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  • Watch: The Notorious B.I.G. Quiz: How Well Does Brooklyn, NY, Know Biggie’s Music?

    Things done changed in Bed-Stuy. It’s now one of the most gentrified areas in Brooklyn, N.Y., affecting everything from voting to schooling. Fancy coffee, avocado toast and almond croissants are on every corner. It’s an everyday struggle for longtime residents to pay the unbelievable rents. The Root hit the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant without warning to…

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    Peter J. Rickards

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  • Watch: Black Women Dive Headfirst Into the Future With Virtual Reality Project

    NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism is an art installation and virtual reality experience recently featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. The project, which seeks to put women of color in the virtual reality space, was created by Hyphen-Labs, a collective of women from diverse backgrounds. “We worked with character modelers, animators and developers to create an empowering experience…

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    Peter J. Rickards

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  • Watch: Author Nicole Dennis-Benn on Giving a Voice to Jamaica’s Working Class

    Here Comes the Sun, the stunning debut novel by Jamaican author Nicole Dennis-Benn, offers readers a different view of the island paradise. The book follows a mother working as a prostitute to make ends meet for her two daughters in a town strongly dependent on tourists. Many issues are brought to the surface: sexism, colorism,…

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    Peter J. Rickards

    Published

  • Watch: Artist Lina Iris Viktor on the Misconceptions of Blackness in Art, and Painting With Pure Gold

    Artist Lina Iris Viktor is known for creating works using a palette of black, majorelle blue and pure 24-karat gold, but she refuses to be tied down to any particular aesthetic. She has a background in film, photography and performance art, so her work is expressed across multiple media. When we spoke, she was intensely…

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    Peter J. Rickards

    Published

  • Watch: Angie Thomas on Writing Her Best-Selling Young-Adult Novel Inspired by Oscar Grant

    Angie Thomas’ debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a must-read for our young people. It tells the story of 16-year-old Starr, who lives in a poor neighborhood but goes to a prep school in a wealthy suburb. She witnesses her best friend, Khalil, murdered by police. It cleverly tells the common, opposing narratives that…

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    Peter J. Rickards

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  • Watch: Michael Brown Sr. and Stranger Fruit Filmmaker Discuss New Mike Brown Surveillance Footage

    The Root caught up with filmmaker Jason Pollock and Michael Brown Sr. at the SXSW festival earlier this month in Austin, Texas, to discuss Pollock’s film Stranger Fruit. Stranger Fruit is a documentary about what happened to Mike Brown, told through the eyes of those closest to him, including his father, Michael Brown Sr. Pollock…

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    Peter J. Rickards

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  • Watch: Kalief Browder’s Family Discusses the Documentary Series That Exposes His Tragic Story 

    Time: The Kalief Browder Story is a six-part docuseries based on the story of Kalief Browder, who spent three years at New York City’s Rikers Island jail without being convicted of a crime. He was arrested at age 16 for a robbery he did not commit. During that time, he endured about two years in…

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    Peter J. Rickards

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  • Watch: My Black History: Beyoncé’s Stylist, Ty Hunter, Got His Eye for Fashion From Diana Ross

    Editor’s note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…

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    Peter J. Rickards

    Published

  • Watch: My Black History: Underground’s Aisha Hinds Learns Power of Art Through Nelson Mandela

    Editor’s note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…

    By

    Peter J. Rickards

    Published

  • Watch: In Focus With Moonlight Director Barry Jenkins, Who’s Vying for Oscar on Sunday

    Editor’s note: In Focus is a video series showcasing the new wave of black filmmakers. Earlier this year, before Barry Jenkins’ critically acclaimed film Moonlight went on to earn eight Academy Award nominations—including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay—the writer-director sat down with The Root to discuss how he got involved with the…

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    Peter J. Rickards

    Published

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Peter J. Rickards