Hitting your child is bad. (But don’t yell at me for writing it. Yell at science. Multiple studies say so.) Most school districts have moved away from corporal punishment entirely, and even though you will find some very staunch pro-“whoopings” enthusiasts, they remain greatly outnumbered by the multitudes who think that any hitting of a…

The Best Man Holiday may be surpring industry insiders with another strong performance at the box office this weekend, but it isn’t a surprise to long-time fans of the original Best Man and its dynamic cast. Among that cast, though, is a man who nearly kept me from seeing the movie, a man of whom…

Sheryl Underwood’s disparaging comments about kinky hair jogged Danielle C. Belton’s memory about the negative things she’s heard black adults say to black children about their features. In a piece at Clutch magazine, Belton stresses the importance of grown folk not giving black children inferiority complexes about their brown complexions or hair texture.  The people who told me…

(The Root) — I have a friend, a good friend, with whom I share an affliction. He, too, comes from a good family that has done many great things in the face of dire situations, which he and I would learn about only in books. We read about the “Whites Only” bathrooms, lunch counters, the…

(The Root) — When the Lena Dunham-created show Girls became a hit for HBO, one of the complaints was the show’s lack of diversity despite being set in ethnically diverse New York City. Well, as it turned out, Dunham admitted (in a more eloquent way than I’m about to put it) that she didn’t write…

(The Root) — Last week George Zimmerman — found innocent of murder, but still the killer of teen Trayvon Martin — was pulled over by a police officer in Forney, Texas, east of Dallas. Nothing happened. In fact, the only detail of note was that Zimmerman was packing heat in the glove compartment (which he…