Celebration of Black Brilliance, and This Year the Revolution Will Be Televised
The Root 100 celebrates the best, brightest and most brilliant forms of black excellence across every field you can think of: entertainment, activism, the arts, sports, media, politics, business, and science and technology. Every year we put out the list of amazing and influential black people, and every year we celebrate our list with a…
-
Brett Talley, Louis C.K., The Root 100 and the Whitest Week Ever
This week, while scrolling through Twitter, I ran across a video of author, explainer of blackness, and one of my picks to send in our delegation when the aliens arrive and ask black America to “take us to your leader,” Ta-Nehisi Coates. Coates was speaking at a high school when a student asked him to…
-
The Root 100 Is Tonight … and You Aren’t Ready
It’s. About. To. Go. Down. I know this because last night, despite having my dress and accessories planned weeks in advance, I found myself at the Zara store across from The Root’s office holding a pair of red-black-and-green heels. “Woke-ass heels,” as I now call them. So woke, they felt too good to be a…