-
Ava DuVernay, Gloria Carter and Samira Wiley Honored at GLAAD Awards Because Black Women Stay Winning
For Gloria Carter, a closeted gay black woman with four kids, life was not horrible. But it was “different.” “I chose to protect my family from ignorance. I was happy, but I was not free,” said Carter at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on Saturday. Carter, whose youngest son is…
-
3 Times American Slaves Did Rebel
There’s been a lot of talk about slavery lately, and sadly, some of it is wildly misinformed. For the record, enslaved black folks didn’t choose to be shackled, torn from their families, then bought and sold in the U.S., only to be tortured by slave owners. And some of them fought back.At minimum, there were…
-
Philosophizing With Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon may like to make people laugh, but standing up for what you believe in isn’t always funny. “When an artist or individual or an anti-authoritarian as myself chooses to say what he believes and speaks his mind, people get nervous,” Cannon told The Root. The “Fuck Him” singer has been known to speak…
-
Watch: Travis Reinking and the Invisible White Man
This week, another white guy with guns went on a rampage and senselessly killed innocent victims. On April 22, 2018, Travis Reinking entered a Tennessee Waffle House wearing only a jacket, killed four people and escaped butt naked. After a 24-hour manhunt that involved more than 160 officers, he was finally captured. Reinking had many…
-
Watch: Police Slam Former NFL Player Desmond Marrow
Former NFL player Desmond Marrow appears to be the latest victim of another brutal police arrest. “You fucking slammed my head,” said Marrow to Henry County, Ga., police during his violent December 2017 encounter. Moments later, police forced Marrow to the ground and appeared to put him in a chokehold. He continued, “I can’t breathe,…
-
HBCU SpringComing Brings Black-School Spirit to New York City
Homecoming is traditionally a time for alums to return to their alma mater, kick it with old friends and pay respect to the institutions that (presumably) meant so much to them as graduates. For the alumni who showed up at HBCU SpringComing this past weekend, it’s like they never left. Lauren Grant and George Twopointoh…
-
Watch: Philly District Attorney Wants to Grant Meek Mill a New Trial but Judge Keeps Him in Jail
This week, news broke that the district attorney of Philadelphia wants to grant Meek Mill, née Robert Rihmeek Williams, a new trial, but Judge Genece E. Brinkley put his status on ice until the next hearing in June. One of Mill’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, spoke out on The Breakfast Club to discuss the unfair treatment…
-
Watch: Terry Larrier Is Walking by Faith, Not Sight
It takes more than a dream to get to the NBA. Former University of Connecticut small forward Terry Larrier learned that lesson early in life. “Some kids come to college with a career goal. Some want to be a doctor or a lawyer. I want to be a professional basketball player,” Larrier told The Root.…
-
Watch: Embracing the Otherness With Unreal’s Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman is an other. He’s a biracial, queer man who was adopted and raised in a teeny-tiny town in Alberta, Canada, where he was the only person of color. So yeah, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman stood out. “I was the other. I was different than everybody else around me and I was told what I was,”…
-
Watch: King’s Mountaintop, 50 Years Later
When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the news shocked the world. The day before, King gave his last speech, known today as the “Mountaintop” speech—one that some would call a prophecy. The civil rights leader went to Memphis, Tenn., to shed light on…
