Opinion
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Racism Life Support
When professor Henry Louis Gates founded The Root 11 years ago, he probably had no idea that its creation would one day become the internet’s number one source for black news (it’s not bragging if it’s true). He probably assumed he and his team were creating an outlet to give voice to a population that…
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What They Mean When They Say 'Send Her Back'
What is an American? Is it defined by borders, treaties, laws and the Constitution or is it a nebulous set of mutable ideas and fluctuating standards? And who gets to decide? Is it as everchanging as this country’s boundary lines or was it set in stone by the cabal of white men who first conceived…
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The Unofficial Guide to Whitesplaining Racism
Racism: Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior —The Oxford/English Dictionary text Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was born in Detroit. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was born in the Bronx. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) immigrated to…
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Dear American Airlines, I Hate You With My Whole Heart
Once upon a time, not long ago, when people wore pajamas and lived life slow, my wife and I were invited to a wedding in Dallas; ya know, deep in the heart of Texas. Because I believe that there’s nothing you should do today that you can put off until tomorrow—I don’t actually believe this,…
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If You Helped a Racist Become the Most Powerful Person in America, Then You’re a Racist Too
Legally, Lakeith Smith is a murderer. When he was 15 years old, police officers confronted Lakeith and a group of friends after the teenagers allegedly burglarized a home in Millbrook, Ala. One of the boys, 16-year-old A’Donte Washington, “brandished” a gun, according to police, forcing officers to shoot Washington four times, killing him. Alabama’s law…
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The Root's Clapback Mailbag: Y'all Won
Of all the things I have ever written for The Root, there are a handful of articles that inspired the most material for the weekly Clapback Mailbag. If I had to rank them from lowest to high in terms of hate mail received, the order would go as follows: 5. “An Open Letter to White…
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White Man Whose Son Begged Him Not to Call the Cops on Black Guy Whitesplains Why He Did It
None of us know Christopher Cukor well enough to make cuckold jokes, but trust me, I know we all want to. Cukor was thrust into the African-American zeitgeist the way that most white people throughout history have thrust themselves into African-American history: by minding other people’s business. Here’s how The Root Senior Writer Michael Harriot…
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We Are Meharry, Not Juul’s Marionette
When my alma mater—Meharry Medical College (one of only three historically black colleges and universities that produces physicians, dentists, and biomedical researchers)—welcomed a $7.5 million donation from Juul/Altria, the world’s leading e-cigarette company, it felt like we had accepted Kryptonite. The unpopular decision connects two diametrically opposed missions: one that seeks to improve the health…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: America, the Brutal Fool
Since yesterday was America’s birthday, let’s begin the Clapback Mailbag with a patriotic song: O brutal fools, those racist whites, with grammar that’s a shameFor mountains of hate mail we receive, filled with white tears of painA mailbag’s here! A mailbag’s here! Our readers love when weClapback at all the racist trolls who email, DM…
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#NotMyAriel: White Twitter Is Big Mad About Disney Casting a Black Little Mermaid [Corrected]
As the nation celebrated the national holiday that symbolizes all men being created equal, a small minority of mistreated Americans cranked up the Caucasian outrage machine to address an egregious injustice that threatened the happiness and well-being of people everywhere. But this time, the righteous indignation was not about Nikes, coffeemakers or even reality. This…