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The Root's Global Book List
After a month of celebrating and exploring the lives, contributions and struggles of black people, it is only appropriate that we highlight the literary gifts of black people from around the globe. Check out these recent titles that celebrate the diversity and commonality of all of our experiences. What We All Long For By Dionne…
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Before It's Too Late for Rihanna
In the past few weeks, like many Americans, I have had to face the harsh reality of how tragic domestic violence can be in the lives of women. It isn’t just that I have two small nieces who look up to Rihanna and listen to her music. This is now very personal for me because…
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What's In A Name?
So far the bulk of the mail I’ve received stems from my piece, “Is College Worth It?” I’ve gotten everything from pity to appreciation to flat out ridicule. The ridicule has been the most interesting to read. Quite a few have reacted as if I owed them money. Many have questioned why after writing about…
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The Killers Among Us
Even after Columbine and Virginia Tech, the massacre of innocent people still overwhelms me. You’d think I’d be desensitized to the news of rampage and murder, but, in fact, it unnerves me a little more each time. Within three days a gunman opened fire on his family and town in Alabama and a German teen…
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White House Doctor Gives Obama's Stem Cell Policy Extra Credit
One more unexpected and fantastic advantage to having Barack Obama overturn the Bush administration’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research: The stem cell research that did go on under Bush was often sponsored by private sources and benefactors. In our current economic downturn, those sources have bit hammered by losses, and might…
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Dinner at 8….or Not
Ever had this happen: You’ve invited people to dinner. You’re running around like a crazy person, checking your table settings, monitoring the oven, hoping the wine will chill by the time people get there. You’re calculating till the last minute how much time you have to shower and dress (your once hoped-for relaxing, 15-minute shower…
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Lorraine Hansberry's Gay Politics
The thing about history is that you don’t get answers to questions you don’t ask. Sally Hemings was a forgotten slave until Annette Gordon-Reed came along. Black soldiers from the Revolutionary War forward were said to play no meaningful role until black scholars ferreted out the facts. And Lorraine Hansberry had nothing to do with…
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So Anxious
The more I talk to my 20-something friends, the more I hear the same sentiment. We’re supposed to be the generation of promise, but with our degrees and hard work being greeted by the worst economic crisis in decades, it’s sometimes hard to continue believing in that promise. Now many wonder if Generation Y will respond similar…
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Legalize It?
Today Vice President Joe Biden announced Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske will coordinate national policy as Director of the Office of National Drug Control—otherwise known as America’s Drug Czar. Biden said, “I’ve been a little disappointed the last eight years it hasn’t gotten the attention that it should have gotten. But that’s about to change.”…
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Black America’s First Mortgage Crisis
I can’t quite believe that it has been 50 years since A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway. Like many people, my first encounter with Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play was through the 1961 film, acted by the original Broadway cast. Because I first saw the film during the black power era, my initial fascination…