-
About The Root
The Root: We Are The ear of Black America: We aspire not only to write about Black people, but for Black people
-
*Crying Emoji*
So this is hard! Even though I always knew this day would eventually come, I never really expected it to come! After all, being editor-in-chief of The Root was my dream job! To give Black writers and editors and videographers and hosts a platform was my dream job! To create meaningful stories, content, reported pieces…
-
28 Days of Black Joy: Going Down South to 'Infinite' Cousins
Like many a child of the Great Migration, all my extended family actually lived nowhere near me. My mother âescapedâ Arkansas for Iowa right after graduating from Philander Smith College in Little Rock to become a school teacher, but Iowa was too cold, too white, and too far from her ancestral home, so she moved…
-
28 Days of Black Joy: Mama's Hands
Iâm one of those people who falls asleep in the salon chair. I donât mean to. But thereâs nothing more relaxing to me than someoneâs hands in my hair doing what needs to be done. It is where I get my joy. #BlackJoy, even. And my relaxation. Whether itâs the luxuriousness of the shampoo bowl…
-
Director Julius Onah and Actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. Talk Race and AggressionsâBoth Micro and Macroâin Their Film Luce
As The Root Institute winds down for its final day, weâre happy to present a panel and film that is more relevant today in 2020 than it was in 2019 when it was first released. Direct Julius Onahâs adaptation of the play Luce, is a story of race, expectations and identity, wrapped up in a…
-
Everybody Wants a Diversity and Inclusion Officer, but How Can They Reshape the Face of Corporate America?
When protesters took to the streets in 2020, it was clearâthe status quo wouldnât do. There needed to be a change, tangible and real, to how our government and our corporate structures do business. From reckonings in the media at Bon Appetite and the New York Times to a rapidly changing corporate landscape where more…
-
Taraji P. Henson Talks Mental Health, While Cory Booker Takes on the Health of Our Finances at The Root Institute
Itâs week three of The Root Institute, meaning itâs time to talk about the health of our minds and our finances featuring actress Taraji P. Henson and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). Both are joining me, The Rootâs Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton, for separate chats on issues crucial to our communityâfrom erasing the stigma of mental illness…
-
Ava DuVernay Gets Real About How Art Can Shape Perceptions at The Root Institute
A visionary film director with an activistâs spirit, Ava DuVernay makes art that is rooted in her conscious. From limited miniseries like When They See Us, to TV dramas like Queen Sugar, to summer blockbusters like A Wrinkle in Time and documentaries, like The 13th, DuVernay crafts narratives with her peopleâand their past, present, and…
-
Welcome to The Root Institute, Featuring Interviews With Stacey Abrams, Cory Booker, Taraji P. Henson and Many More
Itâs happening! A gathering of the mindsâfrom politics featuring Stacey Abrams and Ayanna Pressley to entertainment and culture with Ava DuVernay and Lee Daniels to health and wealth with Taraji P. Henson and Cory Booker to social justice with Tarana Burke of #MeToo. Itâs time to sit down and talk about how we can take…
-
![Taraji P. Henson to Take on Mental Health, Health Disparities at The Root Institute [Updated]](https://www.theroot.kinjastaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/rbgttg4qnkig6etxmv1b-1024x575.png)
Taraji P. Henson to Take on Mental Health, Health Disparities at The Root Institute [Updated]
The Root Institute, a virtual convening around the future of Black America in 2020 and beyond, features some pretty heavy hittersâfrom Stacey Abrams to Ava DuVernay to Lee Danielsâexamining politics, art and activism, but what about the health of our minds? We have just the speaker for that. During week three of The Root Institute,…
