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Rev. Al Sharpton and I Are Both Libras and This Explains So Much
Libras are extra. A while back I wrote an entire column justifying my love of ânice shit.â And that was such a Libra thing to do. Because while we are natural diplomats, crave balance and are creative types, we also love beauty and, most importantly, ourselves. (We definitely think we are quite beautiful. *stares in…
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Sophia Chang and The Root's Danielle Belton on Race, Hip-Hop, Friendship and Being The Baddest Bitch in the Room
We laugh a lot. A lot. And weâre very good friends. And one of us wrote a book (psst … itâs called The Baddest Bitch in the Room and itâs available on Audible right now). But probably the most fascinating thing about being The Rootâs editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, and former music industry veteran-turned-author Sophia Changâand…
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I Have a Crush on Caftans, Thanks to Designer Junny Hibbert
So, I like clothes, right? Like, really like clothes. Like, probably like them too much, but whatever. Itâs my vice. Iâm into itâalong with hair salons (that are on-time), alcohol, eating overly expensive dinners and getting my nails done every two weeks, which I tell myself is about âself-careâ and not âself-indulgence.â (But itâs probably…
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Director Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Bring Blackness to Shakespeare in the Park
As actor Danielle Brooks sings and shines as Beatrice in director Kenny Leonâs production of Much Ado About Nothing, the director canât help but feel pride in his vision of staging an all-black production in the famed Shakespeare in the Park coming to fruition. Running through this final weekend on June 23 in New York City,…
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The Perils of Being âOffice Oprahâ
Once upon a time in a newsroom as white as the newly fallen snow, I stood out as the only black person thereâwoman or otherwise. I was it. It was me. Trying to rep for millions of black folks while my newsroomâs black population was less than 1 percent. Back then, I was young. I…
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Being Bipolar Means Always Having to Say, âUmâŠWhatâs Your Name Again?â
Charlie Sheen, who at one time was definitely a terrible person who also happens to struggle with mental illness and addiction, once said (and I paraphrase) that most people wouldnât last very long in his head. While during the very manic time when he said these âtiger bloodâ-related things, Sheen was, again, a chaotic, awful…
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I Won an Award, but Who's the Real MVP?
Last week, on Monday night, was the 19th annual Womenâs eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century gala at Club 101 in Manhattan, N.Y. There was some revelry, but there was a lot more talk about how we can advance our cause as women, and ultimately, not just save ourselves, but save the world. As…
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Being âThe Black Snobâ Was a Joke, Until the Day I Actually Became One
âI donât know how you ended up so bougie when we came out of the same family,â said my baby sister, one day over the phone. I was taken aback. Me? Bougie? And yet, I was. Painfully so. And had been, at this point, for several years. But I was still offended. At the time…
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Ridin' Solo: Cory Booker May Be 'Boo'd Up' But It's Not Too Late to Appeal to Us Single Folk
When Cory Booker announced he was running for president, a lot of fodder was made about his status. His marital status. As in, he is single and America hasnât had a bachelor president since Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president, who married while in office. Booker, to his credit, has tried to appeal to…
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Locking Up Black People Is Big Business
Last week, I got to participate in American Injustice: A BET Town Hall. Itâs a series of live conversations with leaders from Cory Booker to Kamala Harris about how we got into this crisis of mass incarceration. Itâll air this Sunday. If thereâs one thing I want people to take away from it, itâs that…
