Opinion
-
White-on-White Violence: How a Bedbug Diss Teaches Us Everything We Need to Know About White Male Fragility [Updated]
The white male ego and Twitter don’t mix. The white male ego is a frozen raindrop falling on a bed of ice. Twitter is a flamethrower. The white male ego is freshly fallen snow. Twitter is dog piss. The white male ego is a snowflake. Twitter is hell. On Monday, “Let me speak to your…
-
The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Jay Connor Is Racist
Well, hello there! The big homie Michael Harriot is off doing Michael Harriot things, so he’s tagged me in to helm this week’s edition of the Clapback Mailbag. You’re welcome in advance. As someone who’s spent the past three or so years on the receiving end of death threats, vitriol and all manner of foolishness…
-
Robert E. Lee’s Horse’s Ass Made Me Black
For Heather Heyer and her fellow anti-racist protestors, two years after Charlottesville. There’s a vacation photo of me, all grainy and saturated like the best ’80s snapshots. My messy red ’fro is damp, my smiling face is half in shadow, my feet are dangling in glistening water that spreads to the edges of the frame,…
-
The Last Holdouts: White Evangelical Christians, Why Can’t You See?
A recent Quinnipiac poll found 50 percent of white Americans do not believe Donald Trump is racist. Among evangelicals, the poll goes on to say, “While half of voters think President Donald Trump is racist, religion shows an even bigger divide. Only 21 percent of white evangelicals believe the President is racist.” The inability of…
-
The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: The Top 10 Clapbacks of All Time, Part 3
Many of the emails, comments, tweets and direct messages that make it into the weekly Clapback Mailbag are from well-meaning people who genuinely have questions or need advice. In fact, those emails, tweets, direct messages and comments have prompted some of the best clapbacks. Here are the Top 4 moments in the history of the…
-
Jay-Z Got Paid to Be the NFL’s Black Boyfriend
It begins the same way each time. Something with a hint of scattered racial flurries happens. Next comes a conversation about said thing, where (usually black) people articulate exactly why the racist thing was racist. And then either the (white) person accused of the act or a (white) person defending the accused will attempt to…
-
Not Like This: An Open Letter to Jay-Z
Dear Shawn Corey Carter, First, I would like to tell you personally that I believe you are the greatest rapper who ever lived. I’m sure you’ve heard this before and I know that it is useless to debate such a subjective topic but it is important to know that, aside from being my favorite rapper,…
-
White Tears Attempt to Drown Out the True History of Louisiana Plantation: 'Very Racist. If You're White, Don't Go'
In today’s edition of white people whitepeopling, I’d like to introduce you to the Whitney Plantation in Wallace, La., where visitors are encouraged to partake in a guided tour of “the only plantation museum in Louisiana with an exclusive focus on the lives of enslaved people,” according to its website. Yet despite its obvious premise,…
-
The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: The Top 10 Clapbacks of All Time, Part 2
As we continue our stroll down memory lane listing the greatest moments in the history of the Clapback Mailbag, I thought that we should focus today on how the writers at The Root have changed the world. According to our readers, not only have we increased racism by talking about racism, we also made Hillary…
-
Five Years After Mike Brown's Killing, Should Policing Be Abolished?
“I know that if I call the cops, they’re not coming to protect me—even in moments when I need it.“ —David Johns, executive director, National Black Justice Coalition text Since Mike Brown was killed by now former police officer Darren Wilson five years ago, the Ferguson Police Department hired a new police chief and the…